|
Communication FUNdamentals
Nov. 23, 2008
Defending the Faith SONday: Atheist Group Challenges National Day of Prayer
The Falwell Confidential has this article about an Atheist group called The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) who has filed a lawsuit against the National Day of Prayer.
Here are a few excerpts:
"A decade ago, the U.S. Congress officially designated the first Thursday in May as the National Day of Prayer. As part of that day, many communities across our nation gather in public locales with the purpose of joining their hearts in prayer. It is a tradition that is virtually as old as our nation."
"In its lawsuit, filed in federal district court, FFRF argues that the Presidential proclamation violates the murky “separation of church and state.” The organization states that the day of prayer implies to nonreligious Americans that “they are expected to believe in God,” and sends a message that “religion is preferred over non-religion.”
In its lawsuit, filed in federal district court, FFRF argues that the Presidential proclamation violates the murky “separation of church and state.” The organization states that the day of prayer implies to nonreligious Americans that “they are expected to believe in God,” and sends a message that “religion is preferred over non-religion.” Read more
Why is this so important? I mean, this IS America after all and we do have the right to pray even if the federal government doesn't recognize a particular day of prayer for the nation as a whole. The issue at hand isn't one particular day, but the systematic stripping of God and the rights of religious expression (especially Christian expression) from our country.
We have already had prayer removed from public schools and the Ten Commandments removed from many public buildings. It is currently illegal in the state of California (and others) to pray in Jesus' name at a public event. It is also considered a "Hate Crime" there to speak out against the homosexual lifestyle even in church reading from the Bible. Fortunately nobody has, as yet, been prosecuted for it.
It is only a matter of time before many other expressions of faith are challenged and perhaps outlawed. If this is true, you say, why don't I hear about it on the mainstream media? The mainstream media in this country has had their own agenda for years. They don't report on the MANY times the rights of Christians are challenged or curtailed. I subscribe to many online sources that have kept me informed about issues like the one above. If you are wondering how many I receive in a month's time, I'll share with you this development as an illustration.
When I first started publishing my Defending the Faith Review newsletter, it was a monthly review. There were so many articles to include that it took me several hours just to put the newsletter together. Though I only include a short excerpt from the article with the link to the full story (and I didn't publish ALL of the articles I received each month), the newsletter was so long with so many links that my program had a hard time verifying all the outgoing links. It kept messing up the text. As time went on, the newsletter was so long that my subscribers found it difficult read each month. We wrestled with the idea of making it a weekly publication until it became such a laborious task that we had no choice.
I only report a few stories a week here on my blog. If you want to be informed of the faith-based discrimination and upcoming laws that will affect your children as they go out into the world, you can subscribe to the Defending the Faith Review here. It comes out each Defending the Faith SONday.
The more we know about the direction the country is going, the laws that are being considered and the bias that exists against Christian expression of faith, the better we can prepare our children for their futures and the more opportunity we have to affect change. We can make a difference in this country if we only stand up and speak out in grace. If you are uncomfortable doing that, you are not alone.
Many Christians tell me they don't feel comfortable or are not sure how to speak out or they don't know how to be effective. This is exactly why I teach communication skills. This is why I wrote Say What You Mean: Defending the Faith. This is why I host the Say What You Mean Convention each February. This is why I feel the Lord speaks about communication skills so many times in His Word. If you would like your family to be more prepared, comfortable and effective in speaking up for the things of the Lord in this country, you will find help here.
From JoJo's Purple Crayon
|
| Post A Comment! Send to a Friend!
|
Comments
|
|
|
|
Nov. 23, 2008 - Jefferson's Words Being Mis-Used
http://churchvstate.blogspot.com/2008/11/thomas-jefferson-meaning-of-bill-of.html
The metaphor was first used in a legal decision in 1947, and since then has become all-too common in public debates. Yet the actual words of the First Amendment's religion clauses usually not used: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Also, we almost never hear anything about the Free Exercise clause.