WATCH: Mayor Leaves Council Meeting Before Atheist’s Controversial Prayer (VIDEO)

 

During a Lake Worth, FL city council meeting, atheist Preston Smith gave an invocation and prayed to ‘mother earth’, ‘satan’, ‘allah’, ‘buddha’, and ‘Zeus.’

Mayor Pam Triolo stated before leaving, “Please rise for the invocation, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell.”

Preston Smith who is an atheist stated, “Duly noted. Our collective Atheism, which is to say loving empathy, scientific evidence and critical thinking, leads us to believe that we can create a better, more equal community without religious divisions. We pray together? Mother Earth, we gather today in your redeeming and glorious presence to invoke your eternal guidance in the universe, the original creator of all things. May the efforts of this Council blend the righteousness of Allah with the all-knowing wisdom of Satan. May Zeus, the great God of justice grant us strength tonight. Jesus might forgive our shortcomings while Buddha enlightens us through his divine perfection. We praise you, Krishna, for the sanguine sacrifice that freed us all. After all, if all-mighty Thor is with us, who can ever be against us?”

Mayor Pam Triolo responded to critics who claim that her silent protest was an intolerant act.

Mayor Trilo recalled, “I walked out not because I didn’t want to hear an atheist message, I’d walked out because I didn’t want to hear Mr. Smith’s message.”

Triolo said she walked out because of a tweet associated with a Preston Smith Twitter account.

Triolo continued, “I won’t take that black eye on that. If I chose to walk out because I don’t find rape a funny matter, then forgive me, but I’m not going to sit here and say that I didn’t allow an atheist to speak at a meeting because I was against his religion.”

Atheist Smith claimed that his message was intended to promote ‘secular-based principles of morality’

Smith continued in prayer, “And finally, for the bounty of logic, reason, and science, we simply thank the atheists, agnostics, humanists, who now account for one in five Americans and growing rapidly. In closing, let us above all, love one another, not to obtain mythical rewards for ourselves now, hereafter, or based on superstitious threats of eternal damnation, but rather embrace secular based principles of morality and do good for goodness sake. And so we pray. So what? Thank you, Council.“

Click below to watch!