Posted on 11/14/2014 4:03:51 AM PST by Kaslin
Cheating. Bullying. Cybersexting. Hazing. Molestation. Suicide. Drug abuse. Murder. Scanning the headlines of the latest scandals in America's schools, it's quite clear that the problem is not that there's too much God in students' lives.
The problem is that there isn't nearly enough of Him.
With the malfunction of moral seatbelts and the erosion of moral guardrails, too many kids have turned to a pantheon of false gods, crutches and palliatives. They're obsessed with "Slender Man" and "Vampire Diaries." Alex from Target's hair and Rihanna's tattoos. Overpriced basketball sneakers and underdressed reality stars. Choking games and YouTube games. Gossip and hookups. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat.
It's all about selfies over self-control, blurred lines over bright lines.
In a metastatic youth culture of soullessness and rootlessness, the idea of high school teens voluntarily using their free time to pray and sing hymns is not just a breath of fresh air. It's salvation.
But leave it to secularists run amok to punish faithful young followers of Christ.
Last week, the Alliance Defending Freedom filed a religious freedom lawsuit against Pine Creek High School here in my adopted hometown of Colorado Springs. Chase Windebank, a senior at the District 20 school, had been convening an informal prayer group for the past three years "in a quiet area to sing Christian religious songs, pray, and to discuss issues of the day from a religious perspective."
Windebank and his friends weren't disrupting classroom time. They shared their Christian faith during an open period earned by high-achieving students. Other kids used the time to play on their phones, eat snacks, get fresh air outside, or schedule meetings for a wide variety of both official and unofficial school clubs.
A Pine Creek choir teacher had given permission to Windebank and his fellow worshipers to meet in an empty music practice room. No complaints ever ensued from other students or faculty. For three years, the group encountered no problems, according to ADF's complaint. But in late September, Windebank was summoned to the assistant principal's office and ordered to stop praying because of "the separation of church and state."
The school singled out the young man of faith's harmless activities and banned members of his group from discussing current issues of the day from a religious perspective during an open period in an unobtrusive meeting place.
As Todd Starnes of Fox News, who broke the story of the lawsuit last week, lamented: "Public school administrators and their lawyers have succeeded in suppressing and oppressing the Christian voice at Pine Creek High School."
It defies common sense that in conservative-leaning Colorado Springs, home to a vibrant faith community and leading evangelical organizations, students would be reprimanded and deprived of basic constitutional rights. As a letter from local parents to the school district decried: "To what benefit does it serve a school to limit the ability for a student to pray with their friends, fellowship with their friends, or discuss daily events from a Christian perspective? It is obvious that School District 20 is taking a freedom FROM religion perspective, not a freedom OF religion perspective."
Think about it: If the high-schoolers gathered in the cafeteria to listen to Billboard magazine's No. 1 pop hit "Habits (Stay High)" -- "You're gone and I gotta stay high/ all the time/ to keep you off my mind" -- school officials would have no issue.
If they lounged in a courtyard to joke about the latest girl-fight videos or off-color joke memes posted on Vine, no problem.
If they discussed the latest "Walking Dead" episode or napped in the library? All good.
But singing "Amazing Grace" and studying scripture? This subversion must be stopped!
How did we get here? And in Colorado Springs, of all places -- not Berkeley or Boulder or Boston? Blame cowardice, ignorance and politically correct bureaucrats pledging allegiance to one nation, under godlessness, without religious liberty, and the occult of extreme secularism for all.
Time to ignore the atheists and just do what is right.
Youth culture wouldn’t be able to get away with the meaningless, godlessness they get away with if their parents and grandparents weren’t largely the same. We’ve been talking about basketball shoes, hookups and drugs for practically 50 years now. The only thing that has changed is that the internet has made porn more accessible and it’s accelerated the popularity of the trivial. (read: Alex from Target’s hair, the Kardashians and the endless supply of viral cat pictures on Facebook)
Make no mistake though the break with our Christian past began a century ago. It expoloded post-war, particularly in the 60’s. However let’s not pretend the 60’s happened in a vacuum, the roots of the 60’s go back decades. Now we’re in 2014 and just about everything has become trivial. Sex is trivial, entertainment is thoughtless and trivial, our politics has become thoughtless and trivial. The root of all of this is the long term rejection of Jesus Christ. It isn’t just this group of young people.
So why do liberals ensure there are prayer rooms with mats for practitioners of Islam in public places?
Even some churches became trivial by the '60s. My own "Christian" instruction in an ELCA church was, by 1964, 50% packaged pabulum and 50% browbeating about bringing money (cadged from mom & dad) to somehow - and there was much vagueness here - help children in Africa.
"Jesus? Oh, yeah… he's really good. Now everybody remember! You need to bring a dollar next week!"
Mr. niteowl77
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Whatever happened to Thanksgiving? The giving of thanks to God for country for family for prosperity and for favor it looks like we skipped over thanksgiving and went straight to Christmas!
I used to live in Colorado Springs back in the early 80’s. It was a great place to live until the Californians “migrated” there and brought all their stupid ideas with them. Somehow I see much of this issue connected to those same people. Take a look at the Colorado government and you will see many of these same type people.
Thanksgiving? Oh, you mean TURKEY DAY!
Unfortunately for us humans, our bloodline was tainted, our DNA altered, which means that all too often we wish more to swim free than to be tied to safety.
So...we cut the cord and go with the flow, delighting in all the world has to offer, with no limits, no rules, no definitions to hold us back.
We are free! And we love how things are speeding up for us, which proves we were right to cut the cord. We know more, do more and are more, and the progression is accelerating. It's exhilarating.
While in the zone, we forget that when things speed up like this, it usually means we're heading for some rapids in the River of Life and maybe, usually, some spectacular waterfalls.
This seems to be the case for us and the rapids we're riding are taking a toll. Worse, things are speeding up and we are far from the bank. A few oars in the water isn't going to get it done.
It's a shame we cut the cord that tied us to safety in order to let our truths and definitions, along with our integrity, run wild and free.
Is it too late for a rescue?
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