Let’s go back in time when reciting the Lord’s Prayer was the first thing we did in public school.
I was from a Jewish family, and yet saying that prayer was truly the high point of my day. My siblings are atheists, but my older sister recently asked me this:
“Do you remember that prayer we said in school?”
I responded by telling her that the prayer comes from the Bible. Jesus taught His disciples to pray that prayer. My sister said that even though no one ever talked about God in our home, saying that prayer made her feel warm and happy.
Prayer Taken Out of Schools
I’m sure that many of the readers of this article remember infamous Madalyn Murray O’Hair. She was called “The Most Hated Woman in America.”
Madalyn Murray O’Hair founded the American Atheists organization in the 1960s following the landmark Supreme court ruling that banned prayer in public schools — of which O’Hair pushed for herself.
The mission of the American Atheists was in part inclusive, and O’Hair opened her arms to people of all kinds — including ex-cons. It would be this willingness and openness, though, that would lead to her grisly demise more than 30 years later.
After the war, O’Hair earned her law degree from South Texas College of Law in 1952. She then joined the Socialist Workers Party because she was unhappy with the American government’s policies towards the Soviet Union, and even tried to emigrate to the U.S.S.R. in 1959 and 1960, but the country denied her son William citizenship.
At about the same time, William, then in junior high, attended a public school in Baltimore. It was here that O’Hair first made a name for herself. O’Hair was incensed that William had to say daily prayers while in school. She sued the school district for failing to adhere to the separation of church and state, and the case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1963, the court voted 8 to 1 to ban mandated prayers in public schools. O’Hair proclaimed in the case that Americans had “an unalienable right to freedom from religion as well as freedom of religion.” She then appeared on the first episode of Phil Donahue’s talk show to publicly discuss her views.
Read rest of article HERE
The Effects of Removing the Bible and Prayer From our Public Schools
From cnsnews.com
Education Expert: Removing Bible, Prayer from Public Schools Has Caused Decline
Education expert William Jeynes said on Wednesday that there is a correlation between the decline of U.S. public schools and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1962 and 1963 decision that school-sponsored Bible reading was unconstitutional.
“One can argue, and some have, that the decision by the Supreme Court – in a series of three decisions back in 1962 and 1963 – to remove Bible and prayer from our public schools, may be the most spiritually significant event in our nation’s history over the course of the last 55 years,” Jeynes said.
On June 25, 1962, the United States Supreme Court decided in Engel v. Vitale that a prayer approved by the New York Board of Regents for use in schools violated the First Amendment because it represented establishment of religion. In 1963, in Abington School District v. Schempp, the court decided against Bible readings in public schools along the same lines.
Since 1963, Jeynes said there have been five negative developments in the nation’s public schools:
- Academic achievement has plummeted, including SAT scores.
- Increased rate of out-of-wedlock births
- Increase in illegal drug use
- Increase in juvenile crime
- Deterioration of school behavior
“So we need to realize that these actions do have consequences,” said Jeynes, professor at California State College in Long Beach and senior fellow at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, N.J. “When we remove that moral fiber — that moral emphasis – this is what can result.”
Other facts included a comparison between the top five complaints of teachers from 1940-1962 — talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls and getting out of turn in line – to rape, robbery, assault, burglary and arson from 1963 to present.
“Now the question is, given that there is a movement to put the Bible as literature back in the public schools and a moment of silence and so forth, can we recapture the moral fiber – the foundation that used to exist among many of our youth?” Jeynes asked rhetorically.
To that end, Jeynes said, there is a movement across the country to reinstate the Bible as literature in the public schools, with 440 school districts in 43 states currently teaching this type of course.
Ten states have passed a law or resolution to bring the Bible as literature in the public schools statewide.
The movement, however, is secular in nature, with the Bible being taught as literature rather than the word of God. And rather than prayer, a “moment of silence” is established that “can be used as the students choose,” Jeynes said.
When CNSNews.com asked about the secular nature of this approach, Jeynes said data from nationwide surveys show that both students of faith and those with no faith both respond positively to the Bible as literature curriculum – the former said they learned more about the Bible in class than in church, and the latter said they have an increased interest in the Christian religions.
“The effects are very, very positive,” Jeynes said.
Jeynes said the data he used in his presentation comes from the federal government (Departments of Education, Justice, Health and Human Services and the U.S. Census Bureau), and research by the advocacy groups Bibleasliterature.org, the Bible Literacy Project, the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, and California educator and researcher Nader Twal. source
The Damage is Done but We Must Press On
Through the years we have seen such horrific violence as mass shooters taking the lives of so many of their peers in public schools. We watched in horror this past weekend as two young men shot and killed over two dozen people.
My last article dealt with depression in young people and the psychotropic medicines they are prescribed. This depression which is so pervasive in young people (even in children) is a direct result of God being taken out of schools and public life. Many of these children have only one parent and come home from school to an empty house.
And we wonder why there is so much depression!?
Mass Shootings
Mass shooters have become the norm. As usual, our leftwing politicians politicize the killing and blame it on our president. It’s interesting to note that most of these Leftist accusers are also atheists.
The same things are said by governors and congressmen/women: “We have to come together at this sad time. This will make us stronger as we care for one another.” No mention of returning to God. No mention of the correlation of gun violence and the removal of God and the Bible from every area of life in America.
They can’t see the correlation between the violence and the removal of our Lord from public life because they DO NOT KNOW HIM.
And if brave brothers and sisters in our government step out in faith, and attempt to get prayer and Bible reading put back in our schools, The Freedom From Religion Atheist organization will be on the steps of the Supreme Court in a flash. This evil organization is very powerful in these last days.
Satan is Emboldened in America
Gone are the days in which many Christians would stand up for righteousness in the face of evil. Many are fearful of being accused of “Hate speech.” The public knows that true Christians believe the Word of God and know that the Word condemns homosexuality. But atheists do not care what is written in the Bible. They claim that God and His Word are a crutch for weak people.
I love this website:
From creationtoday.org
Prayer in School Affects all of Society
Since prayer was eliminated from public schools, the quality of education has shown a steady statistical decline. Is there a link between the two?
Prayer Sets a Standard
Humanism assumes that the supernatural does not exist and that reality must be discovered purely from man’s reasoning. Our public school system has been operating on this foundation since prayer was removed in 1962. Returning prayer to school would be an affront to this philosophy because prayer acknowledges the existence of someone greater than man.
Allowing prayer in school sets an important standard. It tells students that they are more than just a collection of chemicals and energy that happen to be occupying space and time. Prayer is an action which proclaims that life is more than saving the environment or accumulating wealth. The fervency with which school prayer is opposed is not because the ACLU (an anti-Christian legal group) is trying to protect atheists from being indoctrinated by religion. It is opposed because it represents the antithesis to the beliefs of those who set policy for much of our public school system. Prayer is a frontal attack on the notion that mankind is in autonomous control of his own destiny and an insult to those who believe that friends, possessions, or power can bring meaning or joy.
Morality Declines Without Prayer
A primary purpose of public education is to shape good citizens. This involves more than just the memorization of facts. Most Americans are in favor of prayer in public school because they realize that there is something to be gained from the open acknowledgement of God’s existence. Morals can only be built on the basis that a moral source—God—exists. Once acknowledgement of God’s existence is removed, there is no absolute basis for morals, and a free society drifts toward anarchy.
Since prayer was removed from public school classrooms in 1962, we have had a six-fold increase in violent crime, our divorce rate has tripled, births to single mothers have increased five-fold, the teenage suicide rate has tripled, and SAT scores (standardized college entrance test) have dropped 80 points (approximately 10%). The removal of prayer may not be the only cause of social ills, but the negative trends are certainly a symptom of the spiritual decline which is at their root.
What a hypocritical message we send to our children when we allow laws to be passed which limit the free expression of speech in public by banning public prayer in classrooms. Federal and Supreme Court judges should be impeached who undermine the freedom upon which this country was founded. The situation has become so absurd that congressional prayers cannot be voluntarily read in a school building.
Take a Stand
Our nation was founded on the freedom to publicly acknowledge God’s existence. Allowing prayer in schools will improve, not detract from a student’s understanding of the universe. Our experiment with replacing affirmation of God’s existence with atheistic humanism has been a dismal failure. Whenever the opportunity arises to support the public acknowledgement of God by prayer (or any other means), it benefits all of society to take a vocal stand. As Edmund Burke correctly noted in 1795, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” As with all truths, this is still applicable today. source
I wrote recently on “taking a stand” and how the child of God is like an army when defending righteousness, because God stands with him/her! We should never forget this.
The evil of this world is thick and sometimes so intimidating. I’ve read that it is in vain to stand against such evil. NO! It is never in vain to stand up for what is right. How do we know if some people hearing or reading our words might just pick up a Bible and read for themselves!?
“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed” (1 Peter 3:14-16).
Shalom b’Yeshua
MARANATHA!!
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