In the December 18, 2015 issue of The Week: The Best of the US and International Media, (vol. 15, issue 750, p. 20), an article entitled “’Prayer Shaming’: A New Front in the Culture Wars” appears. “Prayer Shaming” is a phenomenon that describes negative reactions to the calls on the part of certain politicians, in the wake of the terrorist massacre in San Bernardino, California (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_San_Bernardino_shooting ), to offer “their thoughts and prayers” for the victims. This ostensibly spiritual response to the tragic and brutal killings is being interpreted by these individuals’ political opponents as a substitute for the enactment of gun control measures that will at least make it more difficult for individuals to obtain the weapons being used in the series of horrific incidents that have been plaguing American society over the past several years (https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/12/03/key-charts-mass-shootings-gun-violence-united-states/xLlu1HFK5y5newTtQcCkzI/story.html ). The article quotes a tweet written by Sen. Chris Murphy (D.-Conn.) that was retweeted 23,000 times (!) to the effect: “Your ‘thoughts’ should be about steps to take to stop this carnage; your ‘prayers’ should be for forgiveness if you do nothing—again.” The article goes on to quote Russell Moore in the Washington Post, who wrote, “They’re just using prayer as a bludgeon against those who disagree with them on gun control.”
The Tension between Prayer and Personal Action
15 Tuesday Dec 2015
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