Teacher Placed on Leave for Affirming Student's Jesus Question

Talon News / GOP USA ^ | May 7, 2004 | Jimmie Moore

[prairiebreeze]

"If a student asks a religious question like, 'Is Jesus in Heaven?', the best response is to give a factual statement like, 'People of the Christian faith believe that Jesus is in Heaven, but other religions don't believe that'," White recommended. "By speaking in general, factual terms, you can answer a child's question and not profess your faith at the same time."

It will be interesting to see if this case goes to the Supreme Court.

Prairie

[macrahanish #1]

It would really suck to be John Cummings' kid right now.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP - SECULARIZATION OF AMERICA ALERT!

[ExGeeEye]

Slightly OT: It amuses me when people who don't believe in God or hell are offended if someone says God will send them to hell.

If you told me I'd have to spend the rest of my earthly life in a landfill near Pittsburgh, I'd be p.o.'d---but tell be I'll be forcibly sent to Tatooine, and I'll just laugh at you.

[Always Right]

"If a student asks a religious question like, 'Is Jesus in Heaven?', the best response is to give a factual statement like, 'People of the Christian faith believe that Jesus is in Heaven, but other religions don't believe that'

She gave a factual answer, which was simply yes. This is equivalent of firing someone for being Christian. If the shoe was on the other foot and a student inquired to a teacher if they were an atheist and the teacher said yes, would that be grounds to fire the teacher? The ACLU would be on that case like flies on crap.

[VRWC_minion]

Pontius pilate: "What is truth"

US schools: "If people want the truth they will contact the district."

[Mind-numbed Robot]

"In a school in a community like ours, where 99 percent of the people are Christians, children talk about Jesus a lot," ............However, John Cummings, the parent of another child in the classroom, became upset by Byce's answer and voiced his concern to the school district.

I wonder what Mr. Cummings standing in the community is now.

[Sam's Army]

The war continues....

Why do peoples ears bleed at the utterance of "Jesus"? I seemed to have missed a lot of this hysteria growing up and I ain't that old.

[gortklattu]

What?

Have they rescinded the "...free exercise thereof" clause of the Bill of Rights?

[KellyAdmirer]

"This is a district matter between the district and its employee," Cummings told WYFF. "If people want the truth they will contact the district."

That is the kind of clipped response you get from someone taking serious flack for an unpopular position. I think the District is wrong on this, the teacher shouldn't have to lie or answer in lawyerly fashion but should be able to give an honest and straight answer to a question. As long as it was an accurate response, she should be cleared.

[Sam's Army]

Free exercise only applies to non-Christians evidently.

[Adder]

Where YOU been? Its been gone ,de jure, for at least 10 yrs.
:]

[Redcoat LI]

"If people want the truth they will contact the district."

Press the 9 key for our Minister of Information.

[InShanghai]

...if an environmentalist teacher professes to students that she believes in keeping the air clean, she would not face the same consequences for sharing her beliefs...

If only she had said:

If a liberal teacher professes to students that she supports John Kerry, then she would not face the same consequences, however she would have been promoted!

Sad to see American culture being replaced by leftist politics.

[jackbill]

"A student sang a song to me and asked me a question about Jesus being in heaven forever and believing in Jesus and going to heaven, and asked if I believed that, and I said 'Yes.'"

Obviously the teacher should have answered, "I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that my answer may tend to incriminate me".

[dangus]

>>It amuses me when people who don't believe in God or hell are offended if someone says God will send them to hell.<<

Well, thank God this teacher didn't say anything that stupid. Why does it amuse you? Put yourself in their position: This person who barely knows you comes up to you and says, "You deserve to spend eternity in agonizing torture."

[hopespringseternal]

If you told me I'd have to spend the rest of my earthly life in a landfill near Pittsburgh, I'd be p.o.'d---but tell be I'll be forcibly sent to Tatooine, and I'll just laugh at you.

Which shows an important fact about many so-called "atheists." They aren't atheists at all, they are angry anti-theists. It isn't that they don't believe in God, it is that they actively hate a very real God they already know. The main thrust of their hatred comes in the form of denying other people the freedom to worship God.

A real atheist would probably agree that this is stupid. Nobody would have cared if the kid had asked if Zeus was on Mt Olympus, and to a real atheist, the questions would be identical.

The angry anti-theist, however, firmly believes in the God he denies, so the Zeus question would be no problem but the Jesus question produces a knee jerk reaction.

[KellyAdmirer]

LOL, that's the way the liberals want it. She was asked "Do you believe...." If she does believe, should she have to hide it or lie just to meet some vague and artificial standard of neutrality? Honesty can't be outlawed, this was a bad decision by the school.

[hopespringseternal]

This person who barely knows you comes up to you and says, "You deserve to spend eternity in agonizing torture."

The standard Christian belief is that everyone (including Christians) deserves to spend eternity in agonizing torture, so don't feel too special.