Texas Judge Rules It's Legal to Offer Prayers for Other People's Harm
A Dallas judge dismissed a lawsuit last week against a former Navy chaplain praying for another person's harm, citing that such prayers, referred to as imprecatory, are not illegal, as long as they do not directly cause damage to someone.
The case concerns Gordon Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain who used Psalm 109 to pray against Mikey Weinstein, described as a Jewish agnostic and the founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), an organization that seeks to distance religion from the military, Dallas Morning News reported.
Psalm 109:8-12 (NIV) reads:
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"8.May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. 9.May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow. 10.May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. 11.May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. 12.May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children."
The lawsuit, filed by Weinstein, claimed that Klingenschmitt posted the prayer on his website for the Dallas-based Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches, calling on supporters to direct the prayer at the Military Religious Freedom Foundation founder. He went on to share that he has in the past received death threats, had his property damaged and swastikas painted on his house, which he believes are a result of his stance against religion in the military. District Court Judge Martin Hoffman, however, ruled in favor of the former chaplain, as he found that offering prayer is not directly connected to causing real harm to a person.
"I praise God for religious freedom because the judge declared it's OK to pray imprecatory prayers and quote Psalm 109," expressed Klingenschmitt after the decision.
Weinstein, a former lawyer, pledged to launch a "very aggressive appeal," sharing that he does not believe the judge correctly understood that this was not a regular prayer, but one urging the harm of another person.
"We are disappointed in the ruling because we believe the judge made a mistake in not understanding that imprecatory prayers are code words for trolling for assassins for the Weinstein family," the MRFF founder said.
Back in January, Psalm 109 was also the center of political debate when Kansas Speaker of the House Mike O'Neal, (R-Hutchinson) forwarded an email to colleagues, which some observers suggested constituted as calling for prayer for President Barack Obama's death.
"At last – I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up – it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!!!!!" O'Neal wrote and referenced a bumper sticker that reads: "Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8."
The State Speaker of the House later apologized for sending the email.
