Georgia Being The Only State To Have Invocation (prayer before session)

This is becoming problematic because church and state rules. Some feel like the Christians are taking over and the other religions are being left out, like the Jewish individual.

First of all, let's acknowledge that each person has the right to practice and believe what they want. I don't care if they believe the ant coming out of the ground is their King. It may sound a little far-fetched, but that's their right under the Constitution. Every religious person needs to come to grip with that.

Second of all, we need to stop condemning others for what they believe in. If you don't believe in nothing, that's fine. But don't hinder the ones who have religious beliefs. Respect will take you a long ways and knowing that God is the only judge of all man. If a person has a belief that is not right, that is not for you to judge, till you treat them like they are an outcast. We ostracize no one. We ought to be able to share with each other what we believe without a controversy secretly in action.

I believe prayer is need everywhere before we start the day. Because we all need peace, protection, and guidance for the day. Prayer does change the atmosphere. I grew up in a religious environment. Majority of my family are in some kind of religion. A lot of them are pastors, prophetess, prophets, or teachers. Growing up, I got a chance to fellowship with others like Muslims, Jehovah Witnesses, Catholic, Sorcerlies, Hinduism, etc. If I never experienced it and took the time to learn what they believe like how some people criticize what they believe in and don't know nothing about any other religion. Just because you learn something doesn't mean you are a part of their religion. That means you understand them better.

But there was something that my dad would always do. Mind you, he was the pastor of a Holines church. Every Saturday he would unite the Jehovah Witnesses in. They would have Bible study. When they got to be a part of the teaching that they disagreed on, each one would say "My Bible says this" in a calmly manner. Then they would move on to question too, discuss it. Nobody tried to convert. He cut their hair. They came to our church. I went to visit them at Kingdom Hall.

I had a Catholic friend. Every day she had an encouraging word for me. I am Christian. We exchange our encouraging word every day. We were the best of friends. Still are.

Another thing is that it is good to learn about other religions. I went through a faith-based upbringing that taught us religious diversity. I learned so much about other religions. It opened up a whole new level of communication on a religious level. It's important to learn. So many people criticize peoples and other things, all because what somebody else said.

I am part of an organization called Kainos. It's a non-demonitional and not based solely on religion. We have Muslims and other religions involved. When they come to Kainos, they feel the love and acceptance. Nobody tries to convert nobody. Everybody prays together and just has a good time in the fellowship.

My suggestion to the Georgia legislature: don't do away with prayer and message (invocation). Implement the other religions. Let them give the prayer and message one day. Everybody wins. Because each religion has some positive message to it. Whether it's sharing love, needing peace, or protection, it's theirs.

Let me say this about the church and state: for years I've been hearing about this. My question is how many are trying to stop it? By going to the federal courts, trying to address this issues in the courts? How many are you Christian, Democrats and Republicans, doing this? This issue within itself is an easy fix. But by getting all these people involved in a pessimistic situation makes things seem bigger than what they really are. Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-6. Why are we taking a situation to court like this? We should be able to deal with disputes amongst ourselves.

Written by
Jennifer Johnson