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One Christian's View: Prayer in the Schools- No Thanks

by Yvonne Reeves-Chong  
10/05/2007 / Politics

If the concept of homosexual marriage alarms you, don't even think about school prayer.

Over the years, the church has shifted many of its Biblical responsibilities to secular government. In each case, secularism diminished the God-root of the institution. The Bible appointed the church to care for the needy. God directed His people to care for the widows, poor, and disadvantaged. There is Biblical order and instruction regarding who is to be helped and how. The church gave this responsibility to government. The resulting welfare systems bear no resemblance to God's plan for the welfare of His people.

God established marriage with the creation of Eve in Genesis 2. In Malachi 2:14, God calls marriage a covenant. A covenant is a sanctified divine relationship between two parties. In the eighteenth century, the church was concerned by the practice of "clandestine marriage" or marriage outside the sanction of the church. In response to this practice, the clergy urged government passage of Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act of 1753. This Act legally required a registered church marriage. But, it also introduced the practice of the government marriage license.

By 1923, the federal government required licenses for all marriages and had codified marriage as a secular contract instead of a Biblical covenant. The government is secular. The government license is a secular license. Religion doesn't matter to government. What God meant as a divine covenant, government reduced to a civil contract. The very nature of contract law is non-discriminatory. When the church gave over its covenant responsibility in defining marriage, it brought the definition of marriage under the authority of contract law. A marriage contract is subject to the same secular rules as a vehicle Bill of Sale. How can one be surprised that this secular institution would contemplate same-sex marriage contracts?

Whatever the church allows government to do, the church authorizes government to control.

Do you really want government to teach your children about God? Noted atheist and Christian antagonist Madalyn O'Hair did.

Most Christians assume that the Supreme Court ruling banning school prayer was a complete victory for the American Atheist leader. Not so. Ms O'Hair had two goals for the role of religion in education. She achieved the lesser goal. The Court ruled that school sanctioned religious ceremony was unconstitutional. She failed in the greater pursuit. Ms O'Hair wanted to institute a curriculum of secular religious instruction for fifth graders in all public schools. In a 1968 debate broadcast of the Long John Nebel Show Debate, Ms O'Hair stated,

"Starting in the fifth grade, all the public schools there should be certain things introduced about religion. First, there should be a study of comparative religion because these kids in this grade, they are able to understand this There should be every single one of the holy books should be introduced Then also, I think that there should be study of psychopathology of religion or the psychology of religion. And, that all of this should be in the public schools."

Whatever the church allows government to do, the church authorizes government to control.

Do you really want public school prayer? Who will lead this prayer? The teacher, the principal, the football coach? Who would lead and instruct your children in prayer? What does he believe? Is he Christian, Buddhist, Atheist, Satanist? Does he believe that God is a new-age force of the universe?

Is this the wisdom of God?

You shall teach [my words] to your children (Deuteronomy 11:19 NKJV)

The understood subject- you, refers first to parents and then to religious teachers. The church established the first American schools in order to teach children to read the Bible. When the church turned over the responsibility for education to government, it also began to give over religious authority. School sanctioned prayer is school authority over corporate prayer. God did not ordain the secular school to have authority over teaching His word.

The persecution of the early church facilitated the spreading of the Gospel. If Joseph's brothers had not sold him into slavery, the Israelites would not have had access to food during the famine. Most people have interpreted the Supreme Court ruling, Murray v. Curlett 1963, to mean religion is not allowed in public school. I disagree. I think God used Madalyn O'Hair get public school out of religion. Like early church's persecution and Joseph's slavery, "all things work together for good to those who love God." (Romans 8:28 NKJV)

Our public school systems mirror the moral foundation of the society. Look to the recent spate of student-teacher sexual relationships. This system teaches Darwinism as fact and presents premarital sex as natural. Do you really want this secular system involved in your children's prayer life?

As Christians, we should insist on the same First Amendment rights that everyone else has. If there is a student gay and lesbian club, there should be a student Bible study club. Nevertheless, there should be no school prayer. How about student-led prayer? What about the valedictory prayer graduation?

What does the valedictorian believe? What about next year's valedictorian or the next year or Are you ready for a school sanctioned Wicca chant? Remember, the student body will mirror the society's belief system.

Whatever the church allows government to do, the church authorizes government to control.

Yvonne Reeves-Chong is a speaker, writer, and an evangelist. She spent twenty-five years as a salesman, administrator, and finance manager. She had one measure of success. The dollar. God's bottomline is Salvation. Yvonne has a new bottomline. Salvation. SeedTime & Harvest, [email protected]

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