Who would have imagined that prayer could be so unpleasant to so many people?
That was the reaction the Rev. Jack Hibbs received from several members of Congress after he delivered the opening prayer a few weeks ago.
Mr. Hibbs is the pastor of the megachurch Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills, California. House Speaker Mike Johnson invited him to lead a prayer on January 30, one of many guest pastors whose blessings will be asked to begin the session.
In his prayer, Hibbs called for “humility and repentance for the nation’s sins in a time of great need.”
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But in a letter to Speaker Johnson, 26 Democratic senators later called Hibbs an “unqualified hate preacher” who promotes “Christian nationalist policies,” according to a mid-February roll call report. accused of being a “person”.
Fox News has reached out to the Speaker’s Office for comment.
In a recent episode, Podcast “Lighthouse Faith”Pastor Hibbs responded to the Democrats’ accusations by saying, “You know, I’ve had the honor of praying. And what many people don’t realize is that…two-thirds of my prayers are partial prayers. It was simply lifted,” he said. It is, so to speak, an ancient prayer from 1774. ”
Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills, Calif., said he was “honored” to pray before Congress earlier this year, adding that much of what he prayed “was carried over in part from ancient prayers. ” he said. (Calvary Chapel Chino Hills)
Hibbs was referring to the First Prayer of the Continental Congress, delivered on September 7, 1774, by the Rev. Jacob Duchess, pastor of Christ Church, Philadelphia.
It starts like this: “O Lord our heavenly Father, high and mighty King of kings and Lord of lords, from your throne you see all the inhabitants of the earth, and over all kingdoms and empires and governments, Rule with unchecked power; look down with eyes of mercy, we beseech you, to flee to you from the lashes of the oppressors, to surrender ourselves to your merciful protection, and from now on to you. These are our American states that we only want to depend on.”
“This is just part of how they label it, it’s not a fact.”
Rep. Jared Huffman of California, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin are the lead sponsors and signers of the two-page letter, according to Huffman’s website. was a person.
The graph at the beginning of the letter said, “Pastor Hibbs is a radical Christian nationalist who helped incite the January 6th riot.”
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Hibbs said in a statement to Fox News: “I’m very impressed because I never knew I had this much power. This is just part of the way they label me, and the fact Not,” he said.
He also said, “When these progressives talk about ‘radical Christian nationalists,’ they are using language reminiscent of the rise of the Third Reich under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. Not only Hitler, but communists, Marxists, and socialists are known as well.” They label and denigrate those who do not agree with their ideology. ”
Hibbs, in his January 30 prayer to Congress, called, in part, for “humility and repentance of the nation’s sins in a time of great need.” (St. Petersburg)
Mr. Hibbs, author of the recent book “The Deception of Deception: How to Discern the Truth from Culture’s Lies,” is a Christian of the Orthodox — some would say very conservative — faith. I’m not using it as an excuse.
Dr. Alex McFarland, a North Carolina-based theologian, author, and speaker, says Christian nationalism was more or less created by the left to strike fear into the hearts of liberals, almost equating it with terrorism. He said it was a word.
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Still, McFarland said, “I love God. I love my country. If that makes me a Christian nationalist…I’m proud to be one.” Told.
Hibbs agreed, saying, “The reality is that a Christian nationalist is a Christian who happens to live in a country…Jeremiah 29:7 says, “For the betterment of all people, You should seek the happiness of the city in which you have planted it.”
The letter also makes no mention of the actual prayer Pastor Hibbs shared on January 30th.
But Hibbs’ letter to Speaker Johnson was not just about his prayers in Parliament.
The letter slams Hibbs himself, his preaching and what he stands for, saying the pastor has a “long history of spewing hateful and vitriolic language against non-Christians, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQ community. He should never have been given the right to communicate this content.” Prayer for the opening of the House of Representatives on January 30, 2024. ”
Hibbs has also been criticized by the atheist group Freedom from Religion.
The group is asking the Internal Revenue Service to revoke its church’s tax-exempt status after Hibbs endorsed Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey from the pulpit.
Morality, which determines what is good and bad, is implicitly based on religious values rather than science.
Hibbs later apologized for violating a law that prohibits churches from supporting political candidates.
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But Hibbs’ prayer could be another example of a clash between orthodoxy in politics. Roll Call reported that Huffman calls himself a “nonreligious humanist.”
He co-founded the Congressional Freethought Caucus with Ruskin.
Its mission is stated to be to “advance public policy shaped by reason, science, and moral values.” In a word, it could be a conflict.
Lauren Greene is the chief religion correspondent for Fox News Channel. She is also the host of the podcast “Lighthouse Faith.” (Fox News/Image)
Most theologians agree that there is no such thing as a “non-religious” person, and that there is no such thing as a neutral position regarding religion. We are all involved in what may be a grand spiritual story of creation.
Morality, which determines what is good and bad, is implicitly based on religious values rather than science.
Dr. John Lennox, a mathematician and Christian apologist at Oxford University, said in a debate with atheist Richard Dawkins, “Science tells us what will happen if we put arsenic in Aunt Tilly’s tea, but should we put it in it?” Science doesn’t know if that’s the case.”
In his sermon on exclusivity, theologian Dr. Timothy Keller said, “Religion in the broadest sense is a set of answers to life’s big questions.”
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He asked, “Why are we here? What is right and wrong for humanity to do? What is wrong with humanity and how can we fix it? How do we determine right from wrong? ‘What should we be spending our time on?’ Are doing? ”
He also said, “No one can live life without a set of answers to these questions, and those answers are at least implicitly religious.”
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Politics today seems more like a spiritual battleground than a place where public officials diplomatically decide what’s best for the country.
The conflict between Hibbs and a faction of the Democratic Party is just one battle in a growing and worsening war of ideals.
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