Court's 'Great Falls' decision was irresponsible

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums Guest column • Sen. Mike Fair: Court's 'Great Falls' decision was irresponsible (08/17/04) • Sen. Larry A. Martin: Steps have been taken to protect vulnerable investors (08/16/04) • Carlos D. Luria: Intelligence czar isn't solution to intelligence failures (08/15/04) • Tunky Riley: Parents should get involved on First Day and every day (08/14/04) • Max Heller: Don't take Statue of Liberty's blessing for granted (08/13/04) More details State Sen. Mike Fair of Greenville has represented Dis trict 6 since November 1995. He previously served in the state House of Representatives and on Greenville County Council. He can be reached at CP@scsenate.org.

Secular humanist Herb Silverman said, "This goes along with a long tradition of government officials wasting taxpayers money for their own religious causes ... Even though the majority of people are Christian, we are not a Christian country."

In contrast, consider this commentary from the Nelson Study Bible (NKJV):

"What would it be like if Christ had not come and Christianity had not spread throughout the world? It most likely would be much different.

"Although Greece gave Western civilization much art, philosophy and literature, and Rome provided law and government, it was the Christian world view that provided the basis for modern science, efforts to alleviate poverty, universal education and the ideals of equality and liberty enshrined in the documents of many governments.

"The God of order and beauty provided for the view that nature was predictable and orderly. The Christian belief that all humanity is a creation of God gave the foundation for the self-evident truth of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Since people are made in the image of God they are valuable apart from their station in life, amount of wealth or utility to society.

"People are helped, educated and protected simply because they are made in God's image. Loss of these Christian ideals would undoubtedly be a tragic loss to the well-being of humanity."

These truths are the bedrock in the foundation upon which America is built.

Consider the Great Falls Town Council case.

The Town Council in Great Falls traditionally opens its meetings with prayer (a universally accepted tradition in America). One, perhaps all, of their members prayed in Jesus' name. A Wiccan activist sued, and the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said that the Great Falls Town Council, and by default all public bodies, must not pray in Jesus' name.

The court's decision will only allow a generic prayer which is an agnostic idea.

Concepts like majority rule and free speech have gotten lost in the rush to condemn "narrow-minded Christians."

The three branches of government are directed by the Constitution to protect religious freedom and speech and are also instructed to not allow the government to promote a particular religion.

In fact, the Great Falls Town Council, to my knowledge, did not and does not have a policy of praying a certain way. Yet, Christ Jesus himself instructed his followers to pray in His name. (John 14:13)

This case has placed Christians who serve in public office in a conundrum. Christians are being told by government to choose to "obey Caesar or to obey God." Confusion abounds even though the things that belong to Caesar are clearly enumerated in the Constitution.

It is the court that has set the prayer policy, not the Town Council of Great Falls, and in so doing the court has amended the law to accommodate dissension. The court has acted irresponsibly and has in fact usurped the law.

In the midst of this controversy, it is important to remember that courts can change decisions just like a legislative body can amend statutory law.

It is imperative that we recognize the fact that our foundations are being destroyed, and "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous (decent) do? (Psalm 11:3)"