A christian group said grace at a well known restaurant out loud ,other customers bowed their heads also. After the grace the manager told the group public prayer was illegal and not allowed at that restaurant and if they did it again they would have to leave .
GOD is being taken out of everything !
How much longer is GOD going to take this ?
GOD , help us all . Amen
2007-05-15 01:15:45 · 18 answers · asked by Leo L 1 in Dining Out ➔ Other - Dining Out
I have seen many response with poor taste, and not everyone is religious, and more of the like. We have freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. Two of the great freedoms that this country was founded on. We left england because we did not want to be told who and how to worship. Say a prayer to bless your food falls well into the freedom of religion. And if you dont want to have religion forced on you, dont listen. Ignore them. I am sure they didnt ask the other patrons to join in. The others joined in on their own accord. Seperation of church and state applies to religion and government, not religion and everyday life. Christians have as much freedom of speech as Muslims and aeithist alike, and can express their religion just like the rest of them. If they want to pray before a meal, they have every right to do so. As long as it does not directly interfere with someones eating or such, and please people lighten up a bit, if its a large group, the prayer leader will have to speak up so all of the table can hear him. He is not speaking up so that you can hear him and have his religion forced on you.
2007-05-15 06:23:40 · answer #1 · answered by Christopher 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
First off I am a restaurant owner, so my response may be a little bias, but I bet you'll still love it! I would never, ever, ever, tell anyone they couldn't pray before a meal if they so desired. Granted I do respect the customers enjoyment outside of the group.
The group does have the responsibility to keep their prayers within the group without intruding into surrounding diners enjoyment. I say this not to disrespect prayer, but I expect the same respect when proposing a toast.
As you said in your question, even "other customers bowed their heads also," well, think about a normal restaurant operation with fifty tables all saying prayers when they began their meals; no one would be eating much if they all had to stop at each tables blessings.
But, as far as the real question, "how long is God going to take this?" Don't you worry, he's not just sitting their taking it. He's taking notes I'm sure and unfortunately for many they are not going to like the final exam. It's that "free will" that gets us screwed up every time. In any case if God were to come and tell us how he wanted things and show us what to do I think the world would be a different place, say, Heaven. Well that will come soon enough for us I pray.
God Bless
2007-05-15 02:53:16 · answer #2 · answered by food and beverage underground 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Public prayer may be pretentious, but it certainly isn't illegal. If, let's say, they were singing a bunch of hymns and being loud and obnoxious about it to the point of distrupting other peoples meals, sure, the manager could make them tone it down or leave. You can't use religion as an excuse to interfere with a person's business. But if he had thrown the group out just for reciting a prayer together in a normal conversational-level tone of voice, the restaurant owner could quite possibly have gotten sued for religious discrimination. Race, ethnicity, age, gender, creed, physical handicaps, etc. are all legally protected categories and it is illegal for a private business owner to refuse a customer service because of any of those.
2007-05-15 01:45:47 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
While I am not exactly a religious person, I do believe in the freedom of speech, it is what makes this nation what it is. Most anyone in a restaurant in my neck of the woods( the south) will at the very least tolerate a prayer. I think how one believes affects our life and if this restaurant doesn't allow it then the group should pull together with other religious groups in the area and boycott, you'll be surprised by the power of the people
2007-05-15 03:09:58 · answer #4 · answered by George B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was amazed when I read your question. I would have thought this a free speech issue. I found a detailed account of the incident on Snopes.com. Apparently, the restaurant chain has a policy against vocal prayer, but not silent prayer. It seems to me that the manager could have handled the situation with more finesse. I would take my business elsewhere, but pray silently in restaurants in the future.
2007-05-15 01:43:37 · answer #5 · answered by moon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is nothing illegal about it, we have a right to freedom of speech. It's the first amendment for crying out loud. The only basis he might have had was if the restaurant was on private property and he no longer wanted them there because of it. I am atheist but I respect other people's religions, as long as they're weren't disturbing my meal, I would not have minded.
2007-05-15 01:31:13 · answer #6 · answered by tiffanybriana 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think it's sad that people can't say a prayer before dinner. I don't think it should disrupt the whole restaurant but I think it should be allowed. Our family does it every time we go out to eat and have never had any trouble. Isn't it freedom of speech?
2007-05-15 01:24:50 · answer #7 · answered by Kymr 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hmmmm, Any business has the right to refuse service to anyone. If the group was disrupting the other patrons, He can do that. I don't want to anyone praying when I am out, and I am sure they don't want to hear me swearing. I wouldn't bring my views to church. I don't go.
We may have freedom of speech, but we do have a separation between church and state and religon should not be forced on people who choose not to hear it. There is a time and place for everything.
Next time you pray in public, pray to the farmer who breaks his butt trying to provide for his family as well as the truck driver spending weeks on the road,away from his family, so you get the food nice and fresh, so you can enjoy it.
2007-05-15 02:43:38 · answer #8 · answered by sgt_sin103 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Everybody keeps talking about freedom of speech, well what if I walked into a restaurant and started swearing loudly enough for everyone to hear me, or if I started talking about a bloody amputated leg where everyone could hear me or if I started talking about how there is no god and how all religious freaks should be killed. That is also freedom of speech but not everybody wants to hear it while they are in public or while eating. Silent prayer is a wonderful thing, prayer in church is a wonderful thing. Keep it to yourselves and I will keep the bloody stumps to myself.
2007-05-16 05:45:12 · answer #9 · answered by Jaded 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
As Christians we cant expect the world to see things our way, but we should never change who we are. The restaurant would get do much negative attention if it would kick out a group of Christians. We must never allow others to dictate our relationship with our Lord. Keep Praying.
2007-05-15 03:18:28 · answer #10 · answered by alwayintosomething 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋