Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 23, 1994 TAG: 9411230101
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAL THOMAS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Two things bother me about the prayer controversy. First, why should the liberal secularists dictate the proper mode, order and location of prayer? Aren't they the ones who spiritually strip-mined this nation, which was founded on the notion that religious faith is central to a democratic view and way of life?
For the secularists, the debate isn't about prayer. It's about imposing a view of the world that the majority does not share. Most Americans believe in God, but schools have been ordered to pretend he doesn't exist and is irrelevant to learning. Most people believe that God created us and, by huge majorities, want children to be exposed to prayer in the schools. But the liberals said no, and no it has been for 32 years. Our prayerlessness has promoted our growing secularism and, many argue, the decay of our society into violence, lawlessness and moral poverty.
In Russia, whose official faith was atheism for seven decades, today evangelists and Bible teachers distribute the Scriptures in the public schools. In America, whose motto is ``In God We Trust,'' there is no affirmation of that claim in the schools or increasingly in public life. The recent election was in part a rebellion against those who proclaimed God dead in the '60s and refuse to acknowledge he could be making a comeback in the '90s.
So the liberal secularists should do themselves a favor. Either own up to the damage they caused in attempting to secularize the culture or shut up, because they have lost the moral authority to be heard.
The second thing that bothers me about the debate over prayer is that too many of those who favor its official return to the schools see it as a quick fix for what ails America. They foolishly seem to think that exposing kids to 30 seconds of silence, meditation or reflection - few believe audible or teacher-led prayers will pass constitutional muster - will immediately correct everything from crime in the streets to divorce to abortion-on-demand. It's not that easy. But let's not settle for a kind of ``religious Miranda right'' - the right to remain silent.
As theologian Carl Henry tells me, ``The notion that a moment of silence is the equivalent of a prayer in public schools is a hoax. ... Silent awe in the presence of the universe may be a humanist definition of prayer, but Christianity is a religion of verbal communication between man and God, a religion of divine verbal revelation. Christianity should not be further discriminated against by smuggling in a pseudo-option.''
One way those pushing for school prayer can make a great impact is by pulling their children out of public schools and either establishing a superior private school system or teaching their children at home. A superior private system would force government schools to change (to make moral instruction an essential component of the curriculum) or go out of business.
So as the liberal secularists pray ``To whom it may concern'' over their turkey, how about the rest of us considering the proverb, ``The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,'' and putting our children in an educational environment where that proverb can best be fulfilled. It doesn't have a prayer in the public schools.
Los Angeles Times Syndicate
by CNB