My right to pray.

Source: http://josepino.com/?opinion-my-right-to-pray   Tags: opinion religion from_readers

Paul Harvey says:

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin , but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.
Taken from http://josepino.com
Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America , a country founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China, I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit. When in Rome.

But what about the atheists? Is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority Rules! It's time we tell them, You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all ... Especially those who denounce Him , God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still the greatest nation of all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

Let's make 2009 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions... And our military forces come home from all the wars.

Keep looking up.

If you agree with this, please pass it on.
'AND THAT'S THE REST OF THE STORY'

09/09/09 - 15:43:31 Tom from Kansas wrote: Anyone can pray whenever they want, where ever they want.  Only "government sponsored prayer" is prohibited.  
If fans at a public school football game want to pray, no one can or should stop them by legal means.  However, if the school uses the public school PA system to broadcast a prayer to the fans at a game, that's prohibited because the public school is acting as a government agent and the government cannot and should not promote or demote any religion.
Think of it like this: If an atheist wanted to use the PA system to tell the fans at a public school game "Hey, there is no god", that should be prohibited too.
No one wants to ban prayer in public.  No one is trying to ban religion.  They only want the government to be religion-neutral.

09/19/09 - 04:34:58 Ryan from GA wrote: I agree with Tom.  I only care about government sponsored prayer.
The past years though have shown a very aggressive movement by some fundamentalist groups to inject their religion into government.  
(btw I don't have a problem with saying that our country was founded on Christian principals, but the statement is misleading since those 'good' Christian principals are not unique to Christianity)   
10/23/09 - 14:30:24 John M. from Austin, Tx wrote: If you feel that God should be taken out of Govrenment then you should change the US currency to read "IN NO ONE WE TRUST!!" The United States has truely fallen into the hands of evil. We certantly don't want to offend anyone who doesen't beleive in God that would be a sin!!!
10/23/09 - 17:25:44 José Pino wrote: Perhaps "IN ANY GOD WE TRUST" is better than "IN NO ONE WE TRUST".

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