Weighing in on the Principal Who Prayed

All right, here is the deal. You may have heard that a principal asked a friend and faculty member to bless a meal during a booster club meeting. The man prayed to ask for God to bless a meal. Let me say it differently, a man asked for God to allow a meal to benefit all those who were present.

Who in the world brought this to the light of the ACLU? Is the ACLU attending every public event just waiting for someone to pray? Is the ACLU the new "big brother"?

Who told? Was it a person who had a really bad experience when someone prayed for their meal as a child? Did God not bless their food?

How are anyone's rights trampled when a prayer for food is given? I am sorry, and this may be insensitive, but atheists make up a very small minority...I can't even get the words out I'm so frustrated with this lawsuit.

I understand that some people may feel uncomfortable when a prayer is offered up at a public function. But as a Christian minister, I think the discomfort comes more from guilt than belief. Notice that how I prefaced that thought. As a minister, I honestly believe people are angry about prayer because it constantly reminds them that they have given God the boot or given up on God - the very God of this world who has never given up on them.

God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that. 1 Corinthians 1:9 (MSG)

People have been so misguided about our nation that they believe that democracy means minority views rule. The problem is that our nation is a constitutional republic, not a democracy. Our nation is a nation of rules and laws that respect the views of the minority while advancing the will of the majority.

Our nation's laws govern the will of the majority by protecting individual rights so that no individual or group has absolute power. So minority views cannot usurp those of the majority, and majority cannot trample the rights of the minority. This lawsuit, however, is doing just that. It is lifting the views of a very small minority above the individual rights held by the majority of our nation.

If someone is praying, atheists need to learn to respect those praying because they have just as much right to invoking their faith as atheist have in running from it.

The Bill of Rights says this:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...

An established religion is one that is set by law. Christianity is a faith system not a church. It is not the official faith of the United States because the founders dealt with varying forms of the Christian faith.

Yet, notice that this is the first line in the Bill of Rights! The word that is overlooked here is "respecting". Respecting means to show deferential regard for or esteem for. By denying the rights of Christians, by demonizing their faith, by sending them to jail, by putting fines upon them, and by (in the case of these gentleman) taking away their benefits, government has moved away from upholding this right and moving towards "respecting" the establishment of atheism as the faith of this nation.

I could not stay silent on this any longer. It is time for Christian bashing to stop. Christian have their problems, but it is this faith that led to the removal of slavery (the Christian faith of William Wilberforce led his fight to end slavery which spilled over to the United States), to the great works of the civil rights movement (MLK was a pastor), and which led to establish a positive worldview, led to protect the the rights of individuals, led to numerous scientific discoveries, developed literacy among the common man, led to produce the college system, led in exploration, and much, much more.

I could go on but I do not want to lose sight of the issue. These men are being railroaded because of their faith. It's time for this to stop.

Here is the view from the defendants' lawyer: