Is It Wrong to Be Faithful/Religious in Public?

[darkendless]

This Tebow talk has got me thinking. Do people think it is wrong for people to be religious/faithful in public. I am a Christians whether I am asleep in bed or walking down the street or grocery shopping. I wear a cross around my neck but that is my only public acknowledgment of my faith- I am a very shy person and I don't talk in public.
But if stating your own faith is wrong, then why isn't it wrong to like a rock group/sports team/celebrity/etc in public? My daughter loves Justin Bieber and doesn't hesitate to say so, even in public. My husband is a Steelers fan, and he wants to put a Steelers stickers on his car.
I am not talking about praying very loudly on a street corner, or in a bar, etc where is can be out of place or distracting. But if someone kneels down and prays silently or very softly, even in public, and that person is not in anyone's way or is not infringing on anyone's rights, why is it wrong? If I suddenly decided I needed to pray in a public library, out of the way in a corner or something, then why would that be a problem? If a man prays when he does well at a football game, why would that bother anyone?
I am not ashamed to be a Christian. If I were a Muslim or a Hindu, I wouldn't be ashamed of that either.

What are some of your thoughts on this?

I think its quite unecessary. Why be outwardly religious when you don't have to be?

It would only cause problems.

 

[Gaura Priya]

In Canada, unless it is reflected in dress, most people don't really express their religious affiliation in public. Sometimes it can be obvious (women wearing hijab to express Islam; Sikhs wear an iron bracelet and sometimes wear a turban; the very occasional Hindu will have a forehead marking from the ashes of a fire sacrifice, etc.), but its almost unheard of to see people doing public prayer.

 

[Photonic]

Oh, and yes, Jesus did talk about avoiding long, out-loud flowery prayer, for people just "showing off". It should be a private speech. As for Tebow, he doesn't seem to pray out loud, all though he does kneel down in public, but he prays silently. Not perfect, by any means, but who is perfect?

His actions speak louder than words.

 

[not nom]

His actions speak louder than words.

exactly. he's showing off his thigh and butt muscles basically

 

[Shadow Wolf]

My problem with it is is when people flaunt it. And then people view that person as being good because of their religion. Tebow would probably still do many of things he does even if he wasn't religious. There are plenty of athletes that do, such as Payton Manning. He is Christian, but it's not so pronounced that people see that as the reason he donates so much money to child's care to have a children's hospital named after him.
And with Christians, there is the fact that Jesus preached against public displays of faith to get people's attention. As for Tebow specifically, there is the fact Jesus told his disciples to judge not, and his grandiose displays of public faith.

 

[Astravalon]

Hmm... let's see what the Jee-man thinks.

Matthew 6:5-6

5 “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

Interesting...

I was thinking of the same verse... amen!


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[lunamoth]

What about hospitals and aid organizations? Is it wrong for a hospital to be named "Adventist," for example? How about Church World Service, or Catholic Charities?

 

[tytlyf]

The bible says that those who pray in public and seen by others are hypocrites.
Prayer must be done in private and alone.

Matthew 6:5-6

 

[Kerr]

Keep in mind that I am tired and going to bed soon, so if these responses are odd, stupid and generally just crap then that is why !

Arrgh. I wasn't referring to actual time. "Worth his time" was just referring to the idea that God would consider the request important enough to act on.

And my whole point is that while God could help both, he doesn't help those starving people. Whatever God's scoring system that he uses to decide whether to answer someone's prayer or not, the people who starve to death don't score highly enough to warrant God's help.

Given this, the idea that God might help someone with their test implies that might help... IOW, that their request will outweigh that prayer from a person who starved to death that went unanswered by God.

I dont think anyone is asking God to not answer the prayers from someone who starves. And I dont think the people who believe in God thinks he let people starve because they didnt "score high enough". For a being without limitations it would never be a contest... unless he is a jerk of course . But that would be another issue, lol.

Cannot comment on what prayers should and should not go answered (well, i can say which ones I think should and should not go answered, but not which ones God would), mainly because praying doesnt make much sense to me because I am an atheist.

Any intercessory prayer, yes. Not necessarily prayers of worship, thanksgiving or communion.

Good point. Still do not agree with it, though. Mainly because of what I view as selfish and unselfish.

It might not be their intention, but it's the implication.

And my point about the hubris wasn't even about this divide between answered and unanswered prayers; even if every prayer was answered, it would still be presumptive to ask God to change his perfect plan just for you.

The intention matters a lot as well.

But I disagree about the implication. God could maybe just decide to answer the prayers that would not require him to change his master plan. Or he doesnt care about prayers and does his thing, and that prayers are just a way to help humanity keep their faith strong ot something. Or maybe God has a number of perfect plans. One for every change he can allow himself to make, but in the end they all have the same result. My point is that there are many ways to look at it and not every one of those has the implications you describe.

 

[idav]

What are some of your thoughts on this?

There is a time and place for it to be open but I am of the belief that it should be mostly in private to keep humble.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

IMO, Tim Tebow's post-touchdown prayers are a clear example of praying to be seen praying.

I have no problem with public prayer. I wonder how he would respond to this verse from his scripture.


5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6
New International Version

 

[ChristineES]

I have no problem with public prayer. I wonder how he would respond to this verse from his scripture.


5“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Matthew 6
New International Version

I think it depends on his intent. If he is praying just to show off by saying "Look how faithful I am!" then that would be wrong. If he is actually praying to God, then it wouldn't be as bad- as he is praying silently. People know he is praying, but he isn't praying out loud. I can't read the man's mind nor do I know his intent, and I only saw it once as I don't watch football.

 

[ChristineES]

I wasn't only asking about public praying, but also letting others know your faith. I don't mean go and announce to everyone standing on the street- that would be pretty annoying to most people. I wear a cross, which probably lets people know what my faith is. I don't know what else people do outside as an action of their faith, though.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

I think it depends on his intent. If he is praying just to show off by saying "Look how faithful I am!" then that would be wrong. If he is actually praying to God, then it wouldn't be as bad- as he is praying silently. People know he is praying, but he isn't praying out loud. I can't read the man's mind nor do I know his intent, and I only saw it once as I don't watch football.

You make a good point.

I did not post that as an inditement of him. I would just be interested to hear his response. I also don't read others hearts. In fact in this area ignorance is bliss.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I wasn't only asking about public praying, but also letting others know your faith. I don't mean go and announce to everyone standing on the street- that would be pretty annoying to most people. I wear a cross, which probably lets people know what my faith is. I don't know what else people do outside as an action of their faith, though.

I think it depends on the intent, myself.

Speaking for myself, I do small things like list my religion as "atheist" on Facebook and will tell people my beliefs if they ask. I think that many religious people tend to assume that other people are religious unless they have reason to think otherwise, so in a small way, hopefully I'm helping to allow them a more accurate perspective while putting a human face on atheism.

I've thought about getting a "don't believe in God? You are not alone" bumper sticker, but so far I haven't actually done it. The idea would be to, well, let other atheists who do feel alone surrounded by people who don't believe as they do that they're not as alone as they think.

If a person announces or displays their faith for similar reasons, I think it would be okay. However, I have problems with people doing it in ways that seem to build on the in-group/out-group dynamic where one religious group has privilege over others. I'd see that as inappropriate as, say, an "isn't it great to be rich?" bumper sticker.