America: To Pray or Not to Pray

Rating:
Summary: A BOOK WRITTEN WITH FALSE CLAIM INSTEAD OF FACTS
Review: The most incredible thing about this book, and other books written by David Barton is the history of Lying and distortion of facts, while claiming a moral arguement.

Barton book is claiming the loss of religious principles since the 1962 Supreme Court decision declaring force prayer in schools unconsitutional.

Barton main arguement is the founding fathers never meant for a seperation of chuch and state. Barton makes this point by using quotes from famous historial figures supporting Christian views and the need for god.

But in Barton own newsletter, Wall Builders, he was forced to admit twelve of the passages he quoted were either false or questionable.

Barton did not do this for Moral reason; it was done because of the growing number of historians saying those quotes and other claims were false.

Even more ridiculous is Barton use of "Junk science research" to claim that the majority of the many social problems we have in our society today happened because of the decision to take out prayer in 1962.

Barton, and gulible supporters of this book, ignore the real reason for these social problems just to make the false claim that lack of school prayer is responsible for these events.

Barton book claims a number of false religious Myths; here is five of his false claims:

1. THE MYTH THAT THE COURTS STRUCK DOWN RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLES:

FACT: What the Supreme Court struck down was forced prayer in schools and other public institutions.

The decision they made kept within the framework of the seperation of church and state.

No churches have been shut down, people still worshiped at the church of their choice, bible study is still taught and different denomination continue to expand and grow.

None of this would be going on if the Supreme Court struck down the practice of religion, or religious principles, which was never true.

It was the continuing, and forced Christian Reconstrction views that are rejected.

THE MYTH THAT KEEPING PRAYER WOULD HAVE STOPPED MOST OF THE SOCIAL PROBLEMS WE HAVE TODAY:

FACT:Barton and the Religious and Conservative Right make the same claim that this would have been a better society if school prayer had remained in school.

This arguement ignores the history of this country before the decision to take out prayer in schools.

This country practiced slavery, committed genocide on the Indian nation, racism, lynchings of blacks, criminal behavior and corrupt politicians.

All of these events happened long before the decision to take out school prayer.

THE MYTH THAT RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS HAD NEVER BEEN CHALLENGED BEFORE 1962:

FACT: This claim is made in the opening pages of barton's book, but it is false.

Before the 1962 Engle case the Supreme courts in three different states struck down mandatory religious practices.

The Wisconsin Supreme court ruled against it in 1892, The Nebraska Supreme court did so in 1902, and the Illinois Supreme Court removed mandatory worship from public school in 1910.

THE MYTH THAT THIS BOOK IS ABOUT RELIGIOUS CONCERNS:

FACT: This book is not about Barton concerns over religious principle, but the continuing agenda of the religious and conservative right who want religion praciced their way.

Barton books are tailored for the Christian Right, and he also is a celebrated speaker and lecturer at their events.

Another, on-going, problem with both the Conservative-Christian right is turning a blind eye to those in their ranks who support racist organizations.

Barton was twice a guess speaker at Pete Peters Christian Idenity Church.

Peter's openly expressed his anti-gay, anti-black and anti-semitic views for years as part of his church doctrine. He also has connections to other hate groups, including the one who gunned down talk show host Alan Berg in 1984.

Barton claimed he did not know about Peter's racist views, but since Peter's has been very vocal in public about them it is difficult to believe that barton did not know about them when he chose to speak at Christian Idenity Gatherings.

The main fact is David Barton is not a legitimate historian, or a professional researcher. His goal is to present a one-sided arguement against the seperation of church and state.

He ignores the basic religious principles of honestly and truth, he claims to believe in while writing this book and other religious based material he has, falsely, presented over the years.

Robert Butler

Rating:
Summary: Barton the liar
Review: This book shows in clear chart form what has happened to our society since prayer was taken out of public schools in 1962. 40 charts clearly show the degredation of morals, the increase in violence, the increase in disease, and the drop in performance on standardized tests since 1962. What is interesting is that almost all these indicators of civilized life were pretty much constant until 1962. If you are interested in helping to bring this country back to sanity, be sure to get this book to share with your friends and neighbors.

Rating:
Summary: To Pray or Not to Pray
Review: This is an excellent account of historical fact. The repercusions of our actions, or inaction, leaves a distaste in the pit of our stomach. The social reality of where our country was before the 9/11 attacks has been laid out in a way that only those who refuse to see reality can argue against Barton's research. The writer from Ohio who was embarrased to reveal his name is one such person. I hope that you will disregard his adolescent ranting and name-calling because this book is excellent!

Rating:
Summary: To Pray or Not to Pray
Review: This is an excellent account of historical fact. The repercusions of our actions, or inaction, leaves a distaste in the pit of our stomach. The social reality of where our country was before the 9/11 attacks has been laid out in a way that only those who refuse to see reality can argue against Barton's research. The writer from Ohio who was embarrased to reveal his name is one such person. I hope that you will disregard his adolescent ranting and name-calling because this book is excellent!

Rating:
Summary: It's a keeper
Review: Whether a result of divine intervention or merely coincidence, the statistics from before and after the 1962 court decision speak for themselves. This book opened my eyes to data from before my birth that helped put things in perspective. I liked it. It was easy to read and understand. It's one I'll keep in my library and I'm sure you'll want to as well. Read the book and make your own decision. Too many people use these reviews as thier own personal soapboxes.