Worshipping at the wrong altar

This is representative of how screwed up our priorities are in America(not to mention a good reason why organized religion turns me off). Can you say golden calf?

With sport-utility vehicles at the altar and auto workers in the pews, one of Detroit's largest churches on Sunday offered up prayers for Congress to bail out the struggling auto industry.

"We have never seen as midnight an hour as we face this week," the Rev. Charles Ellis told several thousand congregants at a rousing service at Detroit's Greater Grace Temple. "This week, lives are hanging above an abyss of uncertainty as both houses of Congress decide whether to extend a helping hand." [emphasis mine]

Unbelievable.

While I agree that the government can't let the auto industry fail, the auto industry needs to get its house in order and start making fuel efficient vehicles that can compete in the marketplace. They need to fundamentally restructure the way they do business, before or as a condition of getting any taxpayer money.

So instead of praying over some of the most fuel inefficient vehicles and for billions to be handed over to inept corporate executives, at the altar of the Lord, perhaps Rev. Ellis should be praying for the poor and the hungry in Detroit. Perhaps he should be collecting food, clothes and money and putting it to good use in his community. Especially in a community that so desperately needs it.