I was looking at
Michael Savage to see what is wrong with the world and I came across this article about a teen who was offended by a
written prayer hanging on the wall and took the school to court.
For me it was another one of my moments where I realized 1. we are always making the wrong argument and 2. the general level of reasoning in the 21st century is not all that high.
Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
What does a written prayer full of vague generalities that has been hanging on the wall for 60 years have to do with the separation of church and state?
No one is forced to recite it or read it or do anything with it. I suppose you are not allowed to shoot spit-balls at it but you can't even shoot spit-balls anymore I have heard.
If the prayer said "divine spirit" instead of heavenly father?
It is fundamentally different from a "ritual" spoken prayer because there is no participation. It is a static display. At this point more of historical significance than anything else.
The article had a poll whether prayer should be allowed in the classroom. I don't think this was a prayer. And I think freedom of speech should allow prayer in the classroom. For my child I would rather no prayer than a prayer with subject matter that I would find theologically offensive and I do not want the schools actively reprogramming my kid's religious beliefs. But, I am not offended by reprinted fake Native American prayers on dream catchers or on inspirational posters or ritual Muslim prayers on wall hangings as long as they don't explode.
Anyway, the girl says she did not notice the hanging until a friend pointed it out, so in fact it was not an obvious sort of "offense."So, do we not study "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in literature class anymore? I bet we don't... Answered my own question.
I think I will get my daughter to look for books with scripture in the in the School library and then sue. I wonder if the Atheist society would give her $30,000 for a scholarship?
And, the girl says she lost her faith at age 10 when her mother got sick and when the girl called on God he was not there to help her. So the whole thing is a vendetta over a misunderstanding of her own
mythology religion at age 10? Great, more amateur theology. More amateur constitution law.
And she is now a little hero with "great strength of character."
But what can you expect from the courts. The USA now tortures prisoners, can lock you up and hold you forever on
suspicion of witchcraft wrong politics being a Christian, being an Atheist, looking at a midlevel government employee wrong, being a terrorist, so the whole country from top to bottom has no appreciation for the constitution, civil liberties, or even understands what you should be offended about. (Like the TSA)
Since I have a diverse range of 39 readers my questions are.
1. Do homilies/written prayers in books and wall hangings have anything to do with the separation of Church and State?
2. Should you be able to sue for anything that offends you?
3, What about the girl's anger at God? Why does her personal problem have to become everyone's problem. Or rather if you really don't believe in God then why do you have to "convert" every one? Is that not the flip side of being a missionary? Or perhaps I should say, why do you care if people want to believe in mythology?
I also lost my faith at age 10 or somewhere around there. I found a book of sermon illustrations in the Bible Book Store in which I read word for word the illustration the revivalist had claimed as his own the night before. It was all a lie...
This whole thing could have been avoided if someone would have just used the phrase, "God works in mysterious ways," and then given her a short course on rationalization.
Now she has to be Carrie A. $%^&*ing Nation, Rosa Parks, and Susan B. Anthony and give the Atheist society woodies. A poster child, "Whoop! Whoop!" There is nothing quite like the earnest sincerity of a kid who has never been hungry and is standing up for something that doesn't matter.
Is there no real suffering in the world?