Trump administration's Bible study leader says God doesn't hear prayers from Jews

[DonViejo]

By Bil Browning · Monday, July 17, 2017

Ralph Drollinger is no stranger to controversy. The evangelical pastor has drawn plenty of criticism for his outrageous statements since he started leading a Bible study for congressional members in 2010. The far right extremist has called homosexuality an “abomination,” characterized Catholicism as a false religion, and admonished female lawmakers who continue to work after having children.

Now, he has expanded his Bible study to include most members of Donald Trump’s cabinet. As an outside group that holds events inside a Congressional building, they must be sponsored by an elected official. Vice President Mike Pence, Secretaries Betsy DeVos, Ben Carson, Sonny Perdue, Rick Perry, Tom Price, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions are all current “sponsors” of the Bible study.

“Do not be deceived by syncretistic, ‘prayer breakfasts:’ God only hears the prayers of leaders and citizens who are upright, who live righteously through faith in Jesus Christ,” Drollinger’s written Bible study for July 10 reads. “Scripture is clear; those who are at enmity with Him – who passively or actively reject the Son of God – their prayers are worthless and go unheard. And the State suffers for want of His blessing. The righteous leader is a man of potent prayer.”

In other words, only God only hears the prayers of Christians. Jews, Hindus, Muslims, etc need not apply.

Right Wing Watch‘s Peter Montgomery gives us some context on the dangerous rhetoric Drollinger is feeding to our governmental leaders:

<< Drollinger’s comments about prayer were part of a discussion of separation of church and state. He says that while the Bible supports institutional separation — no state Church — it does not support “influential” separation. This month’s Bible study is all about the church’s obligation to develop righteous governmental leaders. He is dismissive of Christian groups that focus on lobbying for specific policies, rather than winning politicians’ souls or replacing them with people who are “strong in Christ Public Servants.” >>

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https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2017/07/trump-administrations-bible-study-leader-says-god-doesnt-hear-prayers-jews/

[dalton99a]

1. Well, Jared, you're so fucked

[0rganism]

17. Ivanka too, right?

i seem to recall she at least nominally converted to Judaism to marry Jared

[brooklynite]

18. Ivanka's probably worse off...

I think apostasy (denying the faith) is the one unforgivable sin.

[Virtual Burlesque]

31. Com'on, those guys in the GOP Big Tent aren't holding any revival meetings!

None of them is, by any sense, involved in a Christian movement that's covered in the Bible. That is unless you're recalling that herd of pigs Jesus cast evil spirits into. And while that was a movement of spirits mentioned in the Bible, it was not a Christian movement by any reading of the text.

[Archae]

34. Actually, Jesus was a gourmet chef too.

He invented deviled ham!

[Virtual Burlesque]

36. Good one.

[Archae]

37. Got it from a priest I used to know.

He could tell the funniest non-dirty jokes.

Remember the story abut Jesus saying to the mob that wanted to kill the sinning woman, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone."

Well, a rock sails out of the crowd and nails the woman on the head.

Jesus looks out into the crowd and says, "Thanks a lot, Mother."

[Binkie The Clown]

2. Hmmm. The way I heard is was that god didn't hear prayers from Christians.

If we sum up all the different version of this it adds up to god doesn't hear prayers from anybody!

[GallopingGhost]

3. These people make me sick. n/t

[mountain grammy]

4. wow, did anyone tell Ivanka before she converted..

[leftyladyfrommo]

5. I wonder if he knows that Christ was a Jew.

As were most of the early Christians.

[marybourg]

7. Yes, i was just going to ask:

when did God stop talking to Jews? Was it right after that little indiscretion with Mary?

[leftyladyfrommo]

10. James, Jesus's brother. was the head if the church in Jerusalem

and he was a really strict Jew. He was a strict vegetarian, dressed all in white linen, was celibate. He was called James the Just and was known for his righteousness and his piety. He was very well respected at the time.

[rusty fender]

12. That Jesus had a biological brother

destroys the Catholic belief that Mary was a virgin, doesn't it. They'll have to change all their references to The Virgin Mary, to, well, maybe Proud Mary?

Seriously, Catholics believe that when Jesus refers to his brothers and sisters, that he is using the term in the general sense, rather than in the literal sense.

[Doreen]

13. Well, we could just asume they are half brothers.

Same mother different father. That would mean after Jesus was born and Mary had other children she was no longer a virgin. That would also mean Joseph was raising another mans child. It is so confusing what the churches believe and they seem to contradict themselves often. I am rolling my eyes.

[Grins]

24. Not if James and siblings came after Yeshua ben Yosef ...

Born of a virgin, but necessarily one who remained one.

[Ilsa]

15. Didn't he give the new non-jewish converts

in places like Ephesus a really hard time about not being jewish in order to be Christian? Or am I thinking about a different time period?

[leftyladyfrommo]

20. There was a big controversy about that.

The controversy about Jesus having siblings came about later. The early movement where James is the head of the whole church from about 40 to 60 is pretty different. There were several over writes of that time that came later when people were developing the whole mystical concept of the virgin birth at al. James and his early movement was pretty much written out. The infomation regarding that period is found in extra Biblical sources. James was the leader of the whole early movement ( Not Peter ) but that period was largely written out later.

James died right before the destruction of the Temple in 70. It was a whole lot more political than the early writers could let on. They had to sterilize what they wrote so that they wouldn't antagonize the powers of Rome.

Jesus may have come from a pretty big family. He had like 4 brothers and at least 2 sisters. One source said that all of Joseph's sons were celibate.

That period of the early church is really interesting.

[Ilsa]

35. Good info. I had always believed Jesus had siblings, but I

have no memeory of the source of that belief. I guess the Dead Sea scrolls have James' history and/or epistles?

I have read a little about the women of the early church (first 200 years, I guess), such as Perpetua, Phoebe, Lydia, etc.

[Girard442]

6. A man prays to God about a nearby church.

He says they won't let me in. They won't let a lot of my friends in for all kinds of reasons. Can you do something about that?

God replies, oh don't let it bother you. I never go there.

[ProudLib72]

8. "Bible study leader"

Is that a cabinet position?

[barbtries]

9. wow i had to pick my jaw up off the floor when i read this.

right there in the WH.

pence is a pious, lying hypocrite, and the president is a faithless, soulless shell of a human being. i don't believe in god but if i did i can't imagine believing that my god would give 2 craps about either one of them. or any republican in DC as far as that goes.

[Panich52]

11. IOW: stealth theocracy -

[panader0]

14. Religion sucks.

[BSdetect]

16. At age 6 I figured religion was BS

When they told me all my non catholic friends would go to hell.

If you think some mystical being listens to your crap prayers you are delusional.

[Initech]

19. Dude, they really don't care do they?

[smirkymonkey]

21. Wait, aren't like some of the most powerful republicans Catholic?

Pence, McConnell, Ryan, Rubio, Cruz, Christie, Mulvaney, etc...

[Grins]

26. ...and the Supreme Court...

...with 5-Catholics and one Episcopalian (i.e., Catholics who don't do calisthenics), with the rest of them Jews whom that son of a Jew refuses to listen to.

[Mosby]

22. No surprise here

This is a mainstream Christian belief, they just don't usually talk about it in public.

-------
When it comes to knowing God and being heard by Him, Jesus was unequivocal: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6)
-------

There is it, that's what Christians believe, if you don't accept Jesus, God won't hear your prayers.

[hunter]

23. I was just talking to God the other day...

... She finds the prayers of Ralph Drollinger and other Christian hypocrites especially annoying.

That's why I'm sure She's got a great deal of empathy for me whenever I pray to complain about my tinnitus and the occasional voices of dead relatives I hear in my head.

[Fritz Walter]

25. Wishful thinking

Here's how I'd like to see cabinet prayer meetings conclude:

[Marthe48]

27. Having Bible study on government property seems like a violation

of the separation of church and state. I'm pretty sure that this will be tolerated by the self-righteous hypocrites. Hypocrites that pretend that they represent the U.S.A. and protect the Constitution.

[mountain grammy]

29. Yes, seems like it to me too

Establishment of religion much?

[Gothmog]

28. As a Jew, I am not surprised about this

Trump has real nazis working for him

[Blue_Tires]

30. If this was Obama's pastor, the GOP would impeach TODAY

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

32. I find it weird that these Christians don't like Jews when their beloved Jesus was a Jew.

These people are full of nonsensical contradictions, so I guess this is just another one of them.

[Solly Mack]

33. How odd of god...insert rest of the saying

Contortions of a twisted mind.