On Prayer in Schools

From time to time, the issue of prayer in public school comes up in discussion, or in a random Facebook post, or some other place. It is a touchstone among many Christians and Christian groups that points to the moral and spiritual decay of the American society.

As a Christian, I believe in prayer. I also believe in the right to pray which cannot be revoked, regulated, restricted by anyone. In fact, I hereby confess that I did, on numerous occasions, offer prayer while a student in a public school, even though official prayer in public schools had already been discontinued. In fact, I regularly prayed in school. Especially, but not necessarily only, before exams. In fact, I frequently prayed a prayer that went something like this: “Dear Lord, and Heavenly Father, please help me on this test today to remember the things that I learned, and help me put them down correctly on this test form. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.” (Or words to that effect). I suspect that nobody around me had any idea that I was actually praying at the time. I wasn't noisy about it. Call it "stealth prayer" if you want to. The Person to Whom I was talking heard me just fine, and that's what mattered, then and now. Should I expect the FBI, or even the NY State Board of Regents, to launch an investigation surrounding allegations of unauthorized and illicit prayer while a student in a public school?

The above, of course, is written in an ironic tone, though it is factual. Prayer is not illegal. Prayer cannot be suppressed. So what’s all the noise about prayer in public schools?

Oh, I see. There is no official, formal prayer offered at the beginning of the school day over a public address system by a school administrator or designated representative. Or even a moment of silence to allow time for students and faculty to pray if they so choose. Does that stop a Christian from praying? If it does, that Christian doesn’t really want to pray very badly.

I wonder how many advocates of putting prayer back in public schools really understand what they’re asking for. Who will offer the prayer each day? Will they make the prayer up extemporaneously, write it out the night before, or read it from a book of prayers? Will the book of prayers be pre-approved? If so, who gets to approve the book of prayers to be used? The Superintendent of Schools? The School Board? The State Board of Regents? A Blue-Ribbon Commission appointed by the President of the United States to study and approve prayers acceptable for use in public schools? I'm sure that there are any number of pastors and other religious leaders who would be glad to volunteer to write prayers for use, or better yet, come to schools and offer the prayer themselves, in person!

C’mon, here. Think it through. Do you want to be told when, where, how, and to Whom you will pray? Do you want this for your children? Do you want to let someone else decide this for you? They will, you know. How about at 5 specified times each day, facing in a particular direction, out-of-doors if possible, kneeling on woven mats, bent over and touching one’s forehead to the ground, and reciting a memorized litany of sentences? Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were sentenced to death in a fiery furnace because they WOULD NOT pray when they were ordered to pray to an idol (Daniel 3). Daniel was sentenced to death in a den of lions because he WOULD NOT STOP praying when forbidden to pray to his God (Daniel 6). In both cases, God protected His faithful followers and did not permit them to come to harm. Sounds like God takes the matter of prayer—when to pray, how to pray, and to Whom we pray—rather seriously.

No. We don’t need to legislate to put prayer back into public schools. That is not going to fix what is broken here. People do not need permission to pray. What we DO need is the willingness TO pray. We need to teach our children to pray any time, anywhere, and using whatever words are appropriate for the occasion. We need to show our children that prayer works. We need to model what it means to be prayerful.   Maybe what we do need is for parents to learn how to pray, so that they can teach their children. We don’t need prayer in public school NEARLY as badly as we need prayer in private homes!

And while we’re at it, let’s bring prayer back into our churches, too.

"Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas"...what's the fuss?

If the activity on Facebook is any indication, it appears as if a lot of my Christian friends are in an uproar--AGAIN!--this year about the use of the holiday greeting "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." The indignation appears to be focused on the idea that some businesses allegedly have insisted that their employees use a "generic" greeting instead of a "religious" greeting, so as to avoid offending any customers who do not observe or celebrate Christmas. I'd like to weigh in on the discussion here. I am using the "Mutterings" blog instead of my "Shepherd's Scrawl" blog to take my opinion out of the "church leader" context (non ex cathedra) for a minute.

First, let me say that I don't intend to tell you, my reader, what you should think, say, or do. That is not my right nor my intention. On the other hand, I hope that I may stimulate your thought and perhaps even influence how you think, and what you choose to say and/or do.

Is "Merry Christmas" a Christian greeting? It does, in its favor, include the word "Christ." I think we will all agree that just including the word "Christ" does not guarantee that the speaker is using the Name appropriately. Even so, when we say "Merry Christmas," are we ALWAYS speaking with reference to the birth of the Savior? We people of the Church know all too well that Christmas as a holiday is a two-headed chimera. One head is depicted with the classic manger scene, complete with Joseph and Mary, a Babe in a manger, shepherds and Wise Men, a few assorted animals, and a star overhead, while the other version features the fictional Santa Claus, Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch and other cartoon personalities. So, when someone DOES wish me a "Merry Christmas," I usually smile and return the greeting, without troubling myself to ask, either aloud or in my mind, "which Christmas are you referring to?" No, I just work it out in my own mind generally according to my own preference. I assume, because it best fits my worldview and pleases my sensitivities, that the person actually meant what I wanted them to mean when they offered the greeting. Now, that's because I am a "glass-half-full" kind of a thinker. Another person, of the "glass-half-empty" variety, will assume that the person meant the opposite, or worse yet, is mocking him or her, and so take offense.

It does seem to me that an awful lot of us Christian-types, with Jesus as our Founder, Leader, Redeemer, and Example, easily ignore some of the things that He said and did, and walk around like Robert Conrad, with a chip (battery) on our shoulder, daring one of those "ACLU-types" to knock it off. We are so quickly and easily offended! (Likewise we Americans, so quick to take offense when someone dares to speak a language other than English on American soil! Hey, I'm a veteran, too. I love my country and what it stands for--all of what it stands for! Just back off the rhetoric a little bit, okay? It's no wonder we have a reputation as being wild-eyed extremist bigots!)

Back to my point. Somebody got the idea that using the word "Christmas" might be harmful to their commercial interest. It might be offensive to non-Christians. So what if it is "Christmas shopping" that their customers are doing? I might be wrong, and pardon me if this offends, but neither Hanukkah or Kwanzaa are known for gift-giving as a part of the observance, right? Certainly the atheist has nothing to celebrate! Do non-Christians shop for Christmas presents? If so, why? So, merchants are counting on Christmas shopping, and therefore, Christians, to rescue their bottom line--thus, "Black" Friday. Is my logic flawed here? (Of course it is. That was a rhetorical question!) So why not be honest about that and greet your customers with an earnest "Thank you for doing some of your Christmas shopping here!" kind of a greeting? Too honest, I guess.

I drag myself back to my point again. If someone wishes me a "Happy Holidays" greeting, I can smile and receive the greeting as a social pleasantry, and return it if I choose, without making it a theological or moral line in the sand, can't I? What if I just perform the same mental conversion and translation operation that I do when someone offers me a "Merry Christmas" without qualifying whether they mean "Merry Christmas-Sacred" or "Merry Christmas-Secular?" Suppose I translate "Happy Holidays" to mean "I-hope-you're-enjoying-this-season-of-wonder-and-by-the-way-did-you-buy-that-PlayStation-3-to-offer-the-newborn-Baby-Jesus-and-are-you-also-giving-Him-a-High-Definition-TV-and-a-portable-generator-to-power-them-both-and-do-you-think-He-would-actually-play-Halo-3-anyway?" and just walk away content?

Nah. That's a "bridge too far."

So, if you decide to greet me verbally over the next 24 days, you can say "Merry Christmas." Or "Happy Holidays." Or "Seasons' Greetings." or even just "Hi." I will do what I always do, and decide for myself what you mean by it.

And for the record: I wish you a heartfelt "peace on earth and good will toward all humankind, because unto all of us has been born, in the city of David (that is, Bethlehem in Judea), a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."