Todd Starnes: Patriotic Group Told to Stop Praying in Jesus’ Name

the following Article is posted on Fox News Radio by Todd Starnes:

By Todd Starnes
The Daughters of the American Revolution, one of the nation’s oldest patriotic organizations, has erased any mention of Jesus Christ in their official book, removed prayers and poems that reference Christian imagery, and directed members to refrain from praying in the name of Christ, an outraged group of members alleged.
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The dispute has been brewing for more than a year when DAR members learned that the newly revised Ritual and Missal books – the primary guide for chaplains – were altered. They noticed that the name of Jesus Christ had been omitted.
The DAR president general did not return calls seeking comment for this story.
The members said DAR leadership made the changes to be politically correct and to accommodate new members of other religious beliefs.
A state chaplain in the organization notified members of their concerns in a newsletter.
“The newly updated Missal and Ritual was written to reflect the desire to be considerate of other belief systems,” the statement read. “The Chaplain General uses scripture from both the Old and New Testaments and prays in the name of God without reference Christ. Chapter and district chaplains need to follow the example set by the National Society.”
The statement also reminded members to “appreciate the differences in members’ religious beliefs and to adapt our rituals and prayers to respect these differences.”
That directive has infuriated rank and file members of the DAR – an organization that is deeply rooted in the Christian faith.
Several members of the DAR spoke with Fox News about their concerns – on the condition they remain anonymous.
“They are changing the legacy and intent of the Founding Ladies and rewriting the history of the Daughters of the American Revolution,” one member told Fox News. “How dare they? They’re supposed to be doing it out of inclusion. To me, it’s exclusion. If they are saying it’s because of religious tolerance – my question is – if someone is so incensed over the name of Jesus and words like ‘white crosses’ that reference soldiers who died for America – is it not they who are intolerant?”
The DAR has also reportedly eliminated an oath to the Constitution, a promise to respect the American flag, as well as patriotic hymns that reference God – including “America the Beautiful.”
Members were told those items were inadvertently left out of the revision and will be included in future publications.
“A group of us went through the Ritual and Missal and compared the old version and the new version,” another member told Fox News. “Every single prayer closing in the name of Jesus Christ no longer included the name of Jesus Christ.”
“For 122 years Christianity was included in the Daughters of the American Revolution,” said one member. “Without the name of Jesus Christ it is surely not Christianity. This has never been an issue until December of 2011.”
The DAR was founded in 1890 as a non-profit, non-political volunteer women’s service organization. Membership is open to any woman who can prove they are a lineal descendant of a patriot from the American Revolution. The organization has 170,000 members in 3,000 members.
The members said they tried to bring their concerns to the organization’s leadership but were rebuffed.
“The response from the leadership was one of being inclusive and being sensitive to non-Christians and other beliefs,” a member said. “The minority rules instead of the majority.”
One chaplain said it broke her heart to take Jesus out of the prayers and there are reports that some members have resigned.
The members said they were particularly disturbed that the changes were made without the vote or the approval of the 170,000 membership.
And many are perplexed over who might be so offended by the mere mention of the name of Christ.
“Who is it that is so incensed over the name of Jesus and any Christian symbol or reference – that they feel like they have to eliminate it from the Daughters of the American Revolution,” one member asked.
They said Christianity had never been forced on any members but to remove it from the historic organization’s documents is a “deception and twisting of history.”
“They are negating our history, changing our history,” one lady told Fox News. “This country was blessed by God Himself. Most of our Founding Fathers had Bibles in their hands and Jesus in their hearts and therefore America became what America is today. And through the last decade, it’s been a constant chiseling away of our Christian foundation – our Judeo-Christian foundation.”
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