New School Prayer

[rcecale]

More fodder for discussion...

(Focus, people! Focus!)

THE PRINCIPAL OF CEDAR SHOALS HIGH SCHOOL IN ATHENS, GA HAS APOLOGIZED AFTER READING A POEM CALLED ``THE NEW SCHOOL PRAYER'' OVER THE SCHOOL'S INTERCOM. READING THE POEM BROUGHT COMPLAINTS FROM SOME PARENTS WHO SAID IT VIOLATED THE PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. CEDAR SHOALS PRINCIPAL TOMMY CRAFT SAID YESTERDAY THAT HE WANTED NOT TO PROMOTE RELIGION BUT TO PROVOKE THOUGHT AND DISCUSSION AMONG STUDENTS ABOUT THE CHANGING POLITICAL CLIMATE IN SCHOOL WHEN HE READ THE POEM LAST WEEK BEFORE THE THANKSGIVING BREAK. HE SAID THERE WAS NO ATTEMPT TO RIDICULE ANYBODY. THE POEM HAS CIRCULATED ON THE INTERNET SINCE AT LEAST 1992. IT IS WRITTEN IN THE RHYMING STYLE OF THE CHILDREN'S PRAYER THAT BEGINS ``NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP.'' IT REFERS TO PRAYER NOT BEING ALLOWED IN SCHOOL, ALTHOUGH STUDENTS CAN ``DRESS LIKE FREAKS, AND PIERCE OUR NOSES, TONGUES ANDCHEEKS'' OR ``ELECT A PREGNANT SENIOR QUEEN.'' THE POEM MENTIONS THE ABILITY TO GET CONDOMS AND BIRTH CONTROL, AS WELL AS STUDY ``WITCHCRAFT, VAMPIRES AND TOTEM POLES'' BUT SAYS ``THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED, NO WORD OF GOD MUST REACH THIS CROWD.''

===========================================
Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!

Amen

=============================================

Randy

[porsche356a]

Good.

I wish that everyone would keep their damn religion to themselves.

[david914]

The thing about this that is very upsetting is that every bit of it rings true. I shudder to think how much worse it can get.

Look at what's happening now. The very thing that our forefathers fought for is being taken away by people who are "offended" by the mention of anything pertaining to God. Is our society becoming that atheistic, or are we just downright disrespectful of God?

Those of us who believe in God and hold Him in the highest regard have as much right to express ourselves as someone who does not. I should think that because of our nation's foundings, that there would be no question about our belief in God as a whole. When I was in school, we started every day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, which included the phrase "...One Nation, under God...". What are we becoming now? One Nation, under the ACLU?

Our country was founded by Christians. Our population is largely comprised of people of some form of Christian faith. While this is changing, I would like to think that no matter what faith you are (short of atheists), we all share a belief in God. Whatever you call Him, you believe.

Those that beat their chests and shake their fists declaring separation of church and state need to realize something. Separation of church and state DOES NOT mean separation from God.

[Don 944 LA]

To those that WANT prayer in school, I have this to say to them :

Fine, whatever religion is the complete opposite of yours, will be allowed for your child to pray in school.

Start of school in the AM :
( start of school prayer ) 8:00
8:00 - 8:15 - Christian prayer
8:15 - 8:30 - Budhist prayer
8:30 - 8:45 - Jewish prayer
8:45 - 9:00 - Catholic Prayer
9:00 - 9:15 - Prodestant Prayer
9:15 - 9:30 - hindu prayer
9:30 - 9:45 - islam moslom prayer
9:45 - 10:00 - wicka prayer
10:00 - 10:15 - Mormon prayer
10:15 - 10:30 - jahova witness prayer
10:30 - 10:45 - scientologist prayer
etc ... etc .. etc ...

so, kids of athiest parents can sleep in






Don

[widebody911]

I get a giggle whenever the fundamentalists start this harp about immorality in the schools - like somehow you guys have the patent on morality or something. I'll bet these pregnant prom queens of whom you speak come from xtian homes, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a pregnant atheist prom queen.

I'll bet the real reason the fundamentalists want religion in schools is to give priests easier access to young boys. Sounds crude? So does the hollow moral soapboxing of the fundamentalists.

Religion in and of itself doesn't offend me. It's when you dredge out this "we're a christian nation so the governement should be christian" crap, and the inference that non-christrians are somehow resposible for all the "moral decay" in the world, ie doing all the things they don't let people see them doing publicly.

You can pray all you want; your kids can pray all they want - just do it on your own time, and quit trying to get me to join you, m'kay?

[david914]

Prayer is prayer, unless you're praying to something other than God (or Yaweh, Allah, etc.).

[Don 944 LA]

When I went to High School in northern California, there was a rather large population of Mormons in the little out of the way community that we lived in. All my school mates that were Mormon went to some sort of thing every day before school and our bus would pick them up from one spot all at once. Then we all made the 45 min drive to school.
The reason that I brought this up is that I totally respect that dedication to ones beliefs and the thoughtfullness to seperate it from those not in their belief.

[Jeff Higgins]

What Christians seem to miss is that this apostacy is prophesised in the Bible. Granted, no one wanted to see it during their lifetime, but if God himself said it would happen, who are you to complain? The lines have been drawn between believers and non-believers for much longer than any one of us has been alive. Prayer in school, public affirmation of faith, state sponsored or persecuted religion; none of this makes any difference whatsoever. It's all pretty temporary in the big scheme of things. God's word has survived intact through far harsher climates than that in the United States today. As a Christian, the constant whining and *****ing from those that share my faith has become an embarassment. The quiet, confident faith that we can share with close friends and relatives, who see it working in our lives, is what changes hearts and minds and allows people to accept the invitation. The loud whining and public foot-stomping tantrums do nothing more than to drive people away and galvinize their feelings against us. If I would have heard this kind of poem over a P.A. at a school, I would have been the first to tell this clown to shut up and keep it to himself. Who was he trying to impress? Certainly not God Himself; there's not anything we can do to impress Him. Other Christians? I think he's an ass, but that's just me. Non Christians? All it does is piss them off, and rightfully so. I just wish this very vocal and way over publicized element would go away and leave us all alone. They are not helping anything.

[Don 944 LA]

prophesised in the Bible ... ????

Oh, that wonderful book of stories that have been told and told and told and exagerated beyond any recognition of any truth...

Bout all it's good for is temporarily fixing a broken leg on a couch by acting as a stand.

seems like these " Beliefs " explained allot to many waaaaay back before people could think.
As soon as people start taking responsibility for their actions instead of going to their God for forgiveness ( or reward ), the world will be a better place.

better quit while I'm still calm here.

[Jeff Higgins]

Sorry Don, I didn't mean to upset you. There does seem to be a rather common belief today that these stories were written at a time when people weren't as bright or enlightened as they are now. The poor missguided schmucks that wrote all of this were rather unsophisticated and superstitious, but we know better now; we are much more enlightened. I think what some folks miss today is that anyone even remotely capable of writing anything at all during the periods in which these books were written represents the very upper crust of the intellectuals of those periods. Not many had the priveledge of learning these things back then. When you look at the other surviving works of these people, some of it is pretty darn impressive. From their engineering accomplishments, to literary, to mathematical, to philisophical, some of it has not been equalled since. They were no dummies by any stretch. Something impressed them enough to want to record it for posterity. That in itself might make it worth looking into. Have you ever read a Bible? Read it just like any other book and see what it says; it's one hell of a story. You don't have to believe it. And you can go on ignoring most modern "Christians"; I do.

[Don 944 LA]

Jeff, well put ...

how come there aint anything in there about how the pyramids were built. That was some great engineering.

anyway, I do understand there is a literary aspect of the Bible as well. I have read it as I was raised Catholic, however cannot recite anything from it. I have not read other works concerning other religions, but will some day as a curiosity.