Gov. Mary Fallin asks that prayers go up on Thursday for the Oklahoma oil fields. But only Christian prayers.
Fallin has issued a proclamation declaring that day “Oilfield Prayer Day” because no one in state leadership has come up with any better ideas to shore up the economy. But the actual wording of the document is specific only to Christians.
It starts out with the statement that Oklahoma is “blessed with an abundance of oil and natural gas,” allowing the state to be a prosperous producer of such resources. Well, until the prices tanked, then we aren’t so prosperous.
The next line: “Whereas, Christians acknowledge such natural resources are created by God.” Many people of faith — not just Christians — agree a higher source, creator or power is behind the beauty and riches of the earth.
Three lines later: “Whereas, Christians are invited to thank God for the blessings created by the oil and natural gas industry and to seek His wisdom and ask for protection.”
So I guess the thankful prayers from Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics and all other faiths and belief systems aren’t welcome? Somehow, these other faiths are not worthy of seeking God’s guidance?
Many of our state’s most successful energy producers and affiliated companies are led by people of non-Christian religions, particularly the Jewish faith.
These leaders have also been among the most philanthropic in our state’s — and Tulsa’s — history. These visionaries led efforts in social services, education and quality-of-life programs that go well beyond the oilfield with lifelong impacts.
The governor’s proclamation ignores them. That’s wrong.
And it completely erases any semblance of a division between church and state.
All are invited: The belief in the power of prayer is not restricted to Christians. It is the foundation for many religions.
The teachings of Jesus are based on inclusion. He loved his neighbors. All of them.
I’m not convinced Christ would have prayed for more oil and gas, fracking or prices to rise. But, if Christ were so inclined to pray, he would certainly have invited everyone into his tent to do so.
Some Oklahomans argue the state is predominantly Christian, and that somehow makes it OK. It’s not.
This isn’t about political correctness. It’s about recognizing our state’s strength in diversity and contributions by people of all faiths.
Becomes symbolic: Official proclamations are made quite often for celebratory reasons.
On occasion, these become symbolic.
At first, this proclamation symbolized the lack of an economic plan beyond faith that things will turn around. It’s sort of like having faith that weight will come off. At some point, a person has to make changes for eating better and exercising.
Now, though, this proclamation symbolizes other, more discriminatory, problems in our state. It’s not a joke or a day of prayer for people of other faiths.
It’s a condescending, exclusionary and elitist attitude toward our non-Christian neighbors. The state needs to do better than this in its official declarations.
There is hope. Maybe in these prayers wisdom will be gained — to be more accepting of non-Christians and to actually develop a doable economic plan that increases state finance revenue in an equitable way.
Christ didn’t spend his days praying over money matters. He was into saving souls, not increasing the bottom line.
(33) comments
We could use the equivalent of a rain dancer, too.
[lol]
Liberals are angry that not nany come to their seances and devil worshipping
nailed it ! ! ! ! !
This is clearly a violation of the Oklahoma Constitution, being directly or indirectly for the benefit or support of a system of religion.
Section II-5: Public money or property - Use for sectarian purposes.
No public money or property shall ever be appropriated,
applied, donated, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use,
benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, or system
of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest,
preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary, or
sectarian institution as such.
For someone like me, who has grown up in the Oklahoma Evangelical "Christian bubble", this comes as no surprise. The very fact that this article was written and this "proclamation" was criticized at all is no doubt making some in the bubble very angry. In our churches, our pastors interpret any non-believer or a believer from any non-Christian faith asserting their rights of equality or their rights to live life as THEY SEE FIT as "persecution." How dare anyone oppose us? If you oppose the church's right to exert "influence upon culture" by enacting Christian morality into law, then you are "persecuting" the Christians.
The utter hypocrisy of fear mongering over a non-existent threat of "Sharia Law,"
but simultaneously asserting a right to force Christian morality on the entire nation through laws on homosexuality and abortion just simply escapes the "theocracy crowd" who have hijacked the state capitol.
I think historians will look back upon the last 40 years or so as the time when Christianity has lost its way. When the world hears the term "Evangelical," it does not think of loving, caring people who offer Jesus as a help in a time of need, but as a bullying political force trying to muscle their agenda on the rest of the nation. In particular, the Evangelical support for Trump has exposed how the "religious right" has little to do with "religion" and much more with using God to guilt and manipulate the faithful into voting for policies that help the rich and powerful, and show contempt for the working class.
Hypocrisy and self-delusion are very strong in the evangelical crowd.
That's our governor: Pious Christian Mary.
Have Oklahoma's oil and gas riches really "blessed" us? What do we have to show for over 100 years of exploiting them? We're rated near the bottom of almost every index of economic health and quality of life.
Did you ever think to ask why?
That's wrong on so many levels.
I wish Gov. Fallin would've lifted the ban against raising minimum wage. A proclamation could've then been created for blessing ALL OKLAHOMANS, not just the Devon's and Koch's.
Thanks for nothing, guv.
[thumbdown][thumbdown]
Your Universalist views are not the same as the majority of Oklahomans.
Ginnie states: "The teachings of Jesus are based on inclusion. He loved his neighbors. All of them."
Inclusion? Jesus loves everyone? Really?
Luke 12:51. "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division"
Matthew 10:34-36 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." "For I have come to turn “ ‘a man against his father, a daughter gtagainst her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’"
Loved his neighbors? Again, really?
Psalm 5:5, “You hate all workers of iniquity."
Psalm 7:11, “God is angry with the wicked every day.”
Psalm 26:5, “I have hated the assembly of evil doers.”
Since you a a scholar on the teachings of Jesus Christ and what he thought about his neighbors could you explain these few verses that indicate otherwise?
Can the Govenor not address those of the Christian faith only?
It is pitiful that your hate of most republicans would cause you to twist the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Lee:
Yes. Jesus loved everyone. It's Sunday School 101. Did you miss that lesson? Jesus loves the sinner, but hates the sin. Read John 3:16.
But go ahead... make your church's mission statement read "Sinners not welcome here. You are evil and we shun you. We bring swords against you. We will fight you with AR-15's!" How would that work for you? Would it help bring members into the fold? Would it help make converts?
You ask "Can the Governor not address those of the Christian faith only?"
The simple answer is "No." The state is not a church and does not endorse a particular religion or church. The Governor's salary is paid by all taxpayers, not just Christian ones. Why can't Christians get it through their heads that there is a separation? You get all indignant if your tax dollars go to support anything that you disagree with such as abortion or certain kinds of birth control. So why shouldn't non-Christians object if their government officials are using tax dollars to make religious statements reflecting views that they don't share?
No doubt, you will interpret these things as "persecution." You will whine at church today about how your "rights" are being taken away? My question is simple: Are your "rights" really being taken away, or perhaps is it the fact that those in the minority are starting to object to the "privileges" that you claim over and above your "equal rights?"
Dummy, (this is a generic greeting, not meant to the author of this comment I am responding to but a term of endearment for all those headed to hell.). There are four kinds of love translated from the Koine Greek, three of which are found in the New Testament. The love used here is "impersonal love", not directed at any one individual. So go suck it.
Sinners are welcome in church because every Christian and every person is a sinner.
Yes, a governor can address a certain group only, she just did!
Oh, I in no way feel persecuted and it is laughable that you proclaim yourself as an expert in Christian behavior just because of the proximity of your birth.
I feel sorry for people who go around looking for reasons to be offended, Ginnie leads the pack of which you are a member.
She could not get away with shaming any other group like she does Christians because of the backlash she would receive. She likes to pick on a group she knows will not retaliate, that is how bullies roll.
Lee:
You said "I feel sorry for people who go around looking for reasons to be offended." Ok. I accept that. So, please don't get offended when someone tells you "Happy Holidays" this December. Please don't get offended if a nativity scene is not displayed in public parks maintained by tax dollars. Please don't get offended if homosexual people want to get married. How does a gay marriage harm you? Please don't get offended if the government requires any business that serves the public at large to serve everyone, and not allow discrimination based on faith. Please don't get offended if the Starbucks cup is not "Christmas" enough for you. Please don't get offended if Target chooses not to hire a staff of "genital inspectors" to make sure transgender people only use the bathroom according to their birth gender. Please don't get offended if someone, who does not share your religious beliefs, chooses to end a pregnancy and makes their own personal health care and reproductive choices.
Please read the Constitution and tell me where you have read that Christians have "special rights" that members of other religions do not have, or that atheists do not have? Show me anywhere in the Bible where Jesus promotes using secular governments to further His Kingdom?
Oh, and one last question... in your official "Christ like" spirit, please tell me exactly what I should "suck?"
Your Presidential candidate probably could use a few choice words to describe it....[wink]
'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.' - that Gandhi, he really hit one out of the park, didn't he?
He didn't know Jesus Chist very well or he would certainly would have not made that comment.
Lance, you are projecting feelings of being offended I have never had. Why do you assume all Christians are the same? I think there is a term for that . . . . PREJUDICE, yes that is the term that would describe you the best. A big ole PREJUDICED nimrod! LOL, with no sense of humor.
You can go "suck" the same thing Pamela Anderson was referring to when the little disease ridden, silicone filled, washed up celebrity used it when she was telling Christians what she thought of them. What do think she was referring to?
Just because Mary Falin is the govenor of the State of Oklahoma does not mean she can't practice or express her faith until she is no longer our governor. That symbolic proclamation did not cost the taxpayers one red cent so get over it, or are you too much of a girly man to realize you were wrong for being upset Mary spoke as a Christian while in the Capitol building?
You have no idea what a "Christ-like" spirit is. If you did know you would be offended simply because it wasn't what you wanted it to be!
People like you give atheist a bad name.
Lee: You are a disgrace to Christianity.... Hate just ooozes out of your pores. I know what I wrote was hard for you to hear and yes, I may have wrongly assumed some things about you... but notice I did not resort to name calling or vulgar references to make my point. I guess Trump has rubbed off on you. And when the Governor of Oklahoma uses official state proclamations, she is not expressing her faith on a "personal" level... she is acting as a member of the government, and must realize that the Oklahoma government is a government of ALL the people.
Oh, and by the way, you make some very wrong assumptions about me too. I am not an atheist. I grew up in an Assembly of God church. My grandfather was a pastor. I have attended church my entire life. I graduated from Oral Roberts University. If I am prejudiced against Christians, I guess I am prejudiced against myself and my entire family, and pretty much everybody I know. I admit I am different. I see the world differently than most "carbon copy" church people. I am very saddened at the direction that Christianity has taken over the last several years. We are now a whiny, bullying political force whose mission is to force everyone to live by our morality and our rules. It hasn't worked and it won't work.
Oh, and if you want to be Christ-like, it would also help not to publicly call people "little disease ridden, silicone filled, washed up celebrities." The last time I checked, she is still a human being that God loves...
Lee , right on
I'm not religious and I attend no churcb
I'm real good at ignoring stuff that
Doesn't concern me
I don't care about
Conservatives like me are confusing for liberals. Mooching, unemployment, abortion, hating cops and America are wrong
Because they are wrong
Our governor is a complete idiot. A total embarrassment to our state.
Thanks Tulsa World. It's high time you started pointing out some of the boneheaded actions of out state government.
Look at all the little haters out. I didn't see any of them protesting outside any churches this morning, I guess they are lazy haters.
Why are you guys not protesting churches this morning? Their teachings are holding this State back from being great, after all.
When you wrote that did it actually make sense?
"oilfield prayer day"...
How nutty can our guv get?
A lot.
more bull excreta from 'ol mattress-back mary david lee Williams tulsa
I'm sure the proclamation was written by some outside evangelical advisor of the governor's and neither the governor nor any of her staff people had the intelligence or the awareness to correct its exclusionary tone-deafness. It would have been such a simple fix: "Oklahomans of faith" instead of "Christians". That's all. Nobody left out, nobody offended.
And thanks, Ginnie, for also pointing out the prominent role members of the Jewish faith had in the early development of the petroleum industry in our state, and the key role many of them continue to play in our area as philanthropists as well, benefiting all Oklahomans with their generosity.
That would have been more inclusive but still would have left out those of no faith.
she is a white nationalist, and a staunch backer of the Frankenstein monster the GOP has made
Only here in Oklahoma could this well-thought column be considered controversial. For anyone who believes the governor merely was expressing her personal Christianity with the proclamation, I would direct them to the top of the document: "STATE OF OKLAHOMA / EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT" That sounds about as officially representing our state government, not an individual, as I can imagine.
Christians wonder why their congregations have been steadily shrinking over the past few decades. I believe the answer is found in the shrill voices of certainty that their faiths are the sole factors to consider in running the government and establishing laws. It's my experience that this sort of bullying may produce short-term gains that almost always end up as woeful losses.
Just as Ms. Thomason certainly does not represent the views of most Christians on the issues discussed here, no governmental body or official can claim to be representative of all citizens while simultaneously embracing a single faith to the exclusion of any other, including the faithless.
To see our state leaders continue to blatantly and illegally ignore the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment at the cost of tens of millions of dollars in legal battles while Oklahoma's commitment to its citizens for basic human services, health, and education shrink toward Third World levels is so stupid it's criminal. Faith cannot be legally legislated anywhere in the United States.
Oh, Ginnie, how I love thee. [beam]
Ginnie Graham for Governor!! Although, as I think this through, I doubt a person of her intellect, reason, and basic kindness would be at all interested in being a part of the politics of this state.
Of all the comments following her well-thought-out article only a couple, and of course Ginnie's, reflect the real Christian values with which I was brought up. i.e.: kindness, inclusiveness, appreciation of all humans.
And, the words from Psalms do not reflect Jesus's teachings. The words of Psalms were written a few millennia before Jesus's time on Earth.
Typical atheist/agnostic/liberal, blah blah blah article. I appreciate the governor's practicality. She's trying to save non-Christian's time and effort. Trust me, Jesus wouldn't ask others to waste their time praying any other way. He clearly said there was only one way to the Father/God.
Sorry...your secular bias doesn't change the truth, whether you like it or not.
John: You do realize that members of many other faiths ALSO believe that their faith is the "one and only true faith?" I'm not trying to change your faith... as a Christian myself I can not theologically disagree. But from the perspective of a secular government that allows freedom of religion for all faiths, do you expect the government to take sides? It can't. Its the First Amendment.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
The Tulsa World requires that you use your real first and last name on your account, which will appear next to your comments. If you see a questionable comment or a fake name, click the report button next to the comment. Review the guidelines to post comments.