Friday, February 6, 2015

This is a first hand report from Star Parker who actually was at the National Prayer Breakfast

A lot of people have been talking about Obama’s comments at the National Prayer Breakfast, and I want to offer my perspective as someone who was there, in the room, listening to these speakers.
The main problem I see with Obama’s comments is that they directly contradicted the vision of the National Prayer Breakfast and why those 3500+ people were in that room. The focus of the National Prayer Breakfast is unity – how we can build unity among society’s three largest religions, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
I would say approximately two fifths of the attendees yesterday were foreigners, world leaders who dug deep into their pockets to travel to the United States to attend this event with the hope of fostering unity and forgiveness. Even the speakers represented the vast diversity of the event.
The reading of Scripture and a keynote speech were supposed to be given by King Abdullah of Jordan, but understandably, due to the murder of Jordanian pilot First Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh and the king's responsibilities to his people during this difficult time, he was unable to attend. The Scripture and a copy of his speech were read by someone else on his behalf.
A speech was also given by former NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip. He gave an amazing testimony of his Christian conversion. Darrell spoke about how he led a destructive life and it took years of prayer from his wife for the Lord to get his attention. He described his conversion as getting off his high horse and getting down on his knees before the Lord. His story was moving beyond words.
Every prayer, Scripture reading, and speech up until the president spoke, as well as everything after the president, were about reconciliation and taking an opportunity to move forward from the violence of the past.
The president’s comments were insulting to the people in the room and to the purpose of the prayer breakfast. We were gathered to pray for the world, for peace and unity. This event is so unique in its ability to have a letter from the pope and a speech from a Muslim king read to an audience containing pastors, rabbis, and the Dalai Lama himself, all of whom desire the same goal.
If the cameras had scanned that room, you would have seen every color and ethnicity in the audience, people from all over the world and from all walks of life - the president was not just speaking to white, American Christians. Imagine the confusion and offense the president caused to these people, many of whom were Muslim.
President Obama stole a moment in time from us. At a meeting where the whole purpose was discovering and fostering unity, he poured salt in an open wound that every speaker before him had attempted to bring healing to. It was shocking, insulting, offensive, and all of the words the other commentators have been using. But my heart aches especially for the opportunity we lost at the hands of the president to bring about reconciliation and forgiveness.

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