A tradition dating back to 1933, the National Prayer Service, is held the morning after each presidential inauguration to pray for the nation, the people, and their leaders. It’s an ecumenical service to foster unity and simply pray for providence for the United States. The service is a time to put aside partisan differences and come together to pray for God’s blessings and guidance. It has been uncontroversial through the decades as Americans shared the same general precepts of morality, but that common decency has been eroded the past few years.

President Trump, his family, and his cabinet attended the National Prayer Service at the National Cathedral in Washington the morning after his inauguration for his second term. A lovely custom, yet it was hijacked by a radical leftist clergywoman. Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde injected her partisan views, but worse she twisted scripture.

Budde claimed to offer a message of unity, but she painted those she disagrees with as hateful and uncaring. Like a middle school girl, she complained anyone opposing her views must hate their fellow man. It was the typical leftist tactic to set a false premise to argue conservatives are wrong and bad. The leftist presupposition is anyone that opposes illegal immigration or militant LGBTQ+ mania must be hateful and not understand the love of Christ.

Budde said we are gathered to pray for unity “across division and diversity,” and she preached that we must “genuinely care for others even when we disagree.” Christians do love others even when we disagree especially the lost, but Budde insists we must accept the disagreements not just the people. Diverse people are certainly welcome, but often diverse ideas are detrimental and should be rejected.

Budde mentioned that “Jesus went out of his way to welcome outcasts,” but she was implying that Jesus accepted sinners and their sin. He surely reaches out to sinners, that would be all of us, but she left out that Jesus admonished those outcasts to repent. Jesus welcomes all and will forgive all, but as He told the woman at the well: “Go and sin no more.” Budde preaches that we can keep our sin and still be accepted by Jesus.

Budde declared, “There would be nothing gained from our prayers if we further deepen divisions.” Again, she means that we must accept whatever immorality, like the LGBTQ+ agenda or illegal immigration, to achieve unity. Jesus did call us to unity through Him, but he called us to unity in repentance or He would reject you. In His own words, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division" (Luke 12:51).

The point is Jesus will accept all people, but not all of our ideas – we must abide by His commandments. Budde goes on to say elections have consequences and not everyone’s prayers will be answered, so “some will lose equality and dignity.” She states there will be losers, but she neglects to say that it will be by their choices. Per the Declaration of Independence, all Americans are deemed equal under the law and guaranteed “the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Budde would probably counter that the “pursuit of happiness” includes the LGBTQ+ lifestyle or breaking the law to come to America illegally. She should refer to Romans and realize Jesus does not condone breaking the law. The LGBTQ+ lifestyle is a moral choice not a political choice. Those people must reconcile their choices with God; they do not have the privilege to force others to politically endorse their immoral choices.

Budde stated there are three tenets to establish national unity on a firm foundation. She says we should “honor inherent dignity,” but what she means is we should dignify whatever sin. All humans have inherent dignity, but some will forfeit it to immorality. Christians want to help the lost restore their dignity by escaping sin, but Budde preaches we should indulge immorality and love people in their sin. True Christian love seeks to love people out of their sin.

Her second tenet is honesty, and that we should recognize truth and speak it, but she grossly contradicts herself. Truth is immutable and means there is a definitive right and wrong, but Budde relies on relativism to obscure truth and claim that a Holy God will accept sin clearly prohibited in scripture.

Her third tenet is humility. She correctly states we are all fallible and basically, we should not judge, but this is a cynical tactic to cow people into accepting whatever nonsense because we are not perfect. We should approach others with humility, and she is right that only God can judge us, but that does not mean we should accept and even endorse sin. The humility is to know we are all sinners and “but for the grace of God go I,” so we approach others not in judgement rather with caring and empathy.

With smiling contempt, Budde built up to her deceptive despicable final plea. She asked Trump “to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now, . . . gay, lesbian, and transgender children . . . who fear for their lives.” This misleading insinuation is that Trump and his supporters intend to harm LGBTQ+ kids. NO! Americans simply do not want our children to be sexualized through education and entertainment, and for those parents who enable such perversions for their children, government and society should not participate in that abuse.

Budde also asked for mercy for illegal immigrants because they are hard workers, good neighbors, and just want a better life. That’s true for some, but they must still come legally because it’s unfair to the millions of immigrants navigating the process to come legally. The legal immigration process needs reform for those “good” immigrants, but leftists just want to continue the illegal free for all where the illegal migrants they ostensibly care about are brutally abused, extorted, murdered, and raped. It’s an untenable system where criminals prevail and lawlessness runs rampant, but leftists never worry about the cruel exploitation of illegal migrants or mourn the innocent victims of barbaric illegal migrant criminals.

Budde bemoaned the “culture of contempt” that has been “normalized in this country” and “threatens to destroy us.” She explains we are “bombarded daily” by the “industrial outrage complex driven by external forces whose interests are furthered by a polarized America.” Her hypocrisy is stunning and dishonesty disturbing because Bishop Budde is a craven merchant of contempt!

Any LGBTQ+ children that may be afraid are only scared because leftists lie to them that disapproval of conduct is a physical threat. They wail over the illegal criminals being deported by enforcing immigration laws and try to tell Americans securing the border is racist and tyrannical. Leftists like Budde are polarizing Americans by lying about Trump and conservatives, but the real tragedy is Budde missed a golden opportunity to unify the nation with the Gospel of forgiveness and repentance.

“This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!” (Galatians 5:9).

Pete Riehm is a Navy Veteran, conservative activist, and columnist in south Alabama. Email him at peteriehm@bellsouth.net or read all his columns at http://www.renewamerica.com/.