A Prayer for Paul Harvey

On a recent Sunday morning our Christian Praise Team musicians and vocalists had just wrapped up a rehearsal when a few of band members began to make idle chatter about how Barack Obama was going to ruin the country. I was a little stunned listening to the conversation. There seemed to be no limit to what they were willing to blame on Obama

"I hear Barack's going to use his influence to try and fix the Bowl Championship Series (BCS)." one lamented. "Typical Democrat. Wants to stick his hands into everything."

What bugged me most about hearing church members criticize Barack Obama before he even takes office is that I have never once heard this same group of people criticize George Bush during his 8 years in office. Not once did anyone pipe up objectively and say, "You know, the evidence for going to war in Iraq seems a little sketchy." Or, "Can you believe the Bush administration condoned the practice of torture in Abu Ghraib prison? That doesn't seem very Christian of them."

Where exactly was the Christian opposition to Bush policies that were far less than Christian the last 8 years? This is one Christian who believes that Bush and his administration created a cursed atmosphere of political dishonesty and secrecy that led to failed policies. Yet there seems to be no interest among Christian conservatives to hold the outgoing President and his administration accountable for a malicious theft of integrity and national credibility.

Instead Christian conservatives seem to be rallying around the idea that Bush and others like him failed because America has never really conceded to the good things Christianity has to offer the nation. The message seems to be: "If America would only do a better job of blurring its religion with its politics, we'd all be better off.

The following email circulated among some Christian friends. I love these people dearly, but the message, especially the heartfelt message introducing the highlighted speech by radio god Paul Harvey, pains me in what it gets wrong about the problems America faces and how it proposes to fix them.

"HOORAY, HOORAY, HOORAY for Paul Harvey. I myself have been grumbling and wondering how a handful of people have been able to take our right to pray in public places away from us. So, agreeing with Paul, I GLADLY will forward this email AGAIN, AGAIN AND AGAIN. Folks, this is the Month that we RE-TAKE AMERICA ********* Get Ready ********* Keep this going around the globe ... Read it and forward every time you receive it. We can't give up on this issue."

Paul Harvey and Prayer

"This is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian principles. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do. I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations. Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep. Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying. God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me. The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority rules! It's time we tell them, You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honor Him. That is your right, and we will honor your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!"

Paul Harvey has apparently evolved into a couple things. First, he's actualized into a grumpy old man out of touch with the fact that America has finally begun to recognize and respect that minority rights are equal to those in the majority under Constitutional law. Second, Paul Harvey is a potentially dangerous misanthrope who makes false claims that Christians are being silenced in their attempt to exert influence on national issues.

It is true that Christians had to fight persecution at many points in history. But the Bible also warns Christians they must guard against becoming hypocritical and self-absorbed in their attempts to protect the faith. The Bible shows Jesus fighting with the Pharisees about their propensity for turning scripture into law. Yet Christians today continue efforts to turn the American nation into a theocracy. What we are seeing in America are direct line descendants of the Pharisees.

So while I believe Christians are capable of great things in this world, there is no guarantee that Christian men and women have a clear grasp of what being American--by law and by rights--really means. So here is a rebuttal to Paul Harvey's rant:

Our country may have been "founded on Christian principles" as Paul Harvey claims, but it is not by law a Christian nation. The rights of the unreligious are protected as clearly as those of the religious.

No one is telling Americans they cannot pray on their own terms or on their own time. The Constitution protects the right of free assembly and right to practice a religion. It also protects people who choose not to practice religion. So by law you have to respect the fact that not every public place is an appropriate or legal spot to conduct religious ceremonies, including public prayers. Forcing prayers into public places where others may not share your beliefs is not only offensive--it is unequivocally an infringement on the rights of people who do not share your beliefs.

Freedom is defined by autonomy. Many people in America still do not enjoy its full benefits precisely because people calling themselves Christian do not want to put up with anyone different than their so-called silent majority. This is an ugly byproduct of a bully faith tradition that Paul Harvey and probably millions of others seem to think is the answer to our nation's problems. Passing laws that limit or eliminate the rights of homosexuals, women and other minorities who simply want to live their lives without interference is not freedom.

There is hope. Many Americans have begun to support the idea of a country that is more tolerant, non-prejudicial, progressive, forward-thinking and free. In other words, America has begun to act and think more like the real Jesus, who was the ultimate do-gooder, bleeding heart and liberal (in the best sense of the word) person who ever lived. This more authentic Jesus is the one who has been essentially ignored and ridiculed by Christians choosing political power over social grace and the welfare of all people.

But the bully faith tradition will not likely be silenced. They want to turn the right to pray wherever they want into a battlefield. So here's a few humble suggestions for the bully faith tradition in case they lose the fight to turn American into a theocracy.

If you want to pray in America, simply go where you can converse with God in peace and consideration. It's hot that hard. Organize your time. Pray before you get on the field. Pray before you get to the office. Pray because you mean it, not because you feel the need to show off your faith to everyone else in public.

And while you're at it, pray for understanding, and pray for Paul Harvey. Too many people think the only way to be a Christian and an American is to accept the bully form of conservatism. There is a better way.