Homeschooler Court Victory

[Jerome]

www.ajc.com/news/local/court-flipping-bird-pastor-doesn-put-you-behind-bars/8ucFVFqgxwHH82B21tZPAM/

"The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday reversed a disorderly conduct conviction against a man who flipped a bird at his pastor, saying the man’s behavior was protected speech under the First Amendment."

"Pastor Jason Berry asked that any teachers who were present to stand and be recognized so the congregation could pray for them to have a successful year. Freeman, who home-schools, stood up, raised his middle finger in the air and stared angrily at the pastor. Freeman then shouted, 'Don’t send your kids to the evil public schools. Don’t let Satan or the devil raise your kids,' according to court testimony."

 

[FollowTheWay]

www.ajc.com/news/local/court-flipping-bird-pastor-doesn-put-you-behind-bars/8ucFVFqgxwHH82B21tZPAM/

"The Georgia Supreme Court on Monday reversed a disorderly conduct conviction against a man who flipped a bird at his pastor, saying the man’s behavior was protected speech under the First Amendment."

"Pastor Jason Berry asked that any teachers who were present to stand and be recognized so the congregation could pray for them to have a successful year. Freeman, who home-schools, stood up, raised his middle finger in the air and stared angrily at the pastor. Freeman then shouted, 'Don’t send your kids to the evil public schools. Don’t let Satan or the devil raise your kids,' according to court testimony."

This man can choose to disrespectful to his pastor in a place of worship. This was judged to be fine by the government. One day the REAL judge will rule on his behavior.

 

[Salty]

So the next questions - would you prohibit this man from entering your church ever again?

Should this man be shunned?

 

[HankD]

So the next questions - would you prohibit this man from entering your church ever again?

Should this man be shunned?

No.

WWJD?

HankD

 

[TCassidy]

So the next questions - would you prohibit this man from entering your church ever again?

Should this man be shunned?

Is he a member? Does he hold any elected or appointed position of leadership? Do his wife and children attend and are they members? If so, if he is shunned should they be shunned also?

And it is not "my church." It is the Lord's church.

 

[annsni]

Wow. I can't believe that a man would be that way and I'd be HIGHLY concerned that a man in our congregation was so angry, disrespectful and hateful as to act that way. To be honest, I do think that man would not be allowed to enter the church again. If he's comfortable doing that, what else is he capable of?

 

[Squire Robertsson]

Yes.

So the next questions - would you prohibit this man from entering your church ever again?

Should this man be shunned?

 

[LowOiL]

Misleading headline "homeschoolers court victory"...

Free speech has warped over the years, due to liberal influences.... I have the probate judge book my great great ever-so-great grandfather used to record local judgements he issued. Dating back to 1900 era.

You didn't spit on the ground near women, you didn't curse around them. And you can bet you didn't publically show disrespect to a pastor during church hours.

We homeschool our kids, but one of the first rules of homeschooling is understanding just because we do it, does not mean that the way others raise their children is wrong. You do what you feel is best for your family with what circumstances you have to live under.

Often people homeschool up to a certain age then the kids want to go to regular public school due to sports/friends. Sometimes personal finances dictate you public school your children. Sometimes there actually is fairly decent schools in your area and you often go to church with good Christian teachers.

It is a shame this homeschooler acted this way in front of the congregation (and probable children). 100 years ago, this would not be tolerated.

 

[OnlyaSinner]

The man's words, and his middle finger, do not seem to rise to disorderly conduct - IF that's all that took place. The link is pretty spare in it's description of the incident. It's certainly not a victory for homeschooling as a practice, which might be implied by the thread topic, though it is a victory for that particular homeschooling parent. I doubt the GA Supreme Court even considered homeschooling, except to reference it as the man's preference.

His actions also show an un-Christian judgmental spirit. Far better if he had spoken privately with the pastor later, following the procedure Christ described in Matt. 18, possibly asking that the pastor address the man's concerns at a future service. All he really accomplished, other than his legal hassles, was to gain some personal satisfaction at the cost of sowing unnecessary dissention.

 

[annsni]

I agree with you guys that this is not a victory for homeschooling. It actually has nothing to do with homeschooling at all other than to show that there are some people who should NOT be educating their children. I homeschooled for 19 years and it was the best thing I could have done in raising my kids after sharing the Gospel with them and living for Christ. But that is not the only way to educate our children and I know very godly parents who send their kids to public school like I do now (my kids go into the public school system in 9th grade) and very godly parents who send their kids to Christian school. Heck, I went to CATHOLIC school from 7th through 12th grades by choice. The local Christian school was awful and we didn't know about homeschooling back then. My faith was built up a LOT in attending that Catholic school and I believe that it was the right choice for me at the time.

 

[Sapper Woody]

I believe that homeschooling is a choice each family needs to decide for themselves. I was homeschooled. I'd like to think I turned out fine.

However, not every parent is capable of homeschooling their kids. They might not have the education to do so, the patience, or simply the right mindset. I've seen homeschoolers become brilliantly educated. I've also seen homeschoolers who couldn't read until they were almost ten years old.

I've seen godly men that came out of the public school. I've seen people come out of public school having taken the same classes as each other, where one was highly educated, and the other was, well, to put it bluntly, stupid.

I've seen godly men come out of the Christian School. And I've seen spiritual failures. Same as the public school, I've seen people take the same classes and have different levels of knowledge.

I've seen public schools where I would feel comfortable sending my children of the time comes where I can't afford to homeschool. And I've seen a Christian School where the pastor's son was suspended for drug use.

It all comes down to each individual situation.

It's gotten to the point that I feel that the location of the School is not as big a factor as parental involvement. That's where homeschooling has an advantage.

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[annsni]

I've also seen homeschoolers who couldn't read until they were almost ten years old.

It's funny because a friend of mine was a homeschooler and her daughter was 10 before she could read. What was crazy was that she was a special ed teacher (with her doctorate) specializing in reading!! I remember sitting with her over coffee and she was crying and laughing over her frustration with the situation. "*I* am the person I would be told to see and I can't even get my own daughter to read!" But in time, when she was ready, she started reading the Little House books and was reading ever since. That daughter is now a high school history teacher.

Your sentence just made me think of my friend and her daughter and how even in public school, this kid wouldn't have had better attention - and actually might have had worse help!

 

[Reynolds]

So the next questions - would you prohibit this man from entering your church ever again?

Should this man be shunned?

I think I would give him a medal. The public education system is 95% of the reason our nation is so screwed up.