You know how it goes. One minute you’re watching Nancy Pelosi on YouTube, the next up pops John Cleese!

So I was musing on the fact that Nancy Pelosi referred to the Capitol as “The Temple of our American democracy” and the implications of that mindset when I then hear John Cleese rather irreverently talking about Jesus clearing the temple!

When Jesus “cleared the Temple” he did act rather out of character, enraged by the abuse of that “House of Prayer” – His Father’s house. He behaved in a way that in today’s terminology many will have thought as unacceptable, politically incorrect (!), disrespectful and even violent. Someone might have said “unprecedented in our history” or at least “not since the Romans” (insert British!).

A couple of days before the “storming of the Capitol” a session of the Senate opened in prayer to multiple gods, not just the true God. You will remember the one, he acknowledged Brahma amongst others and ended with “Amen” and “Awoman” (which he says was meant as a joke). Could it just be that it was enough to open the doors of the Capitol to the “mob”? Possibly. The “Founding Fathers” would have believed firmly that “Thou shalt have no foreign gods” and “No gods before me“.

So here’s my observation. If the Capitol is viewed as a “Temple of Democracy” then they have turned to the false worship of a man made ideology. I have always struggled with Americans saluting their flag and not letting it touch the ground. It is as if it is sacrosanct, holy, set apart.

The Houses of Representatives and Senate should be there to represent (the clue is in the name) and defend the people of the United States and to uphold law and order on their behalf that they might live in peace. This last year has demonstrated a complete failure to do that across American cities. It is very easy when you have #WealthPrivilege to ignore the needs of ordinary people, especially the poor.

I was bewildered by the outrage that was expressed by the demonstrators entering the “temple” and worse still even the “sanctuary”! It is just a building at the end of the day. Representatives and Senators are just people.

The Old Testament is full of the history of Israel turning away from God and reaping the results of that, usually in military defeat and enslavement. Those accounts were recorded that future generations might not repeat the error.

Can we hope and pray that what has occurred will be a sobering moment to reflect on what sort of nation America wants to be and see a genuine return to honouring God.

You cannot have a leader that thinks only of himself and uses others, including it would seem God, for his own ends, even if he does a lot of good along the way.

I reckon we’ve just lost a sheep in wolf’s clothing in exchange for s wolf in sheep’s clothing. Let’s hope and pray not.

Christians beware.

Actually, listening to the whole prayer Emanuel was doing well. A long coherent “christian” prayer. An immense shame therefore that he ended the way that he did, and there is no indication in the tone of his voice that he was making a small joke about political correctness. Possibly he had been handed a script and then adlibbed the end!

BTW, speaking of unfortunate prayers, I had no idea that this had happened 6 years ago! What damage did that do?