The Lafayette, Louisiana, School Board passed this resolution, five to four, on November 7, 2001:
WHEREAS, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and to humbly implore His protection and favor (George Washington); and,
WHEREAS, we need God to be our friend and ally and to keep God's concurring aid because God governs in the affairs of men and we have been assured in the sacred writings, that 'except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain who build it'(Benjamin Franklin); and,
WHEREAS, the whole future of American civilization has been staked not upon the power of government but upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God (James Madison-Father of the U.S. Constitution); and,
WHEREAS, our constitution was made only for a moral and a religious people and is wholly inadequate to the government of any other (John Adams); and,
WHEREAS, by an inevitable chain of causes and effects, God punishes national sins with national calamities (George Mason--Father of the Bill of Rights); and,
WHEREAS, we tremble for our country when we reflect that God is just and that His justice cannot sleep forever (Thomas Jefferson); and,
WHEREAS, we have forgotten God and have become too proud to pray, it behooves us to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness (Abraham Lincoln); and,
WHEREAS, the federal government has no authority whatsoever respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof (U. S. Constitution, Amendment 1); and,
WHEREAS, every religious society has the right to determine for itself the times for its exercises, and the objects proper to them, according to their particular tenets; and this right can never be safer than in their own hands, where the Constitution has placed it (Thomas Jefferson); and,
WHEREAS, no power to prescribe any religious exercise, or to assume authority in religious discipline, has been delegated to the general government, it must then rest with the States, as far as it can be in any human authority (Thomas Jefferson); and,
WHEREAS, one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough place will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; this is our hope; this is the faith (Martin Luther King, Jr.); and,
WHEREAS, after the terrible tragedies of September 11, 2001, our nation needs the power of prayer perhaps as never before; now,
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Lafayette Parish School Board calls upon all our federal officials to reconsider the restrictions placed upon the public expression of religious faith in the form of spoken prayer and allow all faiths to express their beliefs in the form of public, spoken prayer.
A RESPONSE TO THE LAFAYETTE BOARD OF EDUCATION RESOLUTION:
First whereas: The Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America, not some quotation from the honorable deist George Washington. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Second whereas: America's supreme law is not the Bible or some quote from deist Benjamin Franklin. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Third whereas: The alleged "Ten Commandments" quote from James Madison is bogus, is not Madison's, and is not in the Writings or Papers of deist James Madison. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Fourth whereas: Of course, John Adams understood that anarchists are not compatible with the rule of law; he was a unitarian. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Fifth whereas: George Mason was a Christian who could believe whatever he wanted, but the Constitution says that under the United States "no religious test shall ever be required" (Art. 6., Sec. 3.), which obviously includes belief about God. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Sixth whereas: Thomas Jefferson's "justice" quote referred to slavery, not to religion; he too was a deist and unitarian. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Seventh whereas: Abraham Lincoln, also, was properly addressing the evil of slavery, and he too was a deist. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Eighth whereas: The First Amendment's religion clauses do not authorize anarchy, and government certainly does have authority over actions under any name. Religion is not above the law. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Ninth whereas: Thomas Jefferson's comments relating to the times, ceremonies, and beliefs of religious societies in no way endorses anarchy. To the contrary, in his January 1, 1802, letter to the Danbury Baptists, the President specifically wrote that "the legitimate powers of government reach actions ... not opinions." The revisionists never admit that do they.
Tenth whereas: Thomas Jefferson's comment denying the general government authority over religion rituals was compatible with the Constitution before Fourteenth Amendment restrictions on the states, but not after. Since then, states have no such authority either. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Eleventh whereas: The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., could believe whatever he chose, but his words are not a part of the Constitution. The revisionists never admit that do they.
Twelfth whereas: It is preposterous to suggest that insufficient prayer before September 11, 2001, was responsible for the evil committed on that day by God-fearing religious zealots. The revisionists will never admit that will they.
Therefore, be it resolved, the constitutional, historical, and theological revisionists on the Lafayette, Louisiana, School Board are promoting ridiculous, laughable, even erroneous propositions (Matthew 6:5-6); but, God bless them anyway.