Thursday, February 21, 2008

On School Prayer...


Yesterday afternoon I was at a Together in Ministry Group studying church transformation. Rev. Rich Rose, pastor at First Baptist Church in Ithaca, brought up an interesting comment.

He has heard people say that they long for those days when we still had prayer in school. But he reminds them that back in those days, things were not all that rosy. Segregation was still a major issue, there were little or no women’s rights, and little or no sense of social justice.

His comments make you think. What good does it do to force people to pray, if their heart isn’t convicted? People may have gone to church in much larger numbers than they do today, but was it out of duty to family, or love of God? If the heart isn’t convicted, the people aren’t changed, and the good works that flow out of our faith doesn’t flow.

Perhaps we are better in some respects today than we were then. While we are still battling in some areas, segregation is not nearly as blatant as it was, woman can vote and pursue the career of their choice. Discrimination in most areas is being corrected. Over all, we have come much closer to the equality of all people that the Bible speaks of.


I would still like the option to pray in school to be available. I certainly don't believe a student should be in trouble for bowing their head and offering a silent prayer in a country that values freedom of religion. However, mandating public prayer doesn't change people. Only a conviction of the heart can do that.

So perhaps it is better to not force our faith on others. Perhaps it’s more important to live our faith and let our religious convictions show in a way that all people benefit.

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