Ok, then you're in agreement with both JB and me. We've already said people can pray wherever they want. However, that's not quite what this thread was bout.

plenty of things are rude, ,doesnt stop others from having the right to do them

rude is subjective, I think plenty of things are rude too, amongst them homosexual behavior
public vulgarity
conversations on cell phones

but none of that has any bearing on whether those people have the RIGHT to engage in those things around me,,,

If I could speak ANYTHING Else , I should be allowed to speak a prayer,, period,,,

That's fine if you are not making it into a public display or a public prayer.

But if you feel that you have to pray out loud for God to hear you then you have a strange idea of what God is capable of.

There is certainly no laws against praying are there? So I don't know why you are even worried about that.

Just don't do it as a performance for a group.

ok , well, I think everyones opinions have been made fairly clear

moving on to another topic,,,

In the SCOTUS case of Everson v. Board of Education, the Court ruled that the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment applied to the states. In his opinion, Justice Hugo Black stated, "The 'establishment of religion' clause of the First Amendment means at least this: Neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions or prefer one religion over another."

No there are no laws against being rude.

But there is and should be laws against PUBLIC PRAYER AT GOVERNMENT MEETINGS. Whether they call it "official" or not.

You have 24 hours a day to pray. You can pray anywhere you want to pray. You can pray silently or quietly in any public place.

So why would you want to make a spectacle of yourself by standing up in front of a public group and loudly praying to your God Allah in front a mixed group?

Is it just to make a point in public? What?

Help me to understand this obsession with people who want to conduct public prayer to their Gods.

How about just sticking to the thread topic..... should a public Christian prayer in the name of Jesus be allowed to take place at government meetings and it is worth the trouble of trying to declare an "official religion" for the State of North Carolina?

No and no.

So please, someone, help me to understand this obsession with people who want to conduct public prayer to their Gods.

Folks, we might as well let this thread die.

We can't force anyone to acknowledge rulings already made by the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts.

By the way, this thread and debate are the result of acts of modern-day Pharisee-ism, because the Bible doesn't require that prayers to God be included in civil government functions.

Some people have been influenced by the the teachings of modern-day Pharisees.

Things are what they are. I have no delusions of changing what is.

I would just like to understand why the obsession with people who want to conduct a public prayer to their God(s) when they know full well that not everyone in the public wants to be subjected to that ritual, testimony, sermon or conversation or what ever it is supposed to be.

I'm sure everyone has their reasons, but the world has not yet gotten to the point of worshiping the same God, or under the rule of the new one world government yet.

I know there are forces trying to accomplish this, but it has not happened yet. So in the mean time, worship and pray to your Gods in private and you won't offend or annoy others.

There is nothing wrong with group prayer taking place on public property. The problem begins when someone insists that sectarian group prayer be included in an official government function. The latter is the trouble in North Carolina, not the former.

True about the official government function. But any kind of group prayer if it is a public rather than private group is inappropriate.

By public group, I mean just a group of anyone off the street and by private group, I mean a church group who all know each other and want to pray in public.

For example:

If members of the local Baptist church or combined church group decided to get together on the courthouse lawn for what ever reason and conducted a group prayer, I see no problem with that.

But if the citizens of town put together a community festival and someone got up on a pedestal and conducted a group prayer, that I would object to.

Many events are often held on our courthouse lawn.

In this town, there is also a nativity scene lighted up on the courthouse lawn that no one has objected to. I have often thought of asking if I could put up my own display to the Goddess Bast, protector of women and cats.

I wonder what they would say to that.

It wouldn't bother me even if you were a Wicca, you are entitled to your beliefs. If you want to publicly display them, go for it.

That's nice of you, but not really the point.

I met a girl here who was very vocal about her wicca beliefs and in this town, that did not get her very far. She was a bit pushy about them and she was surrounded by Devout Christians. She did not do well here and did not last long at her job.

If I were to press the issue about the court house lawn here I would really cause a stir. A lot of people freaked out when I advertised to do tarot readings. I had no idea what a Bible belt I lived in.

According to the Goddess Bast, the penalty for killing a cat is death.



So don't screw with my cats.

After reading most of the entries, I'm wondering if any one on this forum has ever set foot inside the Supreme Court, let alone into any of the offices/chambers; I doubt it. This brings us to a great irony that can be taken one of 2 ways. The main chamber where the cases are argued are filled with huge murals all around of very religious scenes from the Old Testament, which to me, smacks of a very pernicious type of Christianity that only follows the Old and basically Jewish Bible which with the coming of Christ and the New Testament basically rendered the Old Testament academic; finished; over and done with, let's move on to something new...Not inside those chambers where no one is allowed to photograph those murals, perhaps as that may cause people to ask questions...given the fact that is where all the so called 'Godless' bias were shown by striking down so many laws and customs regarding God, prayers etc. were rendered by those who have perpetuated this 'anti-religious/ anti-God' judicial atmosphere. So far as I can determine there are plans to remove those murals/ paintings; one would expect some modicum of consistency, but no which makes or should make people wonder about it...If religion , especially any one religious outlook is outlawed in all public and governmental buildings, offices and functions, why does the Supreme Court maintain religious paintings all over it's building and chambers that is basically Christian, if not Jewish with their hang-ups about that Old Testament...I find it all very strange and totally inconsistent... with their rulings ordering the removal of such and more from Federal and State government buildings and even from the front lawns of courthouses in many states...

Perhaps because they believe its art?

I'd have to see the actual paintings to decide.

I've been in the Supreme Court. I wouldn't think that art is going to influence them religiously.