Posted on 09/13/2017 10:49:49 AM PDT by Kaslin
A gaggle of disgruntled atheists are doing a whole lot of hollering about the Hallelujah Chorus in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation’s local chapter is angry after a teacher at Linden Elementary School played a portion of the “Hallelujah Chorus” during morning announcements.
“While this music may be beautiful and even inspirational for Christians, it is not acceptable for broadcasting to the entire student body at Linden Elementary,” Aleta Ledendecker wrote in a letter to the school district that was obtained by the Oak Ridger.
The aggrieved atheist group said they were acting on behalf of two parents who had children enrolled in the school.
“In consideration of all the possible choices of music, this piece with its distinctly religious content can be interpreted as proselytizing,” Ledendecker wrote.
For the record, there have not been any reports of children spontaneously converting to the Christian faith as a result of George Handel’s beautiful song.
“This is the litmus test I use: if I were a Christian parent walking in the school, and I heard over the PA system during morning announcements music with the words ‘Praise Allah. Allah is king on high. Bow down to Allah,’ how would I feel as a Christian parent with that being broadcast to all the children in the schools,” Ledendecker told the Oak Ridger.
The school district told the Todd Starnes Show that a teacher had a good reason for playing a 20 second excerpt from Handel’s Messiah.
“The passage was selected to correspond with the school’s overall music curriculum that, for that particular week, featured the musical works of George Handel,” the school spokesperson told me.
Long story, short – Handel is not going anywhere.
“The school system strongly disagreed with her position and, through our school board’s attorney, we responded promptly to the writer suggesting that she was in error,” the spokesperson told me.
“The criticisms articulated by Ms. Ledendecker appear to have been based upon insufficient information taken entirely out of context, incorrect assumptions about the school’s music curriculum and a fundamental misunderstanding of the First Amendment’s relationship with historically sacred classical music compositions being taught in a public school music curriculum,” the spokesperson added.
Yeah, that response is probably going to jingle the atheists’ bells.
It’s about time a school district stood up to those godless bullies and politely told them to blow it out their piccolo.
As George Handel would say, Hallelujah!
The atheists can take a flying leap.
“Bite me,” school tells athiests.
Well, maybe not. It'll piss off the Confederacy Deniers.
So, it was just for a week? That’s not egregious.
And since proselytizing was not at the core of the program, let’s give them a week of Alice in Chains.
Great idea. Alice in Chains can help the atheists to go take a flying leap.
A VERY significant part of classical music, from Bach to Schoenberg, is based on Biblical texts and themes. To exclude this music from public schools would deprive the students attending them of knowledge of an important part of western civilization and an opportunity to experience a potentially life changing exposure to things of great beauty.
When I was in high school, my choir sang a truly beautiful version of Dixie. I doubt that would be possible today. Very sad.
Sing out girls, I’ll stand with you and I’ll be coming for them. My favorite version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idh92r_ctPc
This is where things are going.
They won’t give up.
https://www.google.com/amp/amp.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article173005561.html
Offended? Tough! Bring it on girls and sing extra loud so everyone can hear you from the east to the west coasts. God bless all of you.
Leave them kids alone.
War on Christmas started a little early this year.
School should tell them to piss up a rope...
Then threaten to sue them for harassment...
Dollars to donuts the two parents don’t exist or a facility members...
Atheists is the wrong word here.
These people are “EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BIGOTS”. They hate everyone of belief, regardless of race, creed OR color. I bet they would even protest the rythymic beating of the drums during a Native American festival dance.
No one is trying to convert these people. In fact, I even have a prayer for their benefit.
“GOD BLESS AND KEEP THEM......FAR AWAY FROM ME!’
I'm an atheist, and I'm sick and tired of these attention whores putting people like me in a bad light.
"Messiah" is one of my favorite pieces. So are the Requiem masses of Mozart, Berlioz and Verdi. So is Brahms' German Requiem. So is Schubert's Mass in E-flat. So are some of Bach's sacred cantatas.
I have no problem with children being exposed to classical sacred music. In fact, I highly recommend it.
I saw some lefties in Chancellorsville singing the battle hymn of the republic.
That’s a fantastic version of Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’.
oops, Charlottesville!
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