The sixth annual Eden Prairie Community Celebration of Thanksgiving is set for 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, in the sanctuary of Pax Christi Catholic Community. To join the combined adult choir, attend rehearsal at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19, at Pax Christi.For the first time, this evening I attend the annual event. A multi-faith let's-join-hands thing with prayer, music and dance of multiethnic religious traditions, with a Christian-led tilt and primarily Christian musical themes. At the beginning we're told the entire event should be perceived as prayer. The mayor speaks.
“The theme for 2011 is Expressions of Gratitude – Unity, Hope and Love,” according to a news release. “The evening will offer Eden Prairie residents a chance to experience and celebrate the community’s ever-increasing diversity.
The two right-wing megachurches, Grace and Wooddale, snootily boycott. Still, liberal Christian and minority believers happily exploit popular prejudice--that non-religious people care less about social and moral issues. Religious devoutness should not be viewed as a secular qualification. Why should superstition-experts constitute almost all of the speakers here?
Religious liberals exploit chauvinism against non-believers without embarrassment. Religion often functions in this manner, providing cover for sleaze. Churches apportion honor, within a large portion of the community, and encourage sycophancy.
Attributing magical qualities to a tendentious interpretation of a politically-selected stack of semi-reliable copies of ancient documents doesn't entitle you to any presumption of ethical superiority.
During the entire event, I bury my nose in a book that I'd brought for precisely this eventuality: If commanded to pray, I reserve the right to read an obviously non-religious or anti-religious book: I suppeth here not.
