Paul Harvey says:

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue
somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I
don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a
lawyer when my high school teacher taught his theory
of evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be
endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer
before a football game.

So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there
reading the entire book of Acts. They're just talking to a
God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the
players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

"But it's a Christian prayer," some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country
founded on Christian principles. According to our very
own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others
better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect-somebody
chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem,
I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.


If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad,
I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.


If I went to a ping pong match in China,
I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.


And I wouldn't be offended.
It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome ...

"But what about the atheists?" is another argument.

What about them?
Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to
pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If
that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear
plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand.
Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or
two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do.
I don't think a short prayer at a football game is
going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other
cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our
parents and grandparents taught us to pray before
eating; to pray before we go to sleep.

Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a
handful of people and their lawyers are telling us
to cease praying.

God, help us.
And if that last sentence offends you,
well ... just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too! long. It's time we
let that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard
. that the vast majority don't care what they want. It
is time the majority rules! It's time we tell them, you don't
have to pray; you don't have to say the pledge of allegiance;
you don't have to believe in God or attend services that
honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your
right. But by golly, you are no longer going to take our
rights away. We are fighting back ...
and we WILL WIN!

God bless us one and all .... especially those who denounce
Him. God bless America, despite all her faults. She is still
the greatest nation of all.

God bless our service men who are fighting to protect
our right to pray and worship God.


May 2005 be the year the silent majority is heard
and we put God back as the foundation of our
families and institutions.

Keep looking up.

Originally posted by Ralph Saxton
Paul Harvey says:

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be
endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer
before a football game.

No, but my rights don't have to be endangered for them to be infringed.

So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there
reading the entire book of Acts. They're just talking to a
God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the
players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

It's not a big deal, but can't this be done privately, individually, without involving the entire crowd?


"But it's a Christian prayer," some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America, a country
founded on Christian principles.

A debateable opinion. I would say this country was founded on political principles, not religious ones. The founders took great care to found a nation where "Christian principles" held no more importance in goverment than any other religious principles.


According to our very
own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others
better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect-somebody
chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem,
I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.


If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad,
I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.


If I went to a ping pong match in China,
I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

That's what I would expect as well, however I would hope to hear nothing at all.


And I wouldn't be offended.
It wouldn't bother me one bit.
When in Rome ...

I'm not offended when I'm included in some mass prayer, just mildly annoyed.


"But what about the atheists?" is another argument.

What about them?
Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to
pass the collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds. If
that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear
plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand.
Call your lawyer!

I wonder how the average Christian would feel if they were asked to hear an atheist deny the existence of God for 30 seconds every so often, or it said on our money "In God We Distrust". It's easy to accept things you agree with.


I don't think a short prayer at a football game is
going to shake the world's foundations.

Neither do I, but I also see no reason for it.


Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other
cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights.

I'm not sure what rights people would be stripped of if we didn't have prayers before football games.


Our
parents and grandparents taught us to pray before
eating; to pray before we go to sleep.

Perhaps our ancestors were wrong.


Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a
handful of people and their lawyers are telling us
to cease praying.

That's not our Bible, that's your Bible. My Bible says:
Matthew 6:6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Paul Harvey may feel that his rights are being denied, but he doesn't say how that's being accomplished. Everyone has a right to pray anywhere, anytime. Courts have ruled, rightly in my opinion, that public schools may not lead students in prayer, and that difference seems to elude Mr. Harvey and other critics (read Christians).


It
is time the majority rules! It's time we tell them, you don't
have to pray; you don't have to say the pledge of allegiance;
you don't have to believe in God or attend services that
honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your
right. But by golly, you are no longer going to take our
rights away. We are fighting back ...
and we WILL WIN!

Sounds all nice and fiery, but he never does say how he feels his rights are being violated...kind of sad really.


May 2005 be the year the silent majority is heard
and we put God back as the foundation of our
families and institutions.

I don't believe the majority wants that, I believe a very vocal minority wants you to believe they are the majority.

:)

Nicely done, VP.

Just because some people don't want to be part of your religious rituals doesn't mean you're being persecuted.

I'm glad I don't live in America having read that whingeing nonsense.

It's not a big deal, but can't this be done privately, individually, without involving the entire crowd?- Vilepagan

Well, i think praying as a group is the point of it in this case.

wonder how the average Christian would feel if they were asked to hear an atheist deny the existence of God for 30 seconds every so often, or it said on our money "In God We Distrust". It's easy to accept things you agree with. - Vilepagan

Good point

I don't believe the majority wants that, I believe a very vocal minority wants you to believe they are the majority.- Vilepagan

Yes, i am a witness to this truth

A debateable opinion. I would say this country was founded on political principles, not religious ones. The founders took great care to found a nation where "Christian principles" held no more importance in goverment than any other religious principles. - Vilepagan

Indeed this is debateable, but the founder's backgrounds as well as religious vigor would lead us to suspect otherwise. (Ex: At the constitutional conventions Benjamin Franklin demanded prayers be led before each session, and they were led, by him)


All in all, i think Paul Harvey wants to say that its freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. People may choose not to take part in a relgion or have different one than someone else's but that doesn't mean that someone else can infringe on their religious practices. If a muslim had to begin one of his daily prayers i will not demand he do them away from me, i will either move myself or not complain, being respectful of other people and their beliefs/feelings.

Originally posted by Vilepagan
A debateable opinion. I would say this country was founded on political principles, not religious ones. Exactly. Far more than anything else, this country was founded on ideas from the Enlightenment. You can see that in almost every document and piece of writing that the Founding Fathers produced. To say that this country was founded on Christian principles, with no mention of anything else, shows an incredible lack of historical perspective.

Originally posted by Blob
Nicely done, VP.

Just because some people don't want to be part of your religious rituals doesn't mean you're being persecuted.

I'm glad I don't live in America having read that whingeing nonsense.
------------------------------------------------

Blob, does anything like prayer occur at ball games, etc., in your country?

Originally posted by Jester
Exactly. Far more than anything else, this country was founded on ideas from the Enlightenment. You can see that in almost every document and piece of writing that the Founding Fathers produced.

True.

And also i not only agree but trust your judgment: John Locke is your avatar ^^ and you finally got to talk about it.

Yeah, the merits of the theory of natural law and natural right isn't a very hot topic of discussion. :)

I personally view John Locke as the philosophical founder of this country, though he himself would probably never have imagined that.

Was this something Paul Harvey read on the radio or something he wrote or what? Because I've heard his little radio bit many times and he hasn't really ventured into commentary. But then again, I think he does several broadcasts per day and I've only consistently heard one of them.

Originally posted by Ralph Saxton
[B]Paul Harvey says:

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be
endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer
before a football game.

Exactly! Saying a prayer isn't hurting anyone. If someone doesn't like it, they can simply disregard it. I don't like hearing profanity, but I don't fuss about it when I hear people using profanity.




And I wouldn't be offended.
It wouldn't bother me one bit.


There is no reason for anyone to get offended. Those who don't believe, why should they get offended? When I was in high school, I didn't believe in the Lord's prayer, but it didn't bother me to hear it. If someone wants to pray, they can pray, if they don't then they don't have to.

"But what about the atheists?" is another argument.

Since athiests don't believe in God to begin with, then why should it matter to them? If someone doesn't believe that God is even real, then it would not mean anything to them to hear someone make a 30 second prayer. If I heard someone say for 30 seconds that they believe there are people living on Mars, I wouldn't be offended over the fact that I think that is false.



I don't think a short prayer at a football game is
going to shake the world's foundations.

If they don't believe, they can simply forget about it after the 30 seconds is over and get on with the game.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other
cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights.

The anti-christian government desires and is working dilligently to take our rights away. Government is the most corrupt people of all. They don't want us to have our own piece of mind. Those who know who they are in Christ, have liberty in their thinking and have piece of mind. The government wants control over the people, therefore they don't want you to have a piece of mind. And they don't want people standing up for themselves either.

Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a
handful of people and their lawyers are telling us
to cease praying.

If America was truly a free country, we would be aloud to pray as long as we don't infringe that on anyone.


The silent majority has been silent too! long. It's time we
let that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard
. that the vast majority don't care what they want. It
is time the majority rules! It's time we tell them, you don't
have to pray; you don't have to say the pledge of allegiance;
you don't have to believe in God or attend services that
honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your
right. But by golly, you are no longer going to take our
rights away. We are fighting back ...
and we WILL WIN!

Exactly! That's true freedom. You have the right to believe in what you wish, you have the right to pray or not pray, you have the right to go to church or not go.

I kind of agree with Harvey's point of view and Vile's point at the same time.

The point that Vile brings up that really makes a lot of sense (not that all of it didnt) was this:

I wonder how the average Christian would feel if they were asked to hear an atheist deny the existence of God for 30 seconds every so often, or it said on our money "In God We Distrust". It's easy to accept things you agree with.

That's absolutlely trie. Wonderful point.

Originally posted by Dan Fussell
------------------------------------------------

Blob, does anything like prayer occur at ball games, etc., in your country? lol. No.

LOL could you imagine the Milwall, Chelsea, Westham etc fans, all stopping for a silent moment. If they tried anything like that the guy starting the prayer would probably be bottled.

:D :D :D

Originally posted by Lokideviluk
LOL could you imagine the Milwall, Chelsea, Westham etc fans, all stopping for a silent moment. If they tried anything like that the guy starting the prayer would probably be bottled.

LOL...I really love British slang..."bottled"...very succinct. :D

Well yeh Vile, your talking about football thugs here, anymore than 2 syllables and they get lost.

Originally posted by Blob
lol. No.
-------------------------------------
Thanks for the reply. Having never been there, I had no idea.
Good to get an insight into another country.

No prob. In fact I've no doubt that some people in Britain do silently pray to themselves in such scenarios. However, as a rule of thumb, collective praying or even being religious is quite a social faux pas in modern britain. So much so that the suggestion of it can bring amusing visual image such as loki painted.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Blob
[B] some people in Britain do silently pray to themselves


I'm a firm believer in the power of silent prayer to myself.
Over the last 47 years my wife and I have had an argument or two. Each time I have prayed to God that she wouldn't smack me, and she never has.
there was one time when she had read some where that in training a dog it helps to roll up a newspaper and give the puppy a swat on the rump. The only time she tried this she missed me , so I guess that doesn't count.