And to whom will we all raise our voices in prayer?

And to whom will we all raise our voices in prayer?
EDITOR:
What is an "interfaith prayer breakfast" and what is "interfaith prayer"? The Mahoning Valley Association of Churches (MVAC) has recently invited many members of the community to this event. I asked the MVAC, "To whom will you be praying on that day of interfaith prayer?" My question to that association via e-mail was not sufficiently answered.
The organizers would have us believe that Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus all pray to the one and the same God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. No strict disciple of any of those faiths would seriously consider praying to the God of any of the others. That is a Jew would not pray through Jesus to Yahweh, nor would a Muslim pray to Yahweh or a Buddhist to Allah; Hindus see god in everything and everyone. Only those who are only "nominally" connected to any of those religious communities would ever consider that we all pray to one and the same God.
The person who answered my e-mail gave me a politically correct but a theologically incorrect answer to my question. "We will be praying in the Spirit of Jesus Christ who said we are to love one another." That person has confused Jesus' admonitions regarding behavior with his instructions on prayer. We are to behave ourselves and love one another, our neighbor as ourselves, and we are to pray for the enemies of the cross of Christ. However, Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father but through me." The apostle Paul said that "There is but one mediator between God and man; the man Jesus Christ."
Since 9/11 well meaning but misinformed individuals have tried to bring communities together in the name of God. But as true Christians ought to know, Jesus said that we are to go into all the world and make disciples, "baptizing them in the name [singular] of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."
If anyone finds this letter anti-pluralistic, anti-multicultural, narrow minded and offensive, might I suggest that they direct their complaints to the One who taught us to pray, "Our Father who art in heaven."
C.H. McGOWEN, M.D.
Howland
All politicians beginning to look and sound alike
EDITOR:
Veterans Day and the 2002 elections are now over. Being 64 years old, this is the 43rd year I've been voting.
In the last 10 years all the politicians' campaign issues have been the same. We have heard about nothing but education, affordable health care, and the creation of more employment.
A recent survey showed, when people are asked about out First Amendment rights, 50 percent of them can't name any and they believe they go too far in guaranteeing our freedoms. So much for education! Scary, huh?
Statistics show there are 50 million people in this country without affordable health care, mostly women and children. So much for health care! Pitiful, huh.
American corporations are moving all our good paying production jobs to Third World countries for slave-like wages or making headline news for massive corporate scandals bilking working Americans for millions of dollars. So much for employment! Very unAmerican.
Taking all the above into consideration, you can honestly say, no matter what they promise, the last things our politicians and corporate America want is an intelligent, healthy, and working society.
Do you believe this is what our founding fathers had in mind -- or what our soldiers have fought and died for?
DAVID P. GAIBIS Sr.
New Castle