LC's Coach Thompson responds

[Guest catsvoice]

This entire issue is a capsule of the cultural war that we are currently engaged in this nation. On one side we have the secularists, who strive to rid our nation of any connection to God. On the other hand we have the traditionalists, who seek to keep the foundation which this nation was founded upon.

 

I know this is a high school football board, but the fact is that every kid, coach, parent, and fan is affected by these types of issues. It appears we are at a critical stage in this battle as the government moves from protecting our religious freedoms to prohibiting our religious freedoms.

 

How many games do you attend where there is even a prayer anymore? Do we not have one person at each stadium on each Friday night who is willing to make the effort to pray? Are we afraid of the consequences?

 

The reality is that the schools are so dependent on the government for their funding that they are afraid of the backlash. Too much government is invading our lives, and it is only going to get bigger and bigger in the next four years.

 

Sorry for the vent but I sense those on this post are of a like-mind. Let us resolve to make an effort to lead those around us in resisting the complete takeover of our very souls by this mammoth, over-reaching government.

[fredsamuel]

This entire issue is a capsule of the cultural war that we are currently engaged in this nation. On one side we have the secularists, who strive to rid our nation of any connection to God. On the other hand we have the traditionalists, who seek to keep the foundation which this nation was founded upon.

 

I know this is a high school football board, but the fact is that every kid, coach, parent, and fan is affected by these types of issues. It appears we are at a critical stage in this battle as the government moves from protecting our religious freedoms to prohibiting our religious freedoms.

 

How many games do you attend where there is even a prayer anymore? Do we not have one person at each stadium on each Friday night who is willing to make the effort to pray? Are we afraid of the consequences?

 

The reality is that the schools are so dependent on the government for their funding that they are afraid of the backlash. Too much government is invading our lives, and it is only going to get bigger and bigger in the next four years.

 

Sorry for the vent but I sense those on this post are of a like-mind. Let us resolve to make an effort to lead those around us in resisting the complete takeover of our very souls by this mammoth, over-reaching government.

 

 

Every sporting event I've been to in H.S. athletics has started with a prayer and ended with a prayer. I PRAY that it continues.

[KarmaZone]

Wow. I agree that coaches should be able to pray with their teams. They shouldn't lead the prayers, but if kids want to pray then that is their business. Neither should a coach preach to his kids. A sports arena is not a church. If kids want to be preached to, then let them read their bible or talk with the coaches after practice. Why have a chaplain on game days? If kids are that worried about getting hurt, let them pray before they go to the locker room or something. "If a kid doesn't want to pray, then that's fine." It's not fine. You are underestimating the power of religious beliefs inthe South. What happens when one guy on the team just walks away as the rest of the team prays? Why would the rest of the team still consider him a teammate? What would all of you think if, after a football game, you saw the team and the coaches kneeling in the middle of the field to pray, but one kid stood 10 or so feet away? I bet most of you would start whispering to yourselves and wondering what was wrong with that boy. And wat happens if your shild is on a team of mostly Muslims? Would you want him to be made to sit in a locker room and listen to a coach pray in Arabic to a God that you don't believe in?

 

I am atheist now, and I was an atheist is school. I didn't go out of my way to stop people from praying around me. If they prayed, I just stayed quiet. I said nothing derogatory to anyone. But just as soon as people found out what I believed, everything changed. People looked at me differently. They automatically assumed that I worshipped the devil. I mean, here I was, an A and B student. I didn't drink. I didn't smoke. I didn't cheat. I didn't cause any trouble. Yet I was the bad one. And here were all of the popular kids, posing for annual pictures with their church groups. Not all of them, but quite a few of them drank, smoked, slept around, and generally did what they wanted to do. But THEY were the good ones, because they went to church.

And all of that continues to this day. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't cheat on my wife or my taxes. I'm nice to everybody and I go out of my way to help people. But what happens when people find out that I don't believe?

"Do you worship the devil?"

"No."

"Then you believe in God."

"No."

"Then you worship the Devil."

"Ugh..." I almost have to give a Christianity lesson to anyone who finds out my beliefs. I've got to explain about Heaven, heck, Lucifer and all that. But it still doesnt work. They always still look at me funny, assume that I'm a bad person, and many times dismiss me as such.

 

Does this court case go too far? Probably. But is it wrong to make coaches stand a few feet back and bow their heads while the team does the prayer? Not at all. So before you say "It's just prayer, kids can do what they want," just think about it a little. It is not just prayer. Knowingly or not, Christians in the South can ostracize non-Christians for not believing. It's happened to me. It's happend to some of my friends.

 

Sorry for going on for a bit, but I just get so mad when people start blaming society's ills on taking prayer out of schools. Making a kid listen to a prayer eveyr morning does not insure that the child will believe in it. And even then, Christians are not perfect. Jimmy Swaggart, anyone? Ted Haggard? Jim Baker? How many Catholic priests molested children?

[Lost Old Dad]

I wonder if they will try and ban the Fellowship of Christian Atheletes next?

 

Telling Coach Thompson to do something is one thing, getting him to do anything against his better judgement is another.

[FBCOACH]

I wonder if they will try and ban the Fellowship of Christian Atheletes next?

 

Telling Coach Thompson to do something is one thing, getting him to do anything against his better judgement is another.

 

 

Here's the question we have to ask ourselves: Where do we cross the line from denying one groups religious freedom or surpress others religious rights. Just because the majority of US are Christians, does that mean we should have the right to influence others by our actions. Maybe that is not the right way to say it but it is obvious that at least one person who has posted on this thread has been affected by such actions.

 

At the school where I coach, the head coach and most of the staff do pray with the boys before and after games, it has not been a problem. But I have worked at a school where we had a few Jewish and Muslim baseball and basketball players and for that reason we had a silent prayer instead of reciting the Lord's Prayer.

 

I understand Coach Thompson's response and he certainly has the right to express himself in the way he did. Louis is a good Christian man and he is not going to allow anyone to tell him what he can and can't say. But I do understand that we are supposed to teach and coach all the students, even those who have other beliefs or don't believe anything at all.

 

That's just my two cents, heck it might not be worth one cent. /bored.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":bored:" border="0" alt="bored.gif" />

[BurroBall]

Wow. I agree that coaches should be able to pray with their teams. They shouldn't lead the prayers, but if kids want to pray then that is their business. Neither should a coach preach to his kids. A sports arena is not a church. If kids want to be preached to, then let them read their bible or talk with the coaches after practice. Why have a chaplain on game days? If kids are that worried about getting hurt, let them pray before they go to the locker room or something. "If a kid doesn't want to pray, then that's fine." It's not fine. You are underestimating the power of religious beliefs inthe South. What happens when one guy on the team just walks away as the rest of the team prays? Why would the rest of the team still consider him a teammate? What would all of you think if, after a football game, you saw the team and the coaches kneeling in the middle of the field to pray, but one kid stood 10 or so feet away? I bet most of you would start whispering to yourselves and wondering what was wrong with that boy. And wat happens if your shild is on a team of mostly Muslims? Would you want him to be made to sit in a locker room and listen to a coach pray in Arabic to a God that you don't believe in?

 

I am atheist now, and I was an atheist is school. I didn't go out of my way to stop people from praying around me. If they prayed, I just stayed quiet. I said nothing derogatory to anyone. But just as soon as people found out what I believed, everything changed. People looked at me differently. They automatically assumed that I worshipped the devil. I mean, here I was, an A and B student. I didn't drink. I didn't smoke. I didn't cheat. I didn't cause any trouble. Yet I was the bad one. And here were all of the popular kids, posing for annual pictures with their church groups. Not all of them, but quite a few of them drank, smoked, slept around, and generally did what they wanted to do. But THEY were the good ones, because they went to church.

And all of that continues to this day. I don't drink. I don't smoke. I don't cheat on my wife or my taxes. I'm nice to everybody and I go out of my way to help people. But what happens when people find out that I don't believe?

"Do you worship the devil?"

"No."

"Then you believe in God."

"No."

"Then you worship the Devil."

"Ugh..." I almost have to give a Christianity lesson to anyone who finds out my beliefs. I've got to explain about Heaven, heck, Lucifer and all that. But it still doesnt work. They always still look at me funny, assume that I'm a bad person, and many times dismiss me as such.

 

Does this court case go too far? Probably. But is it wrong to make coaches stand a few feet back and bow their heads while the team does the prayer? Not at all. So before you say "It's just prayer, kids can do what they want," just think about it a little. It is not just prayer. Knowingly or not, Christians in the South can ostracize non-Christians for not believing. It's happened to me. It's happend to some of my friends.

 

Sorry for going on for a bit, but I just get so mad when people start blaming society's ills on taking prayer out of schools. Making a kid listen to a prayer eveyr morning does not insure that the child will believe in it. And even then, Christians are not perfect. Jimmy Swaggart, anyone? Ted Haggard? Jim Baker? How many Catholic priests molested children?

 

 

I understand where you are coming from. However, I will say two things:

 

1. Never mistake one who professes to be a "Christian" and whose witness does not follow biblical principles, with God, Jesus, the Bible, etc. You can't judge their salvation (only God is perfect and can judge imperfection), but you CAN judge the quality of their witness and if it is poor, I would encourage you, atheist or not (as I perceive you to know some of the Biblical teachings better than those who you are referring to) to call them on their poor witness. Jesus was the hardest on the pharisees because they professed to know the Truth, but didn't walk in it. It is like counterfeit money. Why not just walk up to the cashier and say "I'm taking this and I'm not paying for it"? That's what a person does by saying I want heaven so give me salvation, but I don't want to follow God's standard. It's the same appeal to selfishness.

 

2. Why is it that the ONLY place one isn't allowed to express a belief in God in America today is in the public arena? Society does not do as they claim: refusing to force any belief system on someone. Rather, society forces the belief system that individualism is what one should believe in and that while "no one is perfect" there is still no reason you can't do it all yourself and still be considered successful. Furthermore, if one is a Christian and THEN actually lives by God's moral standards, society tends to reject them completely. (i.e. Tim Tebow and Bobby Bowden are two public figures that people like to point out the flaws in constantly)

 

It seems to me that the challenge for Christians in society today is: Can you stand up against all the peer pressure and bombardment from the world telling you to disobey God and refute his sovereignty? Meanwhile, Christians aren't allowed to force non-Christians to stand up for their beliefs the same way in the face of scrutiny. One ideology is bombarding a group of people with pressure through every media source imaginable in addition to people they meet in public to violate God's standard. The other is legally prohibited from doing the same kind of bombardment to people to obey God's standard.

 

I am all for freedom to believe in whatever God one wants to or doesn't want to believe in (God is too, he wants one to freely come to him and obey his standard, but he WILL pursue someone over and over and over and make them say "no" to him) just like I am in favor of one reading the Bible for oneself and freedom of speech. However, I want to know why, as a Christian, I am expected to hold strong to my beliefs in the face of individualism and discomfort in a public forum (and I am supposed to claim my freedom of religion) and meanwhile people who aren't Christians are allowed to profess being uncomfortable with someone sharing their belief in God with/around them in a public forum.

 

Honestly, I want to know from Christians and non-Christians alike, which standard is easier to say "no" to in the face of pressure and adversity in THIS country where we still have freedom of speech and religion: Following God's standard or your standard? Which one is now legally protected for those who feel uncomfortable with pressure to follow the other? Now, why do we not acknowledge Satan's domain and how clever he is?

[Lost Old Dad]

Here's the question we have to ask ourselves: Where do we cross the line from denying one groups religious freedom or surpress others religious rights. Just because the majority of US are Christians, does that mean we should have the right to influence others by our actions. Maybe that is not the right way to say it but it is obvious that at least one person who has posted on this thread has been affected by such actions.

 

At the school where I coach, the head coach and most of the staff do pray with the boys before and after games, it has not been a problem. But I have worked at a school where we had a few Jewish and Muslim baseball and basketball players and for that reason we had a silent prayer instead of reciting the Lord's Prayer.

 

I understand Coach Thompson's response and he certainly has the right to express himself in the way he did. Louis is a good Christian man and he is not going to allow anyone to tell him what he can and can't say. But I do understand that we are supposed to teach and coach all the students, even those who have other beliefs or don't believe anything at all.

 

That's just my two cents, heck it might not be worth one cent. /bored.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":bored:" border="0" alt="bored.gif" />

 

 

I do not have a problem with it. I believe EVERYBODY should be allowed to pray to whatever diety they believe in, be they Muslim, Jewish or even Druid. What I have a problem with is what the case is about by not letting the Coach pray with his students. I also do not believe anyone should be forced to pray to a diety they do not believe in. They should be allowed to stand quietly and respect the others doing what they do just like I would if someone was praying to their diety.

 

I do draw the line at the sacrifice of live chickens on the field for those who believe in Voodoo unless they are immediatly taken to the concession stand and fried! /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

[titans1221]

I do draw the line at the sacrifice of live chickens on the field for those who believe in Voodoo unless they are immediatly taken to the concession stand and fried!

 

That is a classic!!!!!

[BurroBall]

I do draw the line at the sacrifice of live chickens on the field for those who believe in Voodoo unless they are immediatly taken to the concession stand and fried!

 

That is a classic!!!!!

 

 

LOL! I agree! Ever see "Major League"? That movie tells one all they should need to know.

[Topgun]

Ya know I went to church the other night. The guest speaker was an Iraqi "Christian" converted from Islam. He was a missionary in his own country and had started a program called RMC. Reaching Muslums for Christ. Anyway he was showing slides and telling stories of how they go (mostly invited) into the Iraqi schools and give out Bibles. They tell the students about the bible, Jesus, what it means and how to be a Christian. He asked one question that really hit home.

 

"We in Iraq are allowed to go into schools and give out bibles to children, answer questions, and openly pray. Tell me, in America can you do such things?" Of course we all said no. Then he said, "To bad. Ya know freedom is a wonderful thing America. Maybe you should try it sometime."

 

How true!!!

[BurroBall]

Ya know I went to church the other night. The guest speaker was an Iraqi "Christian" converted from Islam. He was a missionary in his own country and had started a program called RMC. Reaching Muslums for Christ. Anyway he was showing slides and telling stories of how they go (mostly invited) into the Iraqi schools and give out Bibles. They tell the students about the bible, Jesus, what it means and how to be a Christian. He asked one question that really hit home.

 

"We in Iraq are allowed to go into schools and give out bibles to children, answer questions, and openly pray. Tell me, in America can you do such things?" Of course we all said no. Then he said, "To bad. Ya know freedom is a wonderful thing America. Maybe you should try it sometime."

 

How true!!!

 

 

 

Well, I'll kind of "piggyback" that with this: I recall a story of a Nashville area elementary school (I apologize I can't recall the name) somewhat recently (within the last year at most) that was using a local churches' sanctuary to hold some classes due to extreme overcrowding and some parents were still up in arms about a public school meeting for class in a church building DESPITE the fact that the church took it upon themselves to conceal the cross and all other visible Christian symbols and remove all hymnals, bibles, etc from the sanctuary while the school was using it.

 

It was almost like these parents who still objected were afraid their children would come home from school and ask their parents what a church was and what a Bible was and who Jesus was? The church was merely trying to do the "Christian thing" and be hospitable to a local school who was out of space to hold class.

[Lost Old Dad]

LOL! I agree! Ever see "Major League"? That movie tells one all they should need to know.

 

I take it y'all have never been to a HS game in Louisiana? /roflolk.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflolk:" border="0" alt="roflolk.gif" />

 

Only place I have ever been that had fried frog legs at the concession stand.