Posted on 06/07/2013 5:50:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
The Freedom From Religion Foundation blasted what it called the “open defiance” of a valedictorian who delivered The Lord’s Prayer during a high school graduation ceremony last Saturday in South Carolina.
Roy Costner, a senior at Liberty High School in Pickens, created national attention when he ripped up his pre-approved graduation speech and instead led the crowd in a recitation of The Lord’s Prayer.
A video of the speech was posted on YouTube and has since gone viral. It shows the 18-year-old setting aside his speech.
“I think most of you will understand when I say, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven,” he said as the crowd began to cheer.
He concluded his remarks by pointing to the sky and saying, “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”
The school district had been in a battle over public prayers after the FFRF filed a complaint objecting to what they called an “unconstitutional prayer practice.”
They hold the school district responsible for Costner’s open act of defiance and what they called a string of problematic religious violations.
“The valedictorian who so insensitively inflicted Christian prayer on a captive audience at a secular graduation ceremony, is a product of a school district which itself set an unconstitutional example by hosting school board prayer,” FFRF co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a prepared statement.
A school district spokesperson said the valedictorian will not be penalized for what he did and Costner told Fox News that he has absolutely no regrets.
“I’m happy with what I did,” Costner said. “I want this to glorify God. I want to use this as a witnessing tool and I hope others will stand up for God in our nation.”
He got the idea to deliver the prayer about two weeks ago when he learned that he had been selected as the top academic student in the graduating class. He was summoned to the principal’s office.
“She informed us that we could not have anything about religion or talk about God or Allah or whoever we choose to worship,” he said. “And they had to approve the speech prior to me going onto stage.”
The prayer controversy had gripped the small South Carolina community for quite some time – and many locals took issue with a group from Wisconsin causing problems.
“Our community is very passionate about prayer in our schools,” Costner told Fox News. “I began writing the speech and I knew from the start that I was going to include prayer.”
He talked it over with his father, the youth pastor at Fellowship Community Church. And he also sought the counsel of other pastors in the area.
“They wanted me to make sure I was doing it for God and not myself,” he said.
So Costner spent the next few days in deep prayer and Bible study.
“I asked God exactly what He wanted me to do,” he explained. “I was trying to think of a prayer that would suit all denominations. That’s why I went with The Lord’s Prayer.”
And on graduation day a very nervous Costner took his place at the ceremony – with a serious case of the jitters.
“I was extremely nervous,” he said. “I didn’t know what kind of reaction I was going to get. I didn’t know which way it was going to go.”
And there was another problem. Costner’s speech had already been placed in a binder – on the platform. He would not be able to bring a copy of his replacement speech on stage.
What happened will be remembered in Pickens for quite some time – when an 18-year-old boy defied a group of atheists, agnostics and freethinkers.
“I was always taught to stand for what I believe in,” he said. “That’s what I believe in. I was thanking my God before everyone. I wanted to give him a shout-out.”
As for his critics, Costner quoted a passage of Scripture from the Gospel of Matthew.
“If you deny me among men, I will deny you to the Father,” he said.
He also had a special message to the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
“We are not in a country where we have freedom from religion,” he said. “We have freedom of religion.”
Costner said he will be attending Clemson University in the fall where he will study computer science.
This kid’s father appeared on Pierce Morgan’s show. Morgan totally agreed with the father and said he thought it was ridiculous that the Lord’s Prayer couldn’t be said in a public school. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Free Exercise of religion means the Founders thought that my having to put up with someone talking about religion was far less significant than people being able to freely voice their opinions about their religion.
Isn’t it strange that these people want to “protect” others from having to hear speech of a religious nature.
Given that nothing is more boring than the standard, “approved” graduation speech, I’d be happy to see a trend of hymn-singing or reading of classic evangelistic sermons among graduates. Ballroom dance performances would be okay, too.
This makes me laugh.
From the Library of Congress:
Our Founders were such tough guys that they could endure the expression of opinions or sentiments other than their own. (Also the dentistry of their time.) The species has devolved over the generations since then, it seems.
Amen to that. I do not like sitting through graduation speeches.
The left has made great strides in their attempts to, if not outright criminalize Christianity, which is their goal, at least marginalize the expression of religious faith (except Islam) in almost any form outside of church walls.
Roy Costner struck a blow for religious liberty and reminds all of us how far we've allowed the atheist left to smother our constitutionally-protected expression of religious faith and make the belief in a god other than the state and the practice of religion, specifically Christianity, if not a crime at least something to avoid for fear of 'offending' someone, somehow.
Perhaps young Mister Costner, with his benign but powerful rejection of his school's PC rubbish that prohibits anything 'religious' or a reference to God being spoken in a Valedictorian’s graduation address, will awaken more Americans to the ever-growing stifling of 'religious' speech (except Islam) and spur more of us to reject that prohibition with no real basis other than a hatred of faith from atheists and those attempting to weaken the cohesiveness of the people of America who, although hardly devout, are not atheists and resent that tiny group attempting to dictate to the vast majority.
That these are even a distinct possibility that any or all will be tried shows the depths that Acirema has degenerated.
? I don’t have any problem with this, my comment was directed toward an establishment with a notion they must censure by pre approval a speech to be given by an academic excellent student. It smacks of an authorization to give free speech IMO.
They are obsessed with God BECAUSE INSIDE they KNOW there really is a God. They are trying, attempting to convince themselves that there is no God. By always attacking anything to do with God, they are attempting to separate themselves, in their minds, from our God. BUT, there is no getting away. At the Great White Throne, THEY will be reminded of this. ALL of it. HE will judge them and THEY are not going to like where He puts them. But, always remember, God gave us the ability of CHOICE. FREE WILL. He did not want a bunch of robots or zombies coming to Him in worship of Him. He wanted people who wanted to come to Him, to worship Him. He gave us the choice. Sadly, the majority reject it and will find themselves in the lake of fire because of it.
I grew up during the 1960’s when “open defiance” was celebrated.
But, like most other things with the Left, it’s a one-way street.
Kudos to the young man.
If a valedictorian was honest he could say, “Even with my grades and test scores, I couldn’t get a full scholarship, because I’m a white male. I don’t want to run up a lot of debt for a useless degree, so I’m going to study online. With my brains, I still have a good chance of long term success. The rest of you, good luck in the Obama economy. You’re going to need it.”
Yes, I see which side you are on.
It’s a bit like having to sit through the Canadian National Anthem when you go to a sporting event near our Northern Border.
Funny though, it never harms me.
He exercised his 1st admendment and now the progressives are out to get him. By the way, what does “Congress shall make no law” mean?
“The evil are powerless if the good are unafraid.” - Ronald Reagan
Now... I'm quite certain these leftards were just thrilled when Bradley Manning handed over classified information to Wikileaks. Of course, THOSE rules were meant to be broken... after all, we're just talking about national security.
I've been asking the same thing... if faith in God is all hogwash, why the hell should atheists care? They can just tune it out.
But the real issue... the internal conflict they're truly having is -- they're just.. not.. sure.
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