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How does an American Christian whose conscience screams in anguish over the decision to attack another country, especially under poorly substantiated claims of direct and imminent threat—how does an American Christian pray for his elected officials, our troops, and their families during such a time as this?

Charles F. Stanley is asking Americans to fast and pray in support of the President, his advisors, and their families. And we should be praying for them, but not, I think, with the substance and hidden purpose of the prayers he suggests. Says Stanley:

"In times of both peace and conflict, citizens have the duty to pray, intercede, and give thanks for their country's leadership. (1 Timothy 2:1-4) How much more, now that our country is faced with war, should we Christians be on our knees, prayerfully supporting our authorities, our decision-makers, and our troops."

The quote was taken from his small prayer guide that has been distributed to American troops in operation in Iraq. Available directly from Stanley's InTouch Ministries, his little guide, A Christian's Duty in Time of War (.pdf), includes a week's worth of prayers, from Sunday through Saturday, a prayer reminder card, and a postcard addressed to President Bush to alert him that the sender is praying for him, his family, his staff, and our troops.

In this Stanley commits two errors: One, that we are right in approaching God with the arrogant and self-satisfying belief that our pre-emptive assault on Iraq is really good thing to do. Two, that Christ's sacrifice has made no difference. Because of the second, the first is possible. In point of fact, Jesus Christ is missing entirely from the document—despite its address to Christians in time of war.

Dear Holy Father, please forgive us our conceit that you will look with favor on our killing of innocents, our disregarding the counsel of leaders of other nations, and our blind reliance on violent militarism alone as the strategy of choice in resolving conflict. Please bring our troops home to their families and friends. Please open our leaders' eyes to real alternatives to this sanguine choice. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray this. Amen.

The substance of Sabbath belongs to Christ. The sabbath day is not any specific day, for every day is set aside as a holy day of obligation. I am amused by Robert Barclay's depiction of the 17th century worship form: the preacher speaks for an hour on what he has put together in his study. In this manner, he "steals words of truth from the letter of the scriptures, and patches these together with quotations or thoughts from other men's writings until he has enough to keep him speaking for the full hour" (Apology). When the hour is up and his sermon is finished, then so is worship. How little times have changed in most programmed worship services.