The somewhat wacky attorney who represented Madalyn Murray O’Hair before the Supreme Court in 1963 died September 26 at age 88. It was Leonard Kerpelman who made it possible for O’Hair to get prayer kicked out of public schools. Kerpelman is a testament to what one evil man can do to change the course of history. He defended his actions at the time by saying, “I see no constitutional objection to the study of religion, history of religion, or the study of the Bible as literature.” But the devil had other plans. The practical effect of that decision has removed any reverent references to God from the education of our youth. Though Kerpelman argued that he was only objecting to what he called a “sectarian ceremony” the result has been to ban baccalaureate services, prayer at the beginning of football games, and even personal declarations of faith by graduates.
Life didn’t end well for either Kerpelman or O’Hair. The woman he defended ended up murdered by her former office manager. Kerpelman ended his legal career disbarred for disrupting a legal proceeding in court. At his passing, his deceived daughter said, “My father loved and stood up for his country and the intent of the Constitution of the United States from the start of his career until the end of his days.” Another perspective would be that he shredded the meaning of American freedom by removing God from educational discourse. One look at any day’s newspaper headlines shows that the moral world around us has gone downhill since then. Today, you can’t read a Bible in the classroom but the nurse’s dispensary can give you free birth control pills to pursue fornication without parental consent.
Ironically, the O’Hair child over whom Kerpelman’s battle was fought, William, later became a Christian and an outspoken opponent of both Kerpelman and his mother. In this case God had the last laugh. In terms of where Kerpelman is likely spending eternity, Satan is having the last laugh.
An encouraging word: DON’T BE A FOOL
Psalm 53:1 – “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” In our culture we elevate those whose skepticism questions God’s existence. But this ancient truth can’t be discounted. William Murray, the son of famed atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair, wrote in his book My Life without God, “My mother was not just Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the atheist leader. She was an evil person who led many to hell. That is hard for me to say about my own mother but it is true. When I was a young boy of ten or eleven years old she would come home and brag about spending the day in X-rated movie theaters in downtown Baltimore. She particularly enjoyed hiring convicted murderers who had served their time but were unrepentant about what they had done. She got a sense of power out of having men in her employ who had taken human life.” Ms. O’Hair was eventually murdered by one of these men. Truly, she was a fool. Don’t be a fool like her by denying God in your life.
Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did (Luke 4:18). You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.
