(AgapePress) - Seated across the aisle from me on a small regional jet out of Houston, a young woman pulled out a brand new paperback copy of Dan Brown’s bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. I had just purchased a copy, confident that Sony would not be providing screenings for Christian cultural analysts (I have since been proven wrong), so I asked her how she liked it. She said that she had picked it up at the airport bookstore: “I just wanted to see what all of the fuss was about.”
When books reach the kind of critical mass generated by The Da Vinci Code, they take on a life of their own. People, who ordinarily never would have dreamed of picking this thriller out of a sea of similar titles offered up each year, find themselves drawn to the cultural event. They want to know, what is the big deal? What is it about this book that has generated so much controversy? A desire to be “with it,” to be culturally included, has driven Dan Brown’s book into the stratosphere, and spawned a blockbuster film, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard.
With dozens of books addressing problems with, or defending attacks on, The Da Vinci Code populating the Borders or Barnes & Noble near you, the question remains, “What is all the fuss about?” The question is emphatically not a request for more information; instead it centers on significance. And questions concerning the significance of spiritual things ricocheting across Western culture should excite every Christian that ever wanted to share his faith with the skeptical or otherwise disinterested. Sure, Hollywood may laugh all the way to the bank while the controversy over the film drives the box office. But that should be of limited concern to prepared Christians who will be presented with an evangelistic opportunity that might prove even more potent than that which followed The Passion of the Christ.
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From coast to coast, Americans are marking the National Day of Prayer today. In the nation’s capital, the observance follows this week’s 17th annual Bible Reading Marathon, which concludes with final readings from the Book of Revelation today on the west lawn of the U-S Capitol. It’s been 90 hours non-stop with volunteer readers including kids, clergy and politicians. Co-director Reverend Michael Hall says a variety of English translations are being used along with more than 80 non-English translations. Hall says while some disagree, participants believe they are exercising a key freedom by reading publicly from the Bible so close to the seat of power of the country. The same, they say, goes for public prayer. But one opponent of the congressional declaration of an annual national prayer day, the Reverend Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, says it’s not the role of government to encourage prayer. Today’s events include one with President Bush at the White House and another with government officials on Capitol Hill. Shirley Dobson, chairwoman of the National Day of Prayer, says she believes that prayer is holding back God’s judgment on America.
- AP
(AgapePress) - Fifty-four years ago the U.S. Congress established an annual day of prayer, and in 1988 designated that day should occur on the first Thursday of May each year. Predating either of those designations was a proclamation by the Continental Congress in 1775 setting aside a day of prayer. But one critic believes the National Day of Prayer (NDP) has become a vehicle for Christian conservatives to promote what he categorizes as a “regressive” agenda.
The theme of this year’s National Day of Prayer (May 4) is “America, Honor God” — a focus based on the Old Testament scripture found in 1 Samuel 2:30: “Those who honor me, I will honor.” The observance in the nation’s capital will feature an address by well-known Christian author and pastor Dr. Henry Blackaby, and the song “America, Honor God” performed by Christian artist Rebecca St. James.
NDP chairman Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family’s Dr. James Dobson, says it is vital that “God’s people stand firmly in defense of the precepts He’s laid out in His Word” — particularly when society has rejected so many of the principle found in Scripture. For example, Mrs. Dobson has stated she would like people “to be praying about the institution of marriage, how God designed it.” Believers, she says, are engaged in a “cultural battle,” and only one thing will assure the success of their efforts: “consistent, fervent prayer for God’s intervention.”
Barry Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, has trouble with that. He says Congress never should have established the event, and so he and his organization have launched a pre-emptive strike on this week’s National Day of Prayer. A press release from Americans United accuses “religious right leaders and politicians” of using NDP to “politicize religion and divide Americans.”
“James Dobson has shamelessly exploited [NDP] to advance his divisive political agenda,” says Lynn. “This merger of religion and politics is exactly what our nation’s founding fathers hoped to avoid.” AU’s executive director also accuses the Dobsons of intentionally excluding “millions of Americans who differ with the Religious Right’s narrow religious and political agenda.”
Mrs. Dobson, however, strikes a more positive note, suggesting that the national observance provides individuals the opportunity to humble themselves before the Almighty and to ask God “to forgive our collective rebellion against Him.” In addition, she encourages people to pray for the nation’s schools, the media, and governmental leaders — in the case of the latter, specifically asking God to grant those leaders wisdom for the challenges they face every day.
But Lynn says promoting prayer is a matter best left to houses of worship. “Most organizations that do prayer days are ones that want you to pray every day,” he tells Associated Press, “and those are called churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques.
“There’s no reason for the Congress to tell any of us who pray regularly anyway that we should pray longer, faster, or harder just because it’s the first Thursday in May,” Lynn says.
City Hall Meetings Tie-In with NDP
Despite Lynn’s objections to a National Day of Prayer, millions of Americans are expected to participate at the local level. According to the American Family Association, numerous city halls across the country will be the gathering place on Thursday for those interested in praying for the moral rebirth of America.
In coordination with the NDP, AFA is sponsoring its 15th annual Meet At City Hall from 12:20-12:40 p.m. During this 20-minute time span, people are encouraged to meet at their local city halls and publicly take a stand for the values on which America was founded. The Mississippi-based pro-family group encourages the involvement of public officials and administrators, local pastors, and church choirs.
“America desperately needs a moral rebirth,” says AFA founder and chairman Don Wildmon. “We need to implore God’s blessings on our country and ask Him to forgive our sinfulness and restore our moral perspective.”
Some Americans are not waiting until Thursday to proclaim God’s Word across the nation and solicit His guidance. On Capitol Hill this week, the entire Bible is being read aloud, from “In the beginning” to the final “Amen” of the Book of Revelation. The 17th annual National Bible Reading Marathon began Sunday evening on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol and continues non-stop for 90 hours, concluding Thursday on the National Day of Prayer. This year’s volunteer readers include children, clergy, and members of Congress.
- By Jody Brown
