Posted on 04/05/2006 4:38:18 PM PDT by dukeman
ADF attorneys hail ruling by New York judge protecting high school family who wanted to purchase brick with the inscription “Jesus Loves You”
ALBANY, N.Y. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund applauded a decision by a federal district judge who ruled that high school officials implementing a fundraising campaign could not censor parents who wanted to purchase a brick for their children inscribed with the words, “Jesus Loves You.”
“School officials shouldn’t be treating Christian students and their families as second-class citizens,” said ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb. “These school officials clearly violated the First Amendment of the Constitution when they discriminated against families who adhere to the Christian faith.”
The purchasing of bricks that contain families’ personal messages is part of Mexico Academy and Central School’s fundraising campaign to raise money for the school through the construction of a brick sidewalk. The only stipulation on the message of the bricks, besides a 14-letter limit, was that vulgar and obscene messages would not be permitted, nor would “love interest” messages be allowed.
Several years before, the school officials had defended messages acknowledging Jesus against the complaint of a community member, but after the community member contacted the American Civil Liberties Union, the school apparently succumbed to pressure and eventually arrived at their current policy.
The officials had denied the request of families who purchased bricks for their children with the “Jesus Loves You” inscription yet had allowed the messages such as “God bless you” and “Praise God.” In their denial letter to the Christian families, the officials said that references to “God” would be allowed because it was a universal term but that a reference to Jesus would not be allowed since it promoted Christianity.
“It is hypocritical for school officials to say that ‘God’ is okay but ‘Jesus’ isn’t,” said Tom Marcelle, who served as lead counsel on the case, Kiesinger v. Mexico Academy and Central School. “We are pleased that the judge came to the right conclusion in this ruling.”
A copy of the decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/KiesingerDecision.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
Finally, I've pointed out for years that the TV shows that people claim are Christian really appear to be Jewish because they mention God only, but not Jesus.
Even 7th Heaven didn't mention Jesus did it? (I wasn't a regular watcher). I know they used the leads job title.
Jesus is still very much a taboo in media and entertainment, although maybe not as much so, as in the past.
Try to think of any TV show from say 1950 to 2000 that Jesus was mentioned in.
It's as rare as having a sit-com father described as a Vietnam Vet.
"but that a reference to Jesus would not be allowed since it promoted Christianity."
Islam recognizes Jesus as a prophet, so I don't think so, specifically.
Astute observation.
I found this recently:
One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter’s shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. When he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned—put together—have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.
Adapted from “Arise, Sir Knight,” a sermon by James Allan Francis, in The Real Jesus and Other Sermons (1926).
The True Force that challenges evil on Earth.
One Solitary Life is very good, thanks.
I like it, too. It's appealing because it asks the question, "Why this particular person?" There were multiple others around the time of Jesus who claimed to be the Messiah. Why did Jesus "catch on" but not one of the others? There's just something about Him..... :-)
Mexico is the name of the town in New York. I just checked the school's website. Mexico Academy appears to be a government school.
You mean the word God was allowable but the word Jesus wasn't?
Oh boy, that will be news to some Freepers who claim there is no bias against Christianity in the United States.
:)
The secular world is always biased against, and hostile to, the Gospel message. People don't like to hear how they are dead in their sin and that Jesus is the exclusive way out. He isn't pc.
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