THE U.S. SENATE CHAPLAIN OBSCENITY

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From examiner.com

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Division of Church and state doesn't really exist

 in Washington D.C.  Taxpayers pay the Senate Chaplain

a whopping salary of $155,000 a year, not including perks

 and benefits most of us can only dream of.

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The Senate of the United States opens every

 session with a prayer.

It is delivered usually in less than 60 seconds

 by the Senate Chaplain.

On February 13, 2012 the Senate Chaplain offered the following prayer:

Let us pray:

“Lord God Omnipotent, You are above all nations. Take our lives and use them for Your purposes. Lord, cleanse our hearts, forgive our sins, and teach us to amend our ways as Your transforming grace changes our lives.

Today, inspire our Senators to be true servants of Your will. In these challenging times, give them the wisdom to labor for justice, to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with You. Keep their minds and spirits steady as they strive to please You. We pray in Your sacred Name.”

Amen.

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The current Senate Chaplain is Dr. Barry Black.

On June 27, 2003, Rear Admiral Barry C. Black (Ret.) was “elected” the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate.  He began working in the Senate on July 7, 2003.  Prior to coming to Capitol Hill, Chaplain Black served in the U.S. Navy for over twenty-seven years, ending his distinguished career as the Chief of Navy Chaplains.

 The Senate elected its first chaplain in 1789.

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Chaplain Black is a Seventh-day Adventist, by religious affiliation .

The Seventh-day Adventist denomination are expressed in its 28 Fundamental Beliefs.

This statement of beliefs was originally adopted by the General Conference in 1980, with an additional belief (number 11) being added in 2005. Acceptance of either of the church's two baptismal vows is a prerequisite for membership.

Adventists claim but one creed:
“The Bible, and the Bible alone.”

Adventist doctrine resembles trinitarian Protestant theology, with premillennial and Arminian emphases.

 Adventists uphold teachings such as the infallibility of Scripture, the substitutionary atonement, the resurrection of the dead and justification by faith alone, and are therefore often considered evangelical.

In common with certain other Christian churches, they believe in baptism by immersion and creation in six literal days.
 (The modern Creationist movement started with Adventist George McCready Price, who was inspired by a vision
of Ellen White.)

In addition, there is a generally recognized set of "distinctive" doctrines which distinguish Adventism from the rest of the Christian world, although not all of these teachings are wholly unique to Adventism.

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“Criticism of the Seventh Day Adventist are many, and include the fact that they consider Ellen White as a modern day prophet…”, says Minister Mohammed B. Zeller of Charlotte, N.C. “Some suggest it deviates from what many would consider orthodox Christianity. But let’s face it there is such division within Christianity, such a variant of beliefs and creeds especially among Protestants that it would take a life time to explore them all”, he said.

“Besides the Bible, Seventh Day believers look for inspiration and teachings in so called dreams and visions such as those of Mrs. White”, says Vernon Anderson of Charlotte, a Baptist Minister serving with the First Baptist Church in Charlotte. “These particular beliefs are cult like in nature”, he said.

“There is supposed to be a separation of church and state. Such a division does not really exist, at least in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives”, says Maureen Gore of Charlotte, a Constitutional expert who works as a consultant in Washington for a major lobbyist firm.

An email seeking clarifications of the religious beliefs of the Senate Chaplain Barry Black went unanswered as of publication of this special report.

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Robert Tilford

Charlotte, N.C.

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This whole thing is way, way out of line.

It's a nutcase religion to begin with; well, maybe
that's a little strong.  But any of them that 
insist on literal interpretation of the Bible are off -
it's all metaphors when it comes to a lot of the
ancient, ancient material -

the world actually created in 6 days, the apple
and the snake in the garden, and the other fables.
And then there's the problem that much of the
old material was rewritten to put the Jews in what
might be called "a favorable light."
In the Old Testament they won battles, that today
archaeologists and historians say they lost, and
lost big-time.
  True religion doesn't deny science.

True faith doesn't peddle legend as dogma.
True religion doesn't deny historical fact.
  Truth is a divine attribute.
The obscenity of paying this jackal all that damn money

is as wrong as it gets.  The Senate.

That den of thieves. 

May they all get what they deserve, O Lord,

and soon we pray Lord, soon.

Amen.

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AMERICA NEEDS ANOTHER PETER MARSHALL

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From TIME Magazine, February 7, 1949

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The Congress: Plain and Pertinent
"O God, our Father, let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen . . . Give us the courage . . . to stand for something, lest we fall for anything . . . Amen."

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Rolling his r's, the Rev. Peter Marshall,

 Scottish-born chaplain of the U.S. Senate, thus prayed one day last winter over the bowed heads of his legislative flock. That day the Senate was hemming & hawing over the European Recovery Program; husky, sandy-haired Dr. Marshall liked to make his prayers timely.

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"O, Lord, Keep Us Quiet."

 Arthur H. Vandenberg once remarked that "I never know whether Dr. Marshall is praying for me or at me." Senators, who have their moments of ringing and hollow oratory, came to find Peter Marshall's prayers plain and pertinent. Once he prayed: "When we do not know what to say, keep us quiet." Another time he said: "Save us from the sin of worrying, lest stomach ulcers be the badge of our lack of faith."

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At 14, Peter Marshall was a skinny, knob-kneed boy, working as an office boy in a steel company in his native Coatbridge, Scotland. He came to the U.S. in 1927, dug ditches, wrestled iron castings in a New Jersey foundry. But Marshall really wanted to be a minister, finally studied three years at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Ga. In 1937 he became pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington. Ten years later he became Senate chaplain of the Republican 80th Congress, was re-elected in the Democratic 81st.

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"I Can Hardly Wait."

 There was nothing stuffy about Peter Marshall, even when he thundered from the pulpit against liquor, sexy magazine pictures, and Hollywood divorces. He wore tweed jackets, polo shirts and bright ties, chain-smoked cigarettes and once surprised some elderly churchwomen by banging on a piano and singing Oh, You Beautiful Doll. A member of no party, he called himself "progressive and liberal." At times his philosophy was reflected in pointed prayers before the Senate. Marshall once implored: "Help us to care, as Thou dost care, for the little people who have no lobbyists, for the minority groups who sorely need justice."
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In March 1946, he had a heart attack during a sermon,

 finished what he was saying, and then was helped from the pulpit. Though he recuperated, he never let up, frequently ended services by saying: "If I am still here, I'll be with you next week." Once he asked an audience: "Are you scarred of death? I'm not. I'm looking for-r-ward to it—I can hardly wait." Last week, at 46, death came swiftly to Peter Marshall. Two days later, the last prayer he had written for the Senate was read aloud. ". . . Where we cannot convince, let us be willing to persuade, for small deeds done are better than great deeds planned."

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A Prayer from Peter Marshall

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Lord, teach us to pray. Some of us are not skilled

 in the art of prayer. As we draw near to you in thought, our spirits long for your Spirit, and reach out for you, longing to feel you near. We know not how to express the deepest emotions that lie hidden in our hearts.
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In these moments, we have no polished phrases

 with which to impress one another, no finely molded, delicately turned clauses to present to you. Nor would we be confined to conventional petitions and repeat our prayers like the unwinding of a much-exposed film. We know, our Father, that we are closest to you when we have left behind the things that have held us captive so long.

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We would not be ignorant in prayer and,

 like children, make want lists for you. Rather, we pray that you will give unto us only what we really need. We would not make our prayers the importuning of you, an omnipotent God, to do what we want you to do. Rather, give us the vision, the courage, that shall enlarge our horizons and stretch our faith to the adventure of seeking your loving will for our lives.

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We thank you that you are hearing us even now. We thank you for the grace of prayer. We thank you for yourself.

Amen.

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Below is a clip from the film about his life,
based on the book written by his wife Catherine.

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