I agree with you on not having a Congressional Chaplain, but because I am against prayer in public/government places. If Representatives need to pray they can go into their office, close the door and pray all they want.
Well, I disagree with that reasoning. Since before we had our Constitution, and before we had Articles of Confederation, we’ve had a chaplain in our various iterations of congress. Heaven forbid that we have “prayer in public” all of a sudden.
I only agree with your sentiment peripherally. When chaplaincy becomes a political hammer – especially when the chaplain tailors his prayer to favor one side or the other of a political issue – then it’s being abused. To me, chaplaincy should invoke God’s guidance on governance. It should remind the people who are governing that they are merely dust in the end, that they are not gods themselves, that their decisions impact human beings, that the politicians should be open to God’s guidance.