GOP Senator: I “Can’t Pray for People’s Healing in Church” Due to Privacy Issues

Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota — a Republican who’s fully in line with the batshit crazy wing of his party but not usually the guy in the headlines — said during an interview yesterday that Christians couldn’t even pray for people’s health in church anymore.

That was his excuse for why we shouldn’t be asking people if they’ve been vaccinated.

If that makes no sense to you, then congratulations, you’re sane.

Cramer said all this to MSNBC’s Garrett Haake, who pointed out that Cramer hasn’t publicly said if he’s vaccinated before asking what he would tell his constituents about the vaccine, given that his word in a deeply red state probably carries a lot of weight.

… People are very well informed. They don’t need to be lectured to. They certainly don’t need to be bullied. They respond more negatively than positively to that. And frankly, I prefer to listen to my constituents [rather] than lecture them and inform them. I inform them about what’s going on in Congress. I’m not a great informer of what’s going on in their personal health care.

…

I want to honor personal privacy by the way, which is also critical. We can’t pray for people’s healing in church anymore because it would out their health situations. So I don’t know why we should be outing everybody’s personal decisions on vaccinations.

That last bit makes no sense. Obviously, intercessory prayer doesn’t work. A congregation praying for the health of an unvaccinated COVID patient who’s in the hospital will never be as powerful as that patient just getting the damn vaccine to begin with.

But Cramer’s statement doesn’t even make sense in the context of Christianity.

Why can’t a church just pray for anyone who’s sick? Why can’t a church pray for someone anonymous who’s struggling with COVID, or for someone specific who’s struggling with something? Why can’t they just pray in general while God figures out the details?

Why does Kevin Cramer think his prayers are only useful if he knows the personal details of the person he’s supposed to be praying for? Where the hell is that in the rulebook?

And who in his church stopped him from praying for people?!

Haake didn’t seem to understand the answers either and quickly called him out on it:

I’m not sure who’s telling you you can’t pray for people’s health in church, Senator Cramer. You’re certainly welcome to pray for mine. I’ll pray for yours.

The conservative need to feel persecuted is one hell of a drug.

Only 40% of people in North Dakota are fully vaccinated. That low number is partly because cowards in leadership positions like Cramer refuse to use their power to persuade conservatives to get their shots.

(via Mediaite. Thanks to Mark for the link)