Jesus' Name Ruled Unconstitutional

Photo credit
http://kswptim.wordpress.com/

"A U.S. circuit court decision that states even “a solitary reference to Jesus Christ” in invocations before the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners’ meetings could do “violence to the pluralistic and inclusive values that are a defining feature of American public life.”

World Net Daily reported today that the Name of Jesus has been ruled unconstitutional in North Carolina.

Seriously?

I am so tired of this kind on nonsense. Shall I go out and sue everyone who offends me? I could singlehandedly clog up the courts for decades with lawsuits concerning public statements that offend me!

Free speech, even repulsive speech, is one of the hazards of a free society (not up for discussion about whether we are really still free, thanks). The name of Jesus is NOT repulsive speech, no matter what the ACLU or the US Circuit Court think.

Why isn't a solitary reference to Allah, or Buddha, or the Dalai Lama, or Mother Earth, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster, something that does violence to our "inclusive" values?

Occupy Wall Street protesters might say it like this:  99% of the complaints about stuff like this come from 1% of the professional malcontents who hire the ACLU to scrub every reference to Jesus from public life.

If someone doesn't feel that they can participate in civic affairs because they are scandalized by a prayer, they have bigger problems than I am able to address in this column. Believe me, my opposition to Roe v. Wade, Obamacare, or "gender education" for kindergarteners doesn't stop me from participating in civic affairs.

Anyway, the Board of County Commissioners in Forsyth County has retained the Alliance Defense Fund to help them overturn this ruling. Brett Harvey of the Alliance Defense Fund explains,

 "The Constitution prohibits the government from deciding which religious words are acceptable and which are not, even if the goal is to make people feel more comfortable."

Read more:Jesus' name ruled 'unconstitutional'http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=361461#ixzz1cC7RBzkp

I may not agree with you, but will defend to the death your right to your opinion. As a Christian and an American, I may have a different take on this from people in other countries. So, international readers, step up and speak!  Americans, too - I know my readers and online friends are a diverse lot.  God forbid that we should have to march in lockstep and all subscribe to the same groupthink to be friends.

I know, I know. This one doesn't have anything to do with homeschooling. And it isn't even Wednesday.

So sue me. Better yet, comment! I really want to know what you think.

Here We Go Again! 9th Circuit Outlaws Banners Mentioning "God"

The 9th Circuit strikes again!

The same three judge panel that decided that "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional is at it again. This time, they have reversed a lower court ruling that allowed Bradley Johnson to display patriotic banners in his San Diego classroom because they mention "God."

I wrote about this controversy in a post called "Finally, A Judge with Sense in California!", in which I celebrated the lower court ruling that enabled the banners to remain. If you are unfamiliar with this controversy, you may wish to review that post from 2008.

2008. Seriously?

So, three years ago, I wrote that Bradley Johnson had been displaying his banners for 25 years. That means it has been 28 years now, and they still have not had any significant complaints, except maybe from Michael Newdow, or some other professional malcontent who lives to see the mention of God eradicated from the public square.

Bradley Johnson is a respected math teacher in the Poway Unified School District - in California, where else? They actually told him to take down his banner in 2007, all the while leaving intact other banners and posters displayed in other classrooms containing photos of the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Prayer Flags, anti-religious song lyrics, and gay and lesbian promotional materials. Whatever your opinion of any of these materials, I guarantee you that they are every bit as offensive to some segments of the population as the mention of "God" in the context of American history.

One phrase, "One Nation Under God" is from the Pledge of Allegiance - the same Pledge that the 9th Circuit judges got their panties in a twist about in 2002. "In God We Trust" is on our money - though in recent years it has been banished to the edges of some coins. "God Shed His Grace on Thee" and "God Bless America" are familiar lyrics from patriotic songs that Americans have been singing for generations.

Here is a photo of the evil banner in question:

Photo Credit: Thomas More Law Center

Here is how it looks in the classroom, where at least half the students have their backs toward it.

The Thomas More Law Center is once again defending Johnson, and in September, announced its intent to petition for an "en banc" review of the decision, which will require the entire voting membership of the 9th Circuit to decide whether the petition should be granted.  If the petition is granted they will have to go before a panel of 11 judges who will be selected from among the voting members.

As I mentioned in my earlier article, this is not specifically about homeschooling, but it certainly continues to underscore the hostility to anything that might be - even erroneously - construed as a religious message. Here are a couple of quotes from the decision, written by appeals court Judge Richard Tallman.

“We consider whether a public school district infringes the First Amendment liberties of one of its teachers when it orders him not to use his public position as a pulpit from which to preach his own views on the role of God in our Nation’s history to the captive students in his mathematics classroom. The answer is clear: it does not.” 

“Though Johnson maintains that his banners express purely patriotic sentiments … it seems as plain to us as it was to school officials that Johnson’s banners concern religion."

“One would need to be remarkably unperceptive to see the statements …. as organized and displayed by Johnson and not understand them to convey a religious message.” 

But it was okay for other teachers to display the Tibetan prayer flags, or lyrics to "Imagine" to captive students in their [insert name of class here] class.

Puhleeze. This is the same court that ruled in 2005 that adopting Muslim names, reciting Muslim prayers, and simulating religious fasting for three weeks was a perfectly acceptable classroom activity, not “overt religious exercises” that would raise concerns under the First Amendment prohibition of “establishment of religion.”

Never mind that these exercises were conducted in the fall of 2001. Am I the only one who gets sick to my stomach when I think about that?

Can you imagine the weeping and gnashing of teeth if students were subjected to some Christian themed role playing for three weeks? 

During Ramadan?

I know not everyone homeschools for religious reasons, but rulings like these confirm that those who do are not merely imagining that their worldview is under attack.  It is part of the same phenomenon that caused school officials in Michigan to think it was okayto hold a terrorism drill that depicted Christian homeschoolers as theterrorists. In 2007, Burlington County, NJ school officials held a mock drill that included gun-toting Christian extremists who were upset because the daughter of one of them was expelled for praying in school. Superintendent Chris Manno told the Burlington County Times:

We need to practice under conditions as real as possible in order to evaluate our procedures and plans so that they're as effective as possible.

This isn't MY reality.

I know, I know. This isn't happening in YOUR public school.  First of all, how do you know? And second, when it is, will you do anything about it? Whether you are a Christian or not, it should matter to you that  someone's freedom is being curtailed because of what they believe. Next time it could be some value or belief YOU cherish.

Sorry, Harold, You Were Wrong. Again.

Well, I'm still here. And so are all my Christian friends. And my non-Christian friends.

And Harold Camping.

Sorry, Harold, you were wrong. Again.

You were wrong in 1994. And other clowns were wrong in 1988 and 1992.

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." - Mark 13:32

"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. " - Matthew 24:36

What part of  "NO ONE KNOWS" did you not understand? Jesus said that even HE doesn't know the day or the hour. What ever gave you the idea that you had some secret knowledge not available even to the Son of God?  It embarrasses me to even think about it.

If there be any good from this it is that there have been more than a few serious conversations about the return of Christ that would never have happened. They may have started with people making fun of you, but they probably ended on a more sober note. Because Jesus IS coming back. You have that part right. Even if you were off on the "yesterday" part.

There have also been people who may not otherwise have thought about what they are doing with their lives. I pondered this in my Facebook status yesterday. You can bet if I believed that Jesus was coming back yesterday I would not have wanted him to "Find Me on Facebook."  How much time to we spend on distractions and foolish entertainment instead of loving and serving people and doing the good works God has "prepared in advance for us to do"?

No, I'm not getting rid of Facebook. Or even the addictive new social media/investing game I have been playing lately called Empire Avenue. But I am giving some serious thought to the proportion of time I am giving to the temporal instead of the eternal. 

A whole lot of joking has been going on in recent weeks about this, but it is time to remember that the return of Christ will be no laughing matter. Are you ready?

TGIF - The Coming Wealth Transfer

The Coming Wealth Transfer
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
10-24-2008

But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous (Prov 13:22).

In the last days there will be a transfer of wealth into the hands of the righteous for the purpose of funding a great harvest of souls and for believers to have greater influence on society in the name of Christ. This will happen in at least four ways.

1. Supernatural Transfer - Like the Israelites leaving Egypt, Christians and non-profit organizations will receive major gifts from individuals or foundations to carryout their Christian mission. In 2004, the Salvation Army received one of the largest gifts ever for Christian ministry via the founder's wife of McDonald's, Joan Kroc, in the amount of 1.5 billion dollars.

2. Power to Make Wealth - God is going to give witty inventions to believers throughout the world that will generate wealth. This has already begun. "But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today" (Deut 8:18).

3. Social Entrepreneurship - Just as Joseph was entrusted with the resources of Egypt to solve a societal problem resulting from a famine in the land, God is going to transfer money to believers who are solving societal problems. Governments will fund private enterprises because government is not been able to do it.

4. Wealthy Individual "Conversions" ? Finally, many non-believers who are wealthy will become Christians in these last days and will begin to use their wealth for Kingdom purposes.

The transfer of wealth is designed to accelerate God's activity on the earth, not to simply make believers wealthy. Pray that God uses your work life call to accelerate His Kingdom on earth. And pray that God raises up good stewards of wealth.

Reprinted by permission from the author. Os Hillman is an international speaker and author of more than 10 books on workplace calling. To learn more, visit http://www.MarketplaceLeaders.org

Finally, a judge with sense in California!

"That God places prominently in our nation's history does not create an Establishment Clause problem requiring curettage and disinfectant of Johnson's classroom walls. It is a matter of historical fact that our institutions and government actors have in past and present times given place to a supreme God." - Judge Robert T. Benitez


For the last 25 years, math teacher Bradley Johnson has had a banner on the wall of his classroom measuring 7 feet by 2 feet, on which are inscribed the words "In God We Trust," "One Nation Under God," "God Bless America" and "God Shed His Grace On Thee." He has had a second banner for 17 years that quotes the Declaration of Independence by including the phrase, "All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed By Their Creator."

Even though 4,000 students have passed through Johnson's classroom without a single complaint in 25 years, in January, Westview High School principal Dawn Kastner told him his banners were no longer permissible because they convey a Judeo-Christian perspective.

Right. Now I have heard everything - trying to ban a quote from The Declaration of Independence from a classroom. And this from a school district that allows other teachers to hang Buddhist, Islamic, and Tibetan prayer messages on their classroom walls.

The Thomas More Law Center sued on Johnson's behalf. The school district fought to have the suit dismissed, on the incredible grounds that "because Johnson was a teacher, he had no First Amendment protections in his classroom."

Only in California.

But this time, a judge got it right! Last week, Judge Robert Benitez strongly disgreed with the school district's argument, saying that it amounted to to saying that Johnson has no free speech rights at all because he is a government employee. He even quoted (the audacity!) a 1952 Supreme Court ruling, Zorach v. Clauson: "We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being."

This is a welcome ruling. While it doesn't specifically mention homeschooling, the events that prompted the lawsuit are not as few and far between as we would like to think, and are indicative of an increasing hostility on the part of the educational system to God or any suggestion that He had a hand in the blessing of our land.

Last month I posted several times in this blog about the suit pitting the University of California against Calvary Chapel Christian School in Murietta. The ruling in that case was in favor of the university.

One of the issues that was debated in the case was the use of texts that attributed historical events to divine providence.

I received several excellent comments on that one, including a very insightful one by "Mary", who is affiliated with the University. She actually presented a clear explanation of the university's position and how the particular restrictions on curriculum content in this case did not actually interfere with either Calvary Chapel's right or ability to teach alternative worldviews, or Calvary students' ability to take the required courses and be accepted into UC schools. I had to concede that the regulations did not discriminate against Christian students.

But she didn't seem to ever grasp my point about the Judeo-Christian worldview being increasingly under attack by those in the educational system, or my concern that the California ruling, which today is directed at specific students and their specific high school texts, could ultimately morph into some kind of monster statute that would penalize all Christian high schoolers, and Christian home schoolers seeking to enter institutions of higher learning in California. People who believe that "God created..." or "God shed His grace on Thee..." are currently marginalized, prohibited from attributing their academic success to Him in valedictory speeches, and taught that it is okay for them to believe that God created the heavens and the earth or that He governs in the affairs of men, as long as they understand that the "real truth" is what the secular schools teach instead.

This Westview High School case result is good news. But that the case existed in the first place is further evidence that my concerns about our worldview being under attack are not unfounded.

Utterly Off Topic Wednesday will actually be tomorrow, as I remember September 11.

If you missed the excitement, the other posts in the series about Calvary Chapel and UC are located below:

1. For All You Single Issue Voters Out There
2. California Dreamin'
3. Faith and Science - A Response to "Anonymous"
4. As I was Saying
5. "Anonymous" Revealed
   

Be sure to read the comments in order to really follow the rest of the posts.