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Court Says Prayer Is OK
By John W. Kennedy | November 6, 2008
A federal appeals court made a sensible decision last week to allow ministers in Cobb Co, Ga., to continue opening county commission meetings with specifically Christian prayers.
The commission invites local clergy to deliver an invocation before meetings. Unsurprisingly, most of the pastors in suburban Atlanta like to pray in Jesus’ name.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued, claiming prayers that call upon “Almighty God” or “Our Heavenly Father” convey that the county is sponsoring “overtly Christian prayers.”
The problem with that thinking is that no county official is invoking God’s name. In addition, non-Christian clergy also recite prayers at times to open meetings. The prayers are merely reflecting the community.
The appeals court, in a 2-1 vote, wisely ruled that government shouldn’t be in the position of editing prayers offered by professional clergy.
“Whether invocations of ‘Lord of Lords’ or ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac and Mohammed’ are ‘sectarian’ is best left to theologians, not courts of law,” Judge Bill Pryor wrote for the majority.
Topics: prayer |