EDITORIAL: The war on Christmas escalates

The Washington Times ^ | December 25, 2009

[R4Roger05]

Mariah Jordat, 8, was reading her Bible during quiet time at Madison Park Elementary School in Oldbridge, N.J., when her teacher told her to put the book away. Mariah put her Bible under her desk, but that wasn't away enough. The teacher banished the book to the student's backpack. The persecution hurt her feelings and confused her, said Michelle Jordat, the little girl's mother. "Why would my teacher say that I can't read the Bible when I'm not bothering anybody else?"

It's ridiculous for a school to forbid a child, let alone one at such an impressionable age, to read the Bible during her free time, as the principal now admits. The school's mission statement says it wants to develop a child's uniqueness - an effort that can't likely be achieved by squelching her reading interests. If anything, Mariah ought to be applauded for the extraordinary maturity she probably has for someone of such a tender age, but in too many places, it would be more likely that she would be forced into remedial "diversity" training.

Little Mariah isn't alone. Earlier this month, a Massachusetts second-grader was suspended after drawing what his school said was a "violent" picture of Jesus Christ on the cross. Before he was permitted to return to the classroom, the boy had to undergo a psychiatric evaluation at his family's expense.

[Gondring]

You’d be screaming bloody murder if President Bush had initiated a plan to do just that.

Do what?

I was agreeing that Thomas Jefferson admired the morality from The Bible, as displayed in the teachings of Jesus. I actually did not mean to include the spurious claim that Thomas Jefferson authorized federal funding for the Bible in school. That is made up.

"The first stage of this education being the schools of the hundreds wherein the great mass of the people will receive their instruction, the principal foundations of future order will be laid here. Instead therefore of putting the Bible and Testament into the hands of the children at an age when their judgments are not sufficiently matured for religious inquiries, their memories may here be stored with the most useful facts from Grecian, Roman, European, and American history. The first elements of morality too maybe instilled into their minds; such as, when further developed as their judgments advance in strength, may teach them how to work out their own greatest happiness by showing them that it does not depend on the condition of life in which chance has placed them, but is always the result of a good conscience, good health, occupation, and freedom in all just pursuits."

--Thomas Jefferson
Notes on the state of Virginia.

(Click the snippet to read more of this 1801 edition online...)

So, like Thomas Jefferson, I would not support a Federal education program in public schools, especially consisting of The Bible, whether coming from George W. Bush, Barack Hussein Obama, or anyone else.

Would you?

[Lancey Howard]

When you forsake your children to the Churches of Atheism

The "churches of atheism" being the government schools.

[Gondring]

The evil thing in the whole case, or, the insidious monster they are working to feed and grow is establishing PRECEDENT [...]

Liberals have realized that establishing judicial and cultural precedents is one of their most effective ways to effect changes in America. Unless Americans pay attention and defend their Constitutional protections, those safeguards won't be there to protect them.

They will look the other way at terrorism school and other religions but battle ONLY against Christendom.

Exactly.

Religions should not be handled differently, but that assertion is weakened by those who cry out for different treatment of, for example, Muslims.

[Lancey Howard]

If the child was reading the quran, liberal lawyers would be lined up defending the child’s freedom of religion.

The "liberal lawyers" would be those at the atheist ACLU. Their primary target is Christianity, of course, and so it would only make sense for them to relentlessly "defend" non-Christian religions out of a perverted belief that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

[Gondring]

I’m glad the principal realized the move was in error. That he would recognize a free-exercise infringement is surprising.

[Plumberman27]

That “G” in google sure looks crescent shaped to me

[vc79]

...and Mele Kalikimaka!

[Plumberman27]

“school administrators approved the father’s request to transfer the child to another school.” Here in lies the problem. The father (parents) should have taken an ultra aggressive stance since they had no need in any manner to “request” a transfer. Daddy had no balls when he went before the administrators since he appears to have forgotten HE is their boss and they are just hired help in educating HIS child. I have found once you make the administrators well aware of that they tend to wither and see things in a different light and this especially true near election time for the school board. One just has to not be afraid of them because if they feel you can be intimidated they will jerk you around.

[Anti-Utopian]

An atheist is defined by her actions.

"They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." - Titus 1:16

[Misterioso]

BS

[FrankR]

"EDITORIAL: The war on Christmas escalates"

This "war on Christmas" keeps escalating because all of the "Christian Soldiers" have gone to the Old Soldiers Home", or the "Chicken Coop"...can't decide which.

Christians have rolled over, belly up, and let the special interest groups and leftie-libs guilt trip them into oblivion. They hide in the safety of their Churches, mortally afraid to utter anyting remotely relating to government, The Constitution, or America for fear of losing their precious tax exemption. A very "committed" bunch, huh?

Christian lawyers step up and fight for some kids right to read the koran (NO, I won't capitalize it) at school, but then assume the fetal position when it's the Bible.

When the anti-war, anti-military hippies of the 60's and 70's displayed the "peace sign", we used to call it "the footprint of the American chicken"...well, it's beginning to look like their "indoctrination tactic" worker better than I thought, because we've go a whole, lot, of chickens in America. "Reverend" Wright was wrong about "America's chickens coming home to roost"...I think they are afraid to come home, and are afraid to roost.

Eighty percent of the American population are scared witless of the other 20%, of which only about 1% are anything beside all mouth.

We should flood that school with thousands and thousands of religious themed Christmas cards, along with letters of protest to the school boards, the NJ Governor's office, and as many media outlets as we can identify.

I'm a big believer that paper mail is about 100 times as effective as an email, and even though I love to see their mail servers jammed to the hilt, there is nothing that beats them getting sacks, and sacks of snail mail, where they know we are passionate enough to write it, print it, buy an envelope, buy a stamp, go to the trouble to mail it...that speaks volumes.

In closing, I'm noticing that most of this anti-Christian crap is coming from the liberal strongholds of the Northeastern United States, and the west coast. The rest of us are getting rather tired of adjusting our morals and standards to those of a bunch of flea-bitten, politically correct atheists and we need to speak up to these incidents just like we speak up to Congress.

I've started buying books of stamps again, and sending printed letters to underline my resolve and determination, I had to cut a few little luxuries from the budget, like sweets, sodas, etc...but it was worth it, because if we don't do that CONGRESS IS GOING TO TAX THE DAMN SWEETS AND SODAS ANYWAY...so, not big loss there.

[Anti-Utopian]

Then you may deposit your children into public schools to learn animalism and geolatry, while I will keep my children and teach them the doctrine of Christ, and then we shall let the Lord judge who is the atheist and who is His disciple.

[Cvengr]

Considering more Bibles have been sold and published than any other book, how could one consider themselves well educated if they haven’t read through it? Accordingly, how can an educator sincerely have interest in the well being of a student if they forbid such from being read?

Interestingly, if the teacher sincerely thinks such action is less discriminatory and promoting of rational thinking, acting as though reading the Bible as an opiate for the masses, the action probably only enticed the child to spend more time reading the Bible at every opportunity away from class.

In regards to the Massachusetts case, its amazing the same area where Jonathan Edwards now takes this position. Kid should have pulled out Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” sermon and chalked it up to studying State History.

[Publius6961]

What pisses me off is that the libs would never do this to some muslim kid.

Why should it piss you off?
It should piss them off!

The triumph of cowardice over principle and commitment is obvious to any human being over the age of 10.

I chuckle every time I hear of muslim whining over how mean the American people are to poor muslim wannabe mass murderers and their enablers...

[Gondring]

Poor fact-checking on this article. Madison Park Elementary School is in Parlin, N.J., not "Oldbridge." The township is Old Bridge, but even that is two words.

And for some other fun bits of info...

This is near Jon Bon Jovi's childhood home and the site of a WWI disaster--three days of fire and explosions destroying the T.A. Gillespie Co. shell-loading (munitions) yard--and heroism--Coast-Guardsmen responded to the need, fought the fire, saved lives, repaired a rail track, and took a train of TNT out through the flames. Twelve received the Navy Cross, two of whom had been killed during the incident.

This had been our largest ammo plant, and enough munitions to supply the Western Front for six months were lost. To this day, caution is required in the area, as explosives are still scattered around (in the 90s and even two years ago, munitions were found in schoolyards). Buildings 50 miles away were shaken and the explosives rained down over a mile away--300 buildings were destroyed. About 100 (some say 85, some say 100+) civilians were killed, and right near this school is a mass grave of the remains of 14 to 18 (IIRC, the monument says 17) unidentified workers.

And today, few know of this...as is the case with the influenza that came through and killed hundreds more--many more than the ammo plant explosion--in the area soon thereafter.

Even Jon Bon Jovi and some of the other notables from the area are more well-known.

[Gondring]

That “G” in google sure looks crescent shaped to me

heh...they're all out of cross-shaped "G" characters.

[napscoordinator]

I hate these stories. Seriously why isn’t she studying her class work? That is what quiet time is for. If you don’t like it, go to Catholic School (I did 12 years) where you will have one full hour to study religion. Why did she not pull out her math book instead? Spoiled brat perhaps? I will be blasted but that is because FREEPERS do not look at reality of the story and only about the emotion.

[napscoordinator]

Where are the conservative lawyers who should be defending these children and getting expense-reimbursements for their parents?

Because they are smart enough to know that the case would be a loser. In study period, you study the classes you take at school! What is so wrong with this concept? Study Hall at least when I was in school was for text books only.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

Well said - and an inspiration to action to boot!

[narses]

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