Living in a Culture of “Prayer Shaming”

Current Events

daily_commentary_12_07_15Recently we shared a commentary from the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview regarding keeping a Christian perspective in the aftermath of a shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood. Today we want to share another commentary of theirs–this time regarding the “prayer shaming” we have seen in the wake of the San Bernardino attack.

John Stonestreet writes of the new, anti-prayer approach to life’s problems,

The epitome of ‘prayer shaming’ was the front page of the New York Daily News on Thursday, which read ‘God Isn’t Fixing This,’ and called talk of prayer ‘meaningless platitudes.’ As Rod Dreher rightly commented, these kind of statements ‘reveal a total lack of understanding of what religious people believe, and why.’ . . . .

In this worldview, the world and all its complexities can be reduced to mathematical models, and controlled by our best ideas and efforts, and the problems can be, if not eliminated, at least ameliorated.

But it’s a worldview that consistently fails.

Of course its worth noting that during the San Bernardino attack itself, victims texted loved ones at home, asking for prayer and some reported praying with each other as the shooting unfolded. If the victims of the attack are asking for prayer, then prayer seems like an entirely appropriate response.

You can read Stonestreet’s entire commentary here, or listen to it below.

[audio:http://www.breakpoint.org/images/content/breakpoint/audio/2015/120715_BP.mp3|titles=Prayer Shaming and San Bernardino]

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Maintaining A Christian Perspective on the CO Springs Shooting

Abortion

As you have probably heard by now, last Friday a horrific shooting unfolded at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, taking the lives of three individuals and wounding others.

While many have taken to ridicule and name-calling on social media in the wake of the shooting, John Stonestreet at the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview released an excellent commentary today on condemning evil while keeping a proper, Christian perspective.

Stonestreet writes,

“First, as my friend Kelly Rosati of Focus on the Family so eloquently wrote at Christianity Today, every person involved is made in the image of God. The victims and the shooter, the pro-lifers and abortion advocates, those for and against us on social media, the unborn and Planned Parenthood workers. As Kelly wrote, ‘Recognizing the image of God in everyone is much easier in theory than in reality.’

“Second, habits of violence, when they go unchecked, breed further violence. We are, as Aristotle taught, shaped by those things we habitually choose. Our choices escalate, and if they go unchecked, take us down a slippery slope to their logical ends. This is true of the gunman, and it’s also true of us. . . . .

“Finally, we know that Dear’s evil neither justifies nor alters the fact that on a daily basis, Planned Parenthood and abortion providers across the country and around the world facilitate the evil of taking unborn lives. Robert Dear robbed children of their parents. Abortion robs parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters, and our community of children.”

You can read Stonestreet’s full commentary here or listen to it below.

[audio:http://www.breakpoint.org/images/content/breakpoint/audio/2015/120115_BP.mp3|titles=The Colorado Springs Shooting]

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Revisiting Myths About Public Schools and Christmas

Religious Freedom, , , ,

Last year we debunked seven myths about Christmas celebrations at public schools. Today we are revisiting those seven myths.

Seven Myths About Christmas and Public Schools

Adapted From a Fact Sheet Provided by Alliance Defending Freedom

Myth #1: Students are not allowed to sing religious Christmas carols in public schools.

Fact: During school activities, such as choir, Christmas programs, and other events in public schools, students can sing religious carols along with secular ones without offending the U.S. Constitution if the school has a secular purpose for including the religious songs; for example, advancing students’ knowledge of society’s cultural and religious heritage and the opportunity for students to perform a full range of music, poetry, and drama.

Myth #2: It is unconstitutional for school officials to refer to a school break as a “Christmas Holiday.”

Fact: The Supreme Court has acknowledged the government’s long-standing recognition of holidays with religious significance, such as Christmas. Congress has even proclaimed Christmas to be a legal public holiday.

Myth #3: It is unconstitutional for public schools to close on religious holidays, such as Christmas and Good Friday.

Fact: The Establishment Clause doesn’t prohibit state officials from choosing a religious day as the day for a legal holiday.

Myth #4: Public schools have to recognize all religious holidays if they recognize Christmas.

Fact: A school does not have a legal duty to recognize every religious holiday simply because an existing school holiday coincides with a particular religious celebration.

Myth #5: It is constitutional for public schools to ban teachers and students from saying “Merry Christmas.”

Fact: The Supreme Court has stated that teachers and students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Guidelines issued by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley (who served under President Clinton) state “students therefore have the same right to engage in…religious discussion during the school day as they do to engage in other comparable activity.” Teachers have the right to greet students with the words “Merry Christmas,” in spite of their role as agents of the state. Saying a simple greeting that people commonly use in December does not violate the Establishment Clause.

Myth #6: Public schools cannot have students study the religious origins of Christmas and read the biblical accounts of the birth of Christ.

Fact: The Supreme Court has stated that “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like.” The term “study” has been defined to include more than mere classroom instruction; public concerts and performances may be a legitimate part of secular study.

Myth #7: Public schools cannot display religious symbols.

Fact: The display of a nativity scene is constitutional if it is displayed for legitimate secular purposes, such as to celebrate the holiday and to depict the origins of the holiday. A public school is free to display a nativity scene among other forms of religious and secular seasonal expression.

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