The Power of Prayer
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:54 am
In a small Texas town, a new bar/tavern started a building to house their business. The local Baptist church started a campaign to block the bar from opening with petitions and prayers.
Work progressed, however, right up until the week before opening, when a lightning strike hit the bar and burned it to the ground.
The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the destruction of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means. The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building's destruction in its reply to the court.
When the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork. At the hearing, he commented, "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork that we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that doesn't."
Work progressed, however, right up until the week before opening, when a lightning strike hit the bar and burned it to the ground.
The church folks were rather smug in their outlook after that, until the bar owner sued the church on the grounds that the church was ultimately responsible for the destruction of his building, either through direct or indirect actions or means. The church vehemently denied all responsibility or any connection to the building's destruction in its reply to the court.
When the case made its way into court, the judge looked over the paperwork. At the hearing, he commented, "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but as it appears from the paperwork that we have a bar owner who believes in the power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that doesn't."