NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

George Washington and our other founding fathers could scarcely have imagined that their idea for a National Day of Prayer would one day be declared against the very Constitution that many of them wrote. The Continental Congress called for "a day of public humiliation, fasting, and prayer" be observed in 1775.

Over 200 years later, on April 15, 2010, Judge Crabb ruled that the statute establishing the National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional as it is "an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function". However, she stayed her ruling pending the completion of appeals.

She explains her position in her ruling, wherein she stated the following:

“In my view of the case law, government involvement in prayer may be consistent with the establishment clause when the government's conduct serves a significant secular purpose and is not a "call for religious action on the part of citizens." McCreary County, Kentucky v. American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, 545 U.S. 844, 877 (2005). Unfortunately, (section) 119 cannot meet that test. It goes beyond mere "acknowledgment" of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context. In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience. "When the government associates one set of religious beliefs with the state and identifies nonadherents as outsiders, it encroaches upon the individual's decision about whether and how to worship." McCreary County, 545 U.S. at 883 (O'Connor, J., concurring). Accordingly, I conclude that (section) 119 violates the establishment clause.”

“It bears emphasizing that a conclusion that the establishment clause prohibits the government from endorsing a religious exercise is not a judgment on the value of prayer or the millions of Americans who believe in its power. No one can doubt the important role that prayer plays in the spiritual life of a believer. In the best of times, people may pray as a way of expressing joy and thanks; during times of grief, many find that prayer provides comfort. Others may pray to give praise, seek forgiveness, ask for guidance or find the truth. "And perhaps it is not too much to say that since the beginning of th[e] history [of humans] many people have devoutly believed that 'More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.'" Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, 433 (1962). However, recognizing the importance of prayer to many people does not mean that the government may enact a statute in support of it, any more than the government may encourage citizens to fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge or practice rune magic. In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual's decision whether and when to pray.”

Ultimately, there is massive misunderstanding between freedom OF religion and freedom FROM religion. America continues to turn her back on God.

See more articles on PeelLawFirm.com and DavidBPeel.blogspot.com. Mr. Peel maybe available to speak to your church or club.

We All Have Our Pet Peeves

A Pet Peeve is something that always seems to aggravate you or "get your goat" so to speak. We all have them.

A former employee used to get very irritated when shoppers did not push their carts back to a holding pin in the store parking lot. Another person I know cannot stand a pen being repeatedly clicked in and out, as some folks do habitually, anywhere near him.

I suspect your pet peeves are coming to mind. I will share with you some of mine as well. I answer a lot of questions in my law practice, Bible teaching and even personally. So here are some in that regard:

I get aggravated when someone asks me a question and then does not even listen to the answer. It does not happen much, but I really struggle with that. I mean, why ask the question if you are not going to at least hear the answer? You don't have to agree, but don't ask another question ten seconds into an answer is being given. Or even worse, turn and talk to someone else while I was giving you an answer. After that happens once, I run out of the will give any more answers pretty quickly.

In that vein, I also do not appreciate when people wrongly summarize an answer or oversimplify an answer I gave. For example, if a person asks me about a potential case and I explain that I will have to "review their medical records to determine something." And they say something like, "So, you are saying we just don't have a case." It aggravates me a bit on two levels First, they could not have been listening. Second, I make a living with my words. I certainly could have looked at the them and said, "You don't have a case" if that is what I wanted to convey.

Or, one from this week, when some insurance adjuster with a bad attitude says he calls to "discuss" a case, but then only lowballs some offer in a "take it or leave it tone." That, I am afraid, it not a "discussion" of the merits and strengths of the case, and I think it is rude. Besides, it just hurts his insured client in the long run, because I sue his client.

And, what about the pet peeves about other folks' driving? I think at lot of us have those.

Folks doing 45 mph in the fast lane. Stopping at Yield signs with no traffic. Total inability to merge. Funny, that there are so many bad drivers out there, but I have yet to meet one that admits it.

What about pet peeves at stores?

Who enjoys being in a line for ten minutes, behind someone with enough groceries to feed the Memphis Grizzlies, who only begins to look for a checkbook in her oversize purse after everything is fully checked out? Seriously, was she just surprised she was asked to pay again? They want me to pay every single time. She pulls her "purse" up and puts it on the counter with a thud. She then empties it all out, pulling out her kleenexes, make up, photos, an extension ladder and a hair dryer, but cannot find that darn wallet. Then, when we all are so happy that she has located her wallet. She wants to write a check. She needs to borrow a pen. Then she has to write out the whole check. Slowly. The clerk with electroncially fill it in. But no, she writes it out. Then she stands there computing her check register and balancing her check book. Are you kidding me?

My Great Grandaddy used to say, "There ain't nothing wrong with this ole world, its just the people in it."

We all learn to live with these irritations of daily life. No doubt, I have done my share of aggravation to others as well.

For what it is worth, it hard to stay mad at someone that you are praying for. And, we really do not know what they have been through, or are facing. My Dad used to tell me that it is calming to just "assume that everyone is doing the best they can--maybe the best they have ever done--that very day."

That is good advice. So, God bless bless the bad listeners, slow folks in the fast lane and those who check out at glacial speeds, maybe you are just slowing me down a bit to appreciate this life a tad more. Who could stay mad at that?