A PS on Church and State

I just came across the following quote from a book called The Psalms--Hymnbook of Humanity by James Daniel, cited in the book Mysteries of the Bible:

"In 1787 the Constitutional Convention meeting at Philadelphia was near failure because the 13 former colonies could not agree on a form of effective national government. When the deadlock appeared too great for human power to break, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin rose to his feet. All his life, he said, he had been convinced that the Psalms were right in saying, 'Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.' He moved that the delegates begin the next day's meeting with a prayer offered by a Philadelphia clergymen. The motion carried. So dramatic was the improvement in legislative temperaments and efficiency that Congress still observes Franklin's precedent."

Anyone with an IQ of 34 or higher can reason that:

1. The Constitutional convention opened with prayer.

2. The convention produced a Constitution that prohibits the establishment of religion.

3. If the convention that produced a constitution that prohibits an establishment of religion opened with corporate prayer, then corporate prayer in public institutions must not be an establishment of religion. Why then have our courts so often ruled otherwise?

As I mentioned in the previous blog, Costa Rica has no such controversy, since Catholicism is the state religion. The federal women's prison in which Martha teaches Celebrate Recovery is called Buen Pastor, which means Good Shepherd. It is a clear reference to Jesus Christ. Interestingly, it was founded and run by an order of nuns as a private institution in days gone by until the government took it over. That ministry is going so well and keeps her so busy that Martha has not had time to write about it on this blog. I hope that when we get to the US on furlough that she'll have the opportunity to share here...