Last month's article dealt with the purpose of religion in man's life. Do you ever wonder why man is the only creature to practice religion? Goats don't go to church, birds don't take communion, and dolphins, tuna, lions, or water buffalo don't hold Bible studies.

One may think it asinine to entertain these thoughts for more than a second, but let's examine this in light of a larger issue, school prayer.

In the scriptures there are several accounts of animals, even stones, being subject to the power and will of God, and at times serving as the very object of that power. Yet there is no account of stones of donkeys or fish - animals of any kind - organizing in an effort to recreate a particular religious experience. Humans have religious experiences and immediately make a religion out of it! Then we go around attempting to convince others that our experience is the only legitimate one that represents God!

Why is it that animals can live their lives from day to day without becoming fixated on such an event, yet almost daily humans create a new belief system? It amazes me that some even believe that by including prayer in daily school routines America would be a better place. "Oh, if we could only pray in our schools, then God would heal our land and America would again be the beacon of salvation for the huddled masses." Poppycock!

When America prayed in its schools, blacks were lynched by the hundreds year after year in America. Blacks were tarred & feathered, framed for crimes, raped, cheated, mistreated, and subjected to Jim Crowe, overwhelmingly poverty-stricken, etc…! Need I go on?! Prayer in schools did not a better America make. Take a drive through any black neighborhood and count the number of churches.

I bet you five dollars you can't drive one mile and count less than ten churches. Whole lot of prayin' goin' on, but blacks still suffer being framed for crimes, shot dead in the streets, raped, cheated, mistreated, and overwhelmingly poverty-stricken. Hmmm. Little has changed in spite of all the 'spiritual activity' that is supposed to get us closer to God. I wonder why.

Could it be that we practice superstition rather than true spirituality? Could it be that there is no true spirituality? Could it be that all of our religions are nothing more than mere superstition? Could it be that we are nothing more than animals ourselves, but have fooled ourselves into believing we are more?

The Bible contains many passages of animals and inanimate objects partaking in the great play that is life. Here are a couple: Matthew 3v9: "And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham." Luke 19v37-40:

37) When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38) "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" [2] "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39) Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40) "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." One of my favorites is the story of Balaam and his donkey, go check that out.

Think about this: The stones in the above scriptures were quite possibly the same stones used in stoning people to death. Apparently nothing more than mere props, they find themselves being used by any passerby for whatever purpose, and helpless to change their circumstances. We like to imagine ourselves as stones.

How many times have you heard someone say, "The Lord's will be done," or "Satan sure is busy," or "Let God use you"? These and others like them are statements we make when we are pretending to be stones. Yet unlike stones who don't think, we do. To our knowledge stones have no mind of their own, no brains, and possibly no level of consciousness.

On the other hand, we have all these things and therefore are responsible for what occurs in our lives. We are not mere props in the great play of life and have near complete control over what happens to us, what we do, and who we become.

Prayer in school, in courts, or anywhere else makes little difference. But it's not so much prayer, as it is how it's used. The same thing can be accomplished by praying at home before school or work than can be accomplished at or during school or work. The only thing prayer in school accomplishes is that those who pray can be seen praying by others. Ironically, this goes directly against Jesus' instructions on prayer.

In Matthew 6v5-8, Jesus says, 5) "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6) But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7) And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8) Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."

I would suggest this: First, re-look at the few verses in Matthew 6, including the ones above, then pay particular attention to those that make up "The Lord's Prayer". Study it, make it part of your daily routine, and get an understanding of its simplicity. Second, re-look at your life, compare it to the life of Christ and see how your life is much more complex and wasteful than his.

Don't use this age of modernity as an excuse, instead begin to truly follow the teachings and life pattern of the one you claim to love and adore. And last, be like Nike - Just Do It! Go about doing the things that Jesus did. Be careful though, because most people think being like Jesus means to go around healing people, multiplying fishes and loaves of bread, and making pigs run down hill.

Jesus had more days of normal sitting, working, talking quietly, helping his mother, being a friend, a dependable brother, an obedient son, and a wise leader - possibly thousands of more days like these than he did tumultuous days of arguing with the Pharisees, preventing miscarriages of justice, and debating with Satan.

Here, let me simplify it for you: Go home, have a normal life, love you family, obey the laws, and let others live their lives in peace. The world is tired of warmongering, sexual repressing, phobic fanatics who only want to shape everyone's life according to some short-sighted doctrine. If you fix yourself and leave others alone to do the same, the world will truly be a better place.

Think on that and I'll see you next month

© 2004 By Dan Hardman

Brother Dan Hardman will be keeping the Black community informed on issues concerning the church and righteous living. Visit regularly for new information that could help you overcome and make the best of your everyday experiences.

To subscribe to Hardman's column join the Afromerica email list to receive new information as it is updated. Or E-mail D Hardman at: essaysfromchurch@edincorporated.com

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