Jews On First yesterday posted an extensive and critical report on the content of Texas Gov. Rick Perry's
The Response: A Call To Prayer for a Nation in Crisis held last Saturday. (See
prior posting.) Their report says in part:
Blatant and repeated calls for Jews to accept Jesus punctuated Texas Governor Rick Perry’s Response revival meeting this past weekend. Indeed, last Saturday’s replay of the historic Christian preoccupation with the redemption of the world through Jewish conversion was in many respects a microcosm of what the event was about -- the coming together of different traditions to submit to Jesus, in an attempt to redeem not only the United States, but the world, through Jesus....
The day was split between four main prayer segments: personal repentance; corporate repentance; the First Commandment; and prayer for revival in America.
Throughout each of these four segments, speakers spoke only briefly (seven minutes each) while worship music and repetitive prayer (this was called "rapid fire prayer" where a microphone was passed down a line of usually four or five people who gave an emotional plea to Jesus for about thirty seconds each) filled in the rest of the seven-hour rally. Dominant themes included: repentance for abortion and an avowal to end it in America; the need to get America's finances in order; the need for leaders to submit to the authority of Jesus if they are to steer the country back on its right path; and the need for a third Great Awakening that would storm all levels of the public sphere....
Perry not only acknowledged Jesus' control over everything but also aligned himself with a submission to His will for the country and the world. This is something that evangelical voters see as essential for an elected official, in order to make sure that the government makes decisions based on divinely inspired principles -- unlike liberals in general who are construed as being guided by "manmade" principles and what is considered the erroneous belief that human principles can solve the nation's problems.
