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Our unity should be rooted in prayer
By Laura Castillo
Contributor
Published November 6, 2009
In October, I read how a woman was trying to stop prayer at a city council meeting in Houston. She wasn’t upset about the prayer itself; she claimed the Constitution was being violated because separation of church and state was not being exercised.
It bothers me that there is so much ridicule of people who believe in God or Jesus Christ that they can’t even pray in governmental settings, no matter how big or small. Why? Because some claim it infringes on their rights and freedoms.
Yet, it was accepted at the presidential inauguration. Why weren’t church and state separate then?
That tells me that society will allow prayer, no matter what form, out of convenience, but people can’t pray publicly at athletic events or in courtrooms, city council meetings, etc. That infringes on my rights and freedoms as a believer in Jesus Christ, or should I say God?
Where do we draw the line? Is the government or church at fault? Is it the fault of whatever religion we believe in or practice?
It’s a human fault for this madness of changing constitutional laws to satisfy certain groups. How fair is it to take away freedoms of one group to satisfy another?
It saddens me that there are people who create their own adversity and stress in hopes of bringing down other people’s beliefs or traditions.
We are all responsible for how our society functions. Why put your trust in government to decide what you can or can’t believe or practice?
Our Founding Fathers believed they could put their trust in God. That alone should tell us they were not thinking of keeping church and state separate. They were government! They were wise enough to see they needed something of unity to function.
The problem today is that too many people put their trust in government, politics or man-made ideas that they become unhappy due to human-created chaos.
You have a choice to put your trust in things that are stable or unstable. You have a choice to decide if you are going to be a person of service to help our society or cause adversity.
You have a choice to decide if you are going to be biased toward one particular group or respect a variety of groups. You have a choice to destroy all the principles on which our nation was founded or to support a legacy for which America is known and hated — our freedoms.
If America is not careful, our freedoms will become less and less, and our governments will become more unstable and backward.
I challenge you to pray for your country, your leaders, your state, your city and your life and see if it makes a difference. You have the tools necessary to make a difference in society or be disgruntled by it.
So who’s at fault? You have a choice — don’t blame others. Let’s spur one another along in truth and love for the sake of peace.
Laura Castillo is a resident of Galveston.
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