Take this prayer deal. It's absolutely ridiculous. Some atheist
goes to a high school football game, hears a kid say a short
prayer before the game and gets offended.

So he hires a lawyer and goes to court and asks somebody to pay him
a whole bunch of money for all the damage done to him. Damaged
for life by a 30-second prayer? Am I missing something here?

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody
for singing a Ho-Ho-Hosong in December. I don't agree with Darwin,
but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher
taught his theory of evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be
endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer
before a football game. So what's the big deal?

It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire book of
Acts. They're just talkingto a God they believe in and asking
him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans
going home from the game.

"But it's a Christian prayer," some will argue. Yes, and this
is the United States of America, a country founded on Christian
principles. And we are in the Bible Belt. According to our very
own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than
200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem, I would expect to hear
a Jewish prayer. If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad, I would expect
to hear a Muslim prayer. If I went to a ping pong match in China, I
would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha. And I wouldn't be
offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit. When in Rome...

"But what about the atheists?" is another argument. What about them?
Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the
collection plate. Just humor us for 30 seconds.

If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs.
Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer.

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. 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.

Nor do I believe that not praying will result in more serious
injuries on the field or more fatal car crashes after the game.
In fact, I'm not so sure God would even be at all these games if
he didn't have to be. That's just one of the downsides of omnipresence.
If God really liked sports, the Russians would never have won a single
gold medal, New York would never play in a World Series and Deion
Sanders' toe would be healed by now. 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 just 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.

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