Posted on 04/22/2006 8:47:56 AM PDT by dukeman
PHILADELPHIA — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund have filed a federal lawsuit and are seeking a preliminary injunction to defend the First Amendment rights of Christian students at Downingtown High School East Campus. The Downingtown Area School District’s policy of lumping religious points of view and profanity into the same category of prohibited speech is unconstitutional, according to the complaint filed Wednesday.
“To consider religious speech--including the word ‘Bible’--in the same class of speech as profanity is outlandish,” said ADF-allied attorney Randall Wenger of the Lancaster law firm Clymer & Musser, P.C. “If this weren’t such a serious offense, you’d think it was a joke.”
In one example among many cited in the complaint, the Downingtown Prayer Club was censored by school officials when one of the members submitted for official approval posters for “See You at the Pole,” an annual event when Christian students and teachers gather around the school’s flagpole at the beginning of the school day to pray for their school and nation. One such poster included a Bible verse from Jeremiah 33, which addresses the subject of prayer. The school’s principal told the member of the Prayer Club that the Bible verse and picture of a cross would need to be omitted, as well as any reference to God.
“It’s ridiculous for school officials to tell students that they can only have a poster inviting people to pray as long as the poster omits ‘God,’” said Wenger. “To whom exactly are school officials proposing that students pray?”
“The First Amendment of the Constitution absolutely guarantees the right of students to hold and express their viewpoint,” Wenger added. “The sad truth is, on campuses across the nation, Christian students are facing harassment by school administrators who use their position as a bully pulpit.”
A copy of the complaint filed in the case Downingtown Prayer Club v. Downingtown Area School District in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania can be read at www.telladf.org/UserDocs/DowningtownComplaint.pdf.
ADF is a legal alliance defending the right to hear and speak the Truth through strategy, training, funding, and litigation.
The Downingtown Area School District’s policy of lumping religious points of view and profanity into the same category of prohibited speech is unconstitutional
Even the most DISinterested and non-practicing Christians will eventually move their abyssmally idle, slothful, gluttonous, heathen butts and protest. If its NOT voting for the standard athiest/secular pol, it will be to VOTE for a Christian with backbone. Anything beats THIS stupid.
"Stupid" can't be fixed...but it CAN be voted out of office.
A Mel Gibson of politics might arise. Wouldn't that be nice?
Satan? That blob of mystery meat from the lunchroom?
Bite us. When we said "Free Speech" we didn't mean for you!
The school officials are striking out at Christians because these officials are merely protecting their competing religion: liberal secular humanism.
Any thought that opposes the secular humanist viewpoint is in their eyes, in fact, a heresy. That's what this is about.
They believe that there's no God but their God, and that God in the liberal State.
Always remember, as Hitlery says: "it takes a village".
If this country had any chance of long term survival then this raving moron would have been removed from his position on the spot and barred from ever coming within fifty yards of a school ever again. Sadly thats not going to happen. He'll probably be voted "Educator of the Year" by his Marxist fellow travelers.
I love seeing this tradition of praying together around the pole. I read an article about something like it once in another town. The religious leaders and school worked really well together and helped create a wonderful school. I can't remember where it was though.
It is a WONderful tradition.
Practicing, visible, sincere Christianity and patriotism, the NIGHTMARE of Jesus-haters and anti-Americans, that is,
the A.C.L.U.
the left side of the Democrat Party
the Communist Party
the Socialist Party
Air America and its MSM buddies
moveon.org and like-minded ".org"s
N.O.W., GLAAD and like-minded organizations
the Nation of Islam
many college/university faculties, and, lest I forget,
MOST Sleazywoodias -- that is, EXCLUDING Tom Selleck, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson and the few others who fit into that most "Selleckt" group.
Didn't know Bruce Willis fit into "our" camp. My favorite actor to be in the conservative or at least the principled camp is Jimmy Stewart. I did see a thing on Mel Gibson once when he was a little younger saying that actors shouldn't have to be "role models" to kids. I concluded that he was just another anti-Christian actor so I was surprised to find he wasn't.
Back home my congregation was able to arrange with the local high school to have a period of Bible study. The principal at the time supported it fully and it has been going on for 20 years and now enjoys the support of counselors and such too because the kids from my congregation are often some of the best students and well-rounded individuals.
In my own class last year, one girl accidentally brought her scriptures to class. She started reading them and then pretty soon her two little friends brought theirs. It was so cute to see all three of them intently reading the Word. Needless to say all three of them ended up reading at a 4th grade level or above (in first grade).
One girl last year too had been at a 4th grade reading level for a long time. It was her last time at an attempt to get a 5th grade reading level. I thought she hadn't gotten it because she didn't take too long on the computer test. When I expressed my surprise to find out she did, she acted nonchalant about it. I called her mom and her mom said that she had been praying really hard that she would do well. This old teacher broke down and cried.
You have no idea how many miracles I have seen like that. I see them year after year after year. I think God shows me them to keep me humble because I sure need it. This year I have a kid who has missed about 20% of the days and was one of my lowest readers for a LONG time. His mom and dad are often too busy to help him much at home (though I think they are wonderful people). But the kid has an internal drive I haven't seen in most people. He HATES not to get done with stuff and accomplish things. The kid does his work better and faster than many other kids on higher reading levels. He is about the most well-behaved boy you could ever find too. One time he cried when his mom wouledn't let him finish about 25 papers or so he was making up for being absent in ONE night. I laughed at that one. The same kid this past week got up in front of the whole class and gave a whole long speech. This is a kid who wouldn't even speak a sentence at the beginning of the year.
I am privileged and honored to be so blessed and witness to so many modern-day miracles.
I am too.
I had two in the late 90's. Grace of God, nothing less. I am undeserving but humbly grateful. It had to do with my employment.
Last Easter (2005) some loving parishoner, out of the blue, posted a note in the bulletin that s/he had set aside ALL the Masses of Easter in our parish (that would be about 150 total) for a list of 20 people.
The first "name" on the list was "for all the unborn children."
The second name on the list was mine. (!!!!!)
Was I ever shocked.
The woman who made up the list didn't remember who did that for me or who, even, submitted the list. It had been done MONTHS before.
There was no record of the donation ($10/Mass per person, per Mass, is the standard, OPTIONAL, for those who can afford it. This person HAD been able to "afford" it!). I asked the folks I knew (I don't know that many as I have been in the parish only 15 years, not my whole life.) and no one had a clue.
During that time, two health miracles occurred.
1. One was with pain -- pain gone. I had been dealing with it for almost five years, searching for a solution. The solution to it appeared quite suddenly and from a MOST unexpected quarter (from someone I really dislike).
2. The other was with general aging. I'm getting older and expect to slowly spiral down but this was a kick UP the spiral again.
Tears well up, throat constricts...every time I think about it. God has been so very good to me. Blessed, humbled, honored, privileged and totally, absolutely, unequivocally unworthy -- all of it.
It teared me up too. Thank you so much for sharing your stories. This is what we need more of--forget all the backbiting, contention, petty politics, and stuff. We need more stories like this and people like you. No doubt in my mind that God is blessing you and still has many such things in store for you. Thank you again for sharing them and helping me keep things in proper focus.:)
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