America, it’s time to pray

The U.S. Supreme Court which so many have blamed for banishing prayer from the public square, has at least brought it back to city hall.

It has ruled 5-4 that Town Council of Greece, New York, was within its rights to open its meetings with prayers, even if most of them invoked Jesus, as long as other faiths also had a chance to participate.

A majority of the court found that these opening prayers are a routine ceremonial exercise, which no one could mistake for anything approaching a meaningful encounter with the Almighty, and therefore could not possibly constitute an establishment of religion.

The plaintiffs were certainly not happy, “We do not need prayers in government meetings. You shouldn’t be required to bow your head and pray to Jesus.”

But the court did not make its decision lightly. There was a vigorous oral argument over which type of prayer was acceptable, and whether citizens of other faiths felt compelled to participate. Unfortunately, the only thing they didn’t discuss was the most important issue – that being, do these opening prayers do any good?

Did they lead to better schools? Lower taxes? Fewer potholes? More courteous discussion?

Which is why I hope that city councils all over America will take advantage of the opportunity provided by this decision to conduct an experiment – to invite the entire rainbow of American religious ministry to local meetings and keep objective records of what prayers work best on the politicians.

And I propose this experiment because I sense a deep dissatisfaction with government at all levels.

How many times do you go to a local council meeting, and walk away shaking your head and muttering “God Help Us!”

This would be a chance to find out if He really can.