Another threat to Christian free speech?

[Marcia]

Marcia - I agree with you. I don't think that schools should be teaching religion but teaching ABOUT religion - there's a difference in my mind. It's OK to teach about the different beliefs but to force students to practice those beliefs are wrong.

I do agree with this but unfortunately, some teachers who teach religion in the high schools teach it with a bias against Christianity. I personally know of several cases in this area where this is true.

But to have a student talk about their faith - that's a basic right that all students should be able to have. It's a constitutional right - and I appreciate that

I agree. And it is a constitutional right. Some schools ignore that or try to take action against the child. Of course, this allows the Wiccan teens to wear their pentagrams, too, and bring their spell books to school.

 

[Aaron]

Religion and education are one and the same. Maybe when teaching math and physics, one might escape it, but when teaching life sciences and the humanities, one's world view is very much in play.

 

[Born_in_Crewe]

No one should have to put their beliefs on the key rack when they go to work or to school. However, we do need to realize what is approrpriate and legal and what is not.

On the whole I agree, I do find this growing persecution worrying but in some recent cases Christians have been a bit naive.

At 7, I led another little girl to the Lord. Why shouldn't someone tell someone else the truth?

Nothing wrong with it but there are more gentle ways to do it. However, 5-year-olds cannot be replied upon to be gentle, diplomatic or tactful.

How that got in the hands of the principle, I'd love to know - but she had every right outside of school to ask others to pray for the situation. Whether she was an employee or not.

I read in a different British paper today (the Daily Mail) that she e-mailed it to somebody who is married to one of the school governors. That was slightly reckless, but I find it quite disturbing. At our church we recieve prayer requests and other info by e-mail and there is no way I would forward sensitive information to a untrustworthy and potentially hostile person outside the church.

The mother had every right to ask her own friends to pray for the situation that was, from my understanding, an illegal activity against her daughter. There was not one thing illegal in what she or the daughter did.

I agree. She sent the prayer e-mail from her personal computer during the weekend, so its not like she was doing it from the school computers or during work hours.

 

[Jim1999]

Perhaps someone could define what a public school is. In England, a public school is a private school, and often a religious school. or even a boarding school. In Canada, it is a school run by a school Board under the provincial government. It is intended to teach the basic subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic........not religion. If religion were taught it would be to the bias of that particular teacher.

What is a public school in the USA?

Cheers,

Jim

 

[LadyEagle]

No, the public school system is being a public school system. Religion has no place in a public school system, period.

Cheers,

Jim

The gov. schools stand for and are diametrically opposed to every christian principal. Too bad every child can't be in a private or christian school.

It didn't use to be that way. Students used to learn to read by reading the Bible. Also, McGuffey Readers were widely used in public education. Too bad our public education was taken over by humanists and anti-God reprobates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGuffey_Readers

 

[Don]

Perhaps someone could define what a public school is. In England, a public school is a private school, and often a religious school. or even a boarding school. In Canada, it is a school run by a school Board under the provincial government. It is intended to teach the basic subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic........not religion. If religion were taught it would be to the bias of that particular teacher.

What is a public school in the USA?

Cheers,

Jim

In the U.S., it's a school established by the government through the collection of taxes. Since U.S. public schools are government, they cannot teach a single religion. By law, religious organizations are guaranteed the same access as other organizations, but the school's administrators/teachers cannot legally "identify" any particular religion.

 

[Palatka51]

I was a child in the public school system when the court ruling came down as a result of Madalyn O'Hara's law suit. You can see the continued decline of public education ever sense that diabolical ruling to remove the Bible out of the class room.

 

[Aaron]

Perhaps someone could define what a public school is. In England, a public school is a private school, and often a religious school. or even a boarding school. In Canada, it is a school run by a school Board under the provincial government. It is intended to teach the basic subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic........not religion. If religion were taught it would be to the bias of that particular teacher.

What is a public school in the USA?

Cheers,

Jim

A public school in the U.S. is a system where money is extorted from me to finance the indoctrination of other people's kids in philosophies with which I do not agree.

 

[Revmitchell]

A public school in the U.S. is a system where money is extorted from me to finance the indoctrination of other people's kids in philosophies with which I do not agree.

Excellent!:thumbs:

 

[annsni]

I have a different view of public school - although it IS a double standard, kind of.

For elementary school, it's a place where kids learn what the ignorance pool is and they learn to measure up to everyone else.

Middle school is just the tar pits.

High school is the training ground in our family. I homeschooled my kids through 8th grade then sent them to the public high school. They were old enough to stand their ground - and were sometimes persecuted and sometimes praised (even by those who disagreed with them). It was also the place where my oldest daughter, who has ADD and struggled with academics, found her talent and love - art. She's now in college studying to become an art teacher so that she can instill the love of art just as her teachers did for her. Yeah, they're learning some things that don't agree with our beliefs but they're so well grounded, they can fight the fight themselves - and have. Interestingly, my 2nd daughter was in biology last year and at parent night, her teacher approached us. "You both have done an excellent job raising and educating Nicole. She knows what she believes, is knowledgeable enough to state her case and she does it in a very respectful manner but never compromises." This is the teacher who was teaching the class evolution. THAT is some good training ground - and if your kids are ready, it's a great way to get additional skills for the real world. Our high school has amazing class opportunities from the massive art department, to a partnership with Cisco with computer work, to the International Baccalaureate program to the early childhood education program where the students are involved in a real preschool teaching children. I couldn't do that at home nor could my children have gotten that kind of education from any of the local private schools.

 

[Matt Black]

This thread isn't about whether or how religion should be taught in school; it's about whether pupils should be allowed to witness to other pupils about their faith and - perhaps critically in this case, although the full facts are not yet known - the limits as to how that might be done. For instance, if the 5 year old merely said to the 7-year old, as is reported by one source (in response to the 7 year old's question "How do you get into Hell?"), "By not believing in God", then I would say all well and good and the school has completely over-reacted; if, however, as has been impliedly suggested by the school, she said to the 7 year old, "You'd better believe in God otherwise He's gonna cast you into the fires of Hell, where you will burn for all eternity, mwhahahaha!", then the school has a point. Similarly, in the linked but separate issue of the disciplining of the mother-employee, if she said ini her email "There's a problem at school where dd has got into trouble with witnessing", then fine, the school are again in the wrong. If however she said "The school that dd's at is awful - they go round persecuting Christians as a matter of course and standards are dreadful etc", then the school are within their rights to upbraid her.

 

[Bro. James]

Jesus went to the School of Pharisees and told them that if they not believe that He was I AM that they would die in their sins. They crucified Him--albeit, He allowed it per God's Sovereign Will.

Jesus said, "I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE; no man comes unto the Father but by ME." This nullifies 99.99% of the religions of the world--past, present, and future. The majority of the world is not Christian; and many called Christian are nominal at best; the largest groups are cults.

Most of the apostles did not die of natural causes.

Will the Lord find The Faith when He returns?

Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Selah,

Bro. James

 

[Jim1999]

I hope not in a secular PUBLIC school or we might all be Muslims!

Cheers,

Jim

 

[ray Marshall]

So seven year olds shouldn't hear the truth?

Not one living soul knows GOD'S business. Hell-scared religion is wrong.

 

[annsni]

The question is, does a 7 year old have a right to talk? If she said "The boogie man is going to get you.", it will be dealt with one way. "You're going to hell", it will be dealt with another way.

 

[Aaron]

Not one living soul knows GOD'S business. Hell-scared religion is wrong.

By God's Word at last my sin I learned,
Then I trembled at the law I'd spurned,
'Till my guilty soul, imploring, turned to Calvary!

Oh, wait. I guess Calvary is just a pipe dream. After all, no living soul knows God's business.

 

[Palatka51]

I hope not in a secular PUBLIC school or we might all be Muslims!

Cheers,

Jim

On an equal footing, the Gospel will win every time. Wait!!! I take that back!!!! Even when oppressed the Gospel will win every time. :thumbsup:

 

[Bro. Curtis]

Not one living soul knows GOD'S business. Hell-scared religion is wrong.

Can you back this up with scripture ?

 

[OldRegular]

So seven year olds shouldn't hear the truth?

Just where in scripture does it say 7 year old children are going to hell?