stanwyck@ihuxr.UUCP (Don Stanwyck) (03/23/84)
I have stuck my foot in my mouth - make that both feet, and I wish to apologize publicly to Bill. I'm sorry, Bill. I shoudn't have made the assumptions I did. Nevertheless, I feel that you are missing the point of what Jesus was saying. I quote your quote... (Matt. 6:5-6) (My emphasis) "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, THAT THEY MAY BE SEEN OF MEN. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." I feel that the emphasized point here is the real point being made. Don't pray just to be seen of men, for then you receive your reward on the spot. (You are seen.) Instead, pray for your own sake. I think that by balancing the weight of Scripture, including Matt 6:6, 18:20, the prayer for Peter during his imprisonment (joint prayer together, Acts 12:12) we see that the issue is not public prayer as such, but rather the intent thereof. (I don't really think of prayer among a group of Christians as public prayer, but it fits the normal definition, so I will use it.) As I have stated previously on the net, I was/am against the proposed prayer admendment, so it is moot to this discussion. I think it is inappropriate for non-Christians to join in Christian prayer. I personally believe that the only prayer that a non-Christian can pray that God will listen to is a prayer of repentance. Ergo, common prayer in a classroom is unheard prayer, which is motions, not prayer. -- ________ ( ) Don Stanwyck @( o o )@ 312-979-3062 ( || ) Cornet-367-3062 ( \__/ ) ihnp4!ihuxr!stanwyck (______) Bell Labs @ Naperville, IL