Posted by Hemant Mehta in The leaders of Christian Right groups and a US Congressperson have made their mark on Barack Obama’s inauguration ceremony:
Congressman Paul Broun (pronounced BROWN) of Georgia joined the Reverends Rob Schenck (pronounced SHANK) of Faith and Action and Patrick J. Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, both based in Washington, DC, in a prayer service inside the US Capitol today that included anointing the doorway President-Elect Barack Obama will pass through on his way to the platform to be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on January 20.
There’s even a video of them in action:
By the way, Congressperson Broun is on the Committee on Science and Technology in the House.
Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, no? (Makes you feel something, though, yes?)
Maybe I’ll stop by that door this weekend in DC and un-anoint it with sawdust and paint thinner.
(via Cynical-C Blog)
Did they do the same for Bush? If so, I think maybe it didn’t work.
@mikespier,
I think it worked only too well last time.
GDad:
So, that’s what did it! Maybe they oughtta lay off that stuff.
I wouldn’t worry. All they did was make it a bit wet. It’s probably dry by now.
The more daft things like this they do, the sillier they look.
Oh wow, that is hilarious.
Please, do an un-anointing ceremony, video it, but don’t post the video until after Obama is sworn in. That should put them into an apoplectic fit!
Reminds me of this story.
Oh, fer….
I wonder if someone could convince Obama to fake a seizure and complain of a burning sensation when he walks through that door.
Hemant, if you can, at least rub a Sam Harris book along the door frame.
Wow! Congressman Broun actually stood there and participated in that bit of shenanigans and has the hutzpah to actually be a member of the Committee on Science and Technology?!
Religious shenanigans aside, that’s some grade A hypocrisy there!
Magic oil from a magic land smeared in a magic pattern to turn a door into a magic door, then magic words uttered with magic hand gestures so that by walking through the magic door, the magic will go into a leader who was selected by magic.
First the religious right straight out claims that God wants John McCain to win, and now they say that God wanted Obama all along. They should go use their magic oil on their magic pleasure sticks.
EvilPoet’s story is even funnier:
So Schenck and Mahoney rubbed their magic oil onto the asses of senators, congressmen, justices, dignitaries, lawyers, reporters, and oh yes of course pages.
I wonder if the local dry cleaning service was extra busy shortly after those hearings.
Anointing?
Wait. What? Wait.
Anointing? Really?
And they say that it’s silly for atheists to criticize the “magical thinking” form of religion, because modern theology has moved past it and nobody takes it seriously anymore.
This is the same Paul Broun who insinuated that Obama was a Marxist and/or fascist. Trust me, anointment is a step forward!
The sad part is that, thanks to some gerrymandered districts, he’s my rep. Sigh.
I don’t mean to slander all you lovely yanks on this blog, as you all seem most reasonable, but what the hell is going on in your nation?
An elected representative, on the science and technology Committee, takes part in a ceremony to anoint a doorway with holy oil?
This would be somewhat more understandable in Europe as we have all kinds of ancient rituals that we’ve had for centuries (e.g. Black Rod at the opening of Englands Parliament) but this wasn’t some ancient ritual observed for centuries, these kooks decided to do this off their own backs. Simply unbelievable.
Whats even more bizarre is that this didn’t destroy the mans reputation. This deserves mocking!
Oh, and EvilPoet, i love that story. I have a mental imagine of all these politicos wandering the halls of power with little oily crosses on their buttocks. Most comical.
I agree with FrodoSaves. These people are, essentially, wishing President-Elect Obama well in their own eccentric way. But this…
…just seems mean-spirited by comparison. Don’t get me wrong; it’s no more silly. But they mean well, it’s kinda charming in a quaint way.
I might also add that if it had been Wiccans blessing the doorway, this story would have been reported quite differently, both by the mainstream media and by Friendly Atheist.
Greta:
Yeah. Uhm. Sorry about that.
“They” (whoever “they” are) are sort of correct, but every time someone says that, you have to mentally replace “nobody” with “nobody but the US-style Religious Right”. Those outside the United States often forget that important qualification, because elsewhere fundamentalists are, in a sense, “nobody”.
mmmmmmmm, what century is this again???????
we in georgia are used to broun’s “hot dogging” stuns. we just kind of roll our eyes and wonder how we elect clowns like him.