Superstition Everywhere

Back in January, an evangelical Christian minister by the name of Rob Schenck performed a service for superstitious people everywhere. He entered a U.S. Senate hearing room and daubed each seat with “holy oil” to bless the proceedings. Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito were scheduled for the next day, and Rob wanted them to go well.

After all, said the minister, he had performed the same service for Chief Justice John Roberts’ hearings. Look how well he did.

Rob is on a roll. If he can find more ways to integrate superstitious practices with Christian faith, he could become famous. Lots of people think there really is something to these things.

I’ve talked with people who were sure their marriage would be more successful if the ceremony were held in a church. Never mind the fact that they had little interest in building a relationship with God. A young father once told me that he wanted his infant son baptized because “he didn’t want to take any chances.” I’ve lost track of the number of people who wanted me to pray for them because a minister’s prayers are surely more effective. I still receive requests to pray at the very moment something BIG is happening, because timing is everything. And of course, fasting is the trump card that doubles the power of prayer. People ask me to fast for them, too.

I have a question. If a minister fasts and prays at the very moment someone goes into surgery, and that very same minister anointed the patient with oil the day before, is there a better chance that the surgery will be successful? Hmmmmm. Maybe if the surgery were especially serious, we could do it in a church. That should do it.

Forgive me. This is getting silly. But then, superstition is a silly enterprise. Christians really should know better. Some do.