A Christian's Response to the Banning of Prayer in Public Schools

President Ronald Reagan broached the issue of prayer in public schools when he addressed the nation in February of 1984. He reminded American citizens that prayer in public schools was practiced freely for the first 200 years of our history without any adverse affects. Reagan was flummoxed by the fact that the first amendment of the Constitution permits the "Nazis and Ku Klux Klansmen to march on public property (and) advocate the extermination of people of the Jewish faith and the subjugation of blacks, while the same amendment forbids our children from saying a prayer in school. "

So, what dangerous prayer was struck down by the Supreme Court? I'm sure you might be shocked to know that kindergarten children in this country used to recite this prayer before the Supremes rushed in to protect them:

"We thank you for the flowers so sweet,
We thank you for the food we eat.
We thank you for the birds that sing.
We thank you, God, For everything."

Reagan went on to say, "The first amendment of the Constitution was not written to protect the people from religion; that amendment was written to protect religion form government tyranny. "He referenced God in the Mayflower Compact, in the Declaration of Independence, in the Pledge of Allegiance and The National Anthem. The dollar bills we carry in our wallets have the words "In God We Trust" inscribed on them. If God is so freely symbolized in all of these, why is he considered so dangerous in public schools?

No one in their right mind could possibly believe that this prayer is detrimental to the minds and lives of our youth. It is disturbing to know that the highest court of the land can take the Constitution and twist it to mean whatever they desire for it to mean. It is obvious that the decision to take Bible reading and prayer out of public schools is not an attempt to guarantee freedom of religion. It is an attempt to promote one religion over another. Arguing as the only dissenter in Abington v. Schempp, (the court decided 8-1 to eliminate Bible reading from public schools)Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said, "a refusal to permit" religious exercises in the schools "is seen not as the realization of state neutrality, but rather as the establishment of a religion of secularism." (1)

The fact is that the majority of Americans, perhaps as high as 65%, support the idea of allowing prayer in public schools. Democracies are founded on the idea that the greater good of the body of citizens must be protected. Americans are very alarmed that activist judges have twisted the constitution in ways to favor minority opinions over those of the majority. The majority of Americans oppose legalized abortion. The majority of Americans oppose redefining marriage to mean anything other than the union of one man and one woman. It seems the majority no longer have a voice in their own government.

What can proponents of prayer in public schools do? They can withdraw their children from public schools and home school them or send them to private schools. Homeschooling in America has increased over 75% in the last decade. Most Christian parents who advocate homeschooling take to heart the verses in Deuteronomy 6:6-7. "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. "They embrace the teaching that it is the primary responsibility of parents to teach religious values to their children and to educate them.

Those in favor of prayer in public schools could support a law that allows all teachers to begin the day with prayer but not all teachers are Christians but many teachers would pray to whatever god they choose. They might pray to Allah or Buddha or even Oprah Winfrey. Though there are many loyal Christian educators laboring away in the public school systems, they are hampered by what they can and cannot say about God. Modern education in the United States is going to assume a denial of God or they are going to take the polytheistic (belief in many gods), politically correct approach which says that there are many gods and they all deserve equal respect in our society. Modern education reveals a type of schizophrenia, a tension between atheism and polytheism, but never a promotion of monotheism, (the belief in one God).

In many areas of the country students are given a moment of silence. It is assumed that during this time they may pray silently. The fact is, government can never take away a privilege that God grants to his children. For many, this is all a non-issue. Our children can pray anytime, anywhere they choose. God doesn't designate a certain place or a certain method but he does command that we "pray without ceasing."

When our children are being taught knowledge their education is limited and inadequate if they are not being taught the truth about Christ. The Apostle Paul warned the Colossians, "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. "Education is an expression of what we believe and it is incomplete and inadequate if it doesn't include the truth of Christ. Proverbs 1:7 says, "The beginning of wisdom and knowledge is the fear of God. "If we don't expose our children to the teaching of the truth of Christ then we are cheating them because Christ cannot be separated from true education. We are disobedient if we replace the truth of God with an impotent belief in secularism.

Instead of focusing so much on what the government and the courts are not doing, perhaps we should focus more on what we should be doing. It is not the government's responsibility to teach our children about God and to educate them in the truth of God's word. That is very clearly the responsibility of Christian parents. We should teach our children to "pray without ceasing". The prophet Daniel prayed in many places he wasn't supposed to. He prayed several times a day with the windows wide open. He was rewarded by being thrown into the Lion's Den. But there, God miraculously revealed himself to Daniel and delivered him from evil. As Christians, we need to pray often in places we are not supposed to with the windows open. Some of us will lose our jobs, some will be ridiculed and cast into the Lion's Den but God, "who sees what is done in secret, will reward you openly". (Matthew 6:4)

1. William T. Cavanaugh, " The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflict", p. 189

Kevin Probst lives in Columbus, Georgia. He is a teacher of History and Apologetics at a private high school. He submits articles pertaining to theology, apologetics, Christian living and American culture. If you have an interest in those ideas please visit his website at: http://www.kpprobst.blogspot.com/ and offer your opinions or join the conversation.

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Obama at 2011 Nat'l Prayer Brkfst

Over the past two years, the nature of these obligations, the proper role of government has obviously been the subject of enormous controversy. And the debates have been fierce as one side’s version of compassion and community may be interpreted by the other side as an oppressive and irresponsible expansion of the state or an unacceptable restriction on individual freedom.

That's why a second recurring theme in my prayers is a prayer for humility. Now, God answered this prayer for me early on by having me marry Michelle. Because whether it’s reminding me of a chore undone, or questioning the wisdom of watching my third football game in a row on Sunday, she keeps me humble.

Humility: "None of us has all the answers."

But in this life of politics when debates have become so bitterly polarized, and changes in the media lead so many of us just to listen to those who reinforce our existing biases, it’s useful to go back to Scripture to remind ourselves that none of us has all the answers -- none of us, no matter what our political party or our station in life.

The full breadth of human knowledge is like a grain of sand in God’s hands. And there are some mysteries in this world we cannot fully comprehend. As it’s written in Job, "God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways. He does great things beyond our understandings."

The challenge I find then is to balance this uncertainty, this humility, with the need to fight for deeply held convictions, to be open to other points of view but firm in our core principles. And I pray for this wisdom every day.

I pray that God will show me and all of us the limits of our understanding, and open our ears and our hearts to our brothers and sisters with different points of view; that such reminders of our shared hopes and our shared dreams and our shared limitations as children of God will reveal the way forward that we can travel together.

"My prayer... is that we seek His face... each and every day."

And the last recurring theme, one that binds all prayers together, is that I might walk closer with God and make that walk my first and most important task.

In our own lives it’s easy to be consumed by our daily worries and our daily concerns. And it is even easier at a time when everybody is busy, everybody is stressed, and everybody -- our culture is obsessed with wealth and power and celebrity. And often it takes a brush with hardship or tragedy to shake us out of that, to remind us of what matters most.

We see an aging parent wither under a long illness, or we lose a daughter or a husband in Afghanistan, we watch a gunman open fire in a supermarket -- and we remember how fleeting life can be.

And we ask ourselves how have we treated others, whether we’ve told our family and friends how much we love them. And it’s in these moments, when we feel most intensely our mortality and our own flaws and the sins of the world, that we most desperately seek to touch the face of God.

So my prayer this morning is that we might seek His face not only in those moments, but each and every day; that every day as we go through the hustle and bustle of our lives, whether it’s in Washington or Hollywood or anywhere in between, that we might every so often rise above the here and now, and kneel before the Eternal; that we might remember, Kaye, the fact that those who wait on the Lord will soar on wings like eagles, and they will run and not be weary, and they will walk and not faint.

"I ask Him to give me the strength to do right by our country and its people."

When I wake in the morning, I wait on the Lord, and I ask Him to give me the strength to do right by our country and its people. And when I go to bed at night I wait on the Lord, and I ask Him to forgive me my sins, and look after my family and the American people, and make me an instrument of His will.

I say these prayers hoping they will be answered, and I say these prayers knowing that I must work and must sacrifice and must serve to see them answered. But I also say these prayers knowing that the act of prayer itself is a source of strength.

It’s a reminder that our time on Earth is not just about us; that when we open ourselves to the possibility that God might have a larger purpose for our lives, there’s a chance that somehow, in ways that we may never fully know, God will use us well.

May the Lord bless you and keep you, and may He bless this country that we love.

SOURCE - White House Website

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