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NJLAWYER and FP make excellent points about the Pilgrims. At the First Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim Fathers prevented the Indians from offering thanks at the feast tables to their Great Spirit (so called) and chased them a godly distance away into the woods until they concluded their heathen cries, after which the Pilgrims welcomed the Indians back in Christian hospitality.

On the other hand, the Pilgrims were far too shrewd to breach a contract when that required them to forfeit income. Money is good. The Pilgrims would have understood that payment of money or other consideration by the muslims cleansed the baptists of providing material support to heathen worship. The Pilgrims could have pointed to Scripture: “My house shall be a house of prayer for all qualified renters.”

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“You shall not pray on my sacred ground” is a pretty shallow concept on which to hang a single life or a war.

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Easy now. I asked for clarification of what some people are saying. Never said that the church was not within its rights, nor would I say that. I was asking to see if I understood the position correctly. So NJL, stop assuming that you think you know what I think before you ask. (Which incidently is what I was trying to do — so sorry to ask people if I understood them correctly.) Asking a question should not imply criticism. I think folks on this blog have seen my writing well enough to know that when I wish to be critical, I have no problem so stating.

Victoria and Cheryl D

Thank you for clarifying without assuming non-existent underlying meanings.

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“Victoria — We’ve been down this road before — you don’t seriously think I’m advocating a civil suit nor do you seriously think I would deny the right of this church to bar their doors to the unclean.”

No one mentioned a ‘civil suit’ – if this is your way of railroading this discussion off to the dumpster think again –

I don’t don’t know what you would do – its not for you to say, and you know this. You don’t have a right to deny any church anything. Our Constitution say we have “FREEDOM of RELIGION” so in essence your denial would not have one thing to do with it.

“However, my statements were a lead-up for the argument that agnostics are thankful and can thank somebody ie their fellow humans. All this in reference to a debate occurring over several threads this week-end. Style, metaphor and satire all used as literary devices to achieve a certain message. Attack the message not the device.”

I don’t care about ’satire’ or its many literary contradictions with twisted words as to the meaning of a statement, OR a weak answer to survive the truth – It’s not the device, it’s the contradictory words, which any educated person recognizes, which can take a statement, then refuted, and make it something else – GET IT?

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Anlir, your analogy doesn’t fit the realities and significance of worship. In my view, the movie “Crimson Tide” is a better analogy because the issues are the same. The question is, who is the true captain of the ship? To whom shall the crew give their allegiance?

Interfaith worship is an oxymoron because each faith gives their allegiance to a different captain. Muslims give their allegiance to Allah, Christians and Jews give their allegiance to Yahweh.

I pray for a day like 1Kings 18.

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Do you not understand what Bible Believing, Born Again Christians stand for? I’m sure you don’t since you are not one of us.

We as Believers don’t believe in any other god, except the God of the Bible, so in essence, we would not worship with, nor would be pray to, or celebrate a Thanksgiving service to God Almighty with others praying to false gods.

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1. The name of the sponsoring organization has the word “Interfaith” in it’s name.

2. The name of the event is called the “Austin Interfaith Thanksgiving”.

3. The event is in it’s 23rd year.

4. The event was to be held in a sports complex of Hyde Park Baptist Church, not it’s sanctuary.

The claim that Hyde Park didn’t know what they were agreeing to is preposterous.

This is like inviting the College Republicans to meet in your home and then claiming you didn’t know there would be college students present.

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It is NOT a celebration of the thanks given by the Pilgrims to the Indians, as revisionist historians want us to believe.

It IS a day set aside for thanking the God worshiped in the Christian faith, for His provision & protection, etc.

Coyote Blue #41 – Christians are often attacked on this blog for using terms that reflect their beliefs. One such term is “idolatry.”

But Christians are not the only faith group who hold such a belief. Judaism & Islam also believe that to worship any other deity than what they worship is idolatry.

So, yes. If an interfaith ceremony, if it were not limited to different Christian groups, would certainly be a place where idolatry is practiced.

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