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!
Yeah, but you are in California. The school is in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Notice the first paragraph of the article: A gaggle of disgruntled atheists are doing a whole lot of hollering about the Hallelujah Chorus in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
To make sure there was a Linden elementary school in Oak Ridge, TN I did a search and sure enough there is
Seems an apt description of the Senate work product overall.
Yeah, well, in their countries, loudspeakers go off at 4am every morning blasting some grotesque chant-song for their one of five required call for prayers (which they want to implement here but won't as long as we, the Body of Christ, and the Holy Spirit is still here on earth).
No wonder they're crazy.
I'm visiting my Mom in Oak Ridge right now. Staying at the house I grew up in.
What's weird is that a couple of years ago a middle-age acquaintance told me they went to school at Linden. As a teenager, I had watched that school being built across the street from us. Felt like a time warp - not to mention feeling old.
I thought you missed the part about Oak Ridge. Thanks for your clarification.
Hurricanes wreak havoc in Texas and Florida, killing dozens. Earthquakes kill dozens more in Mexico. Wild fires ravage western states and threaten major metropolitan areas like Los Angles.
Petty tyrants threaten our nation with nuclear strikes. A US Senator stands trial on bribery charges. Americans in uniform are dying in far-flung countries to keep Islamic extremists from revisiting terror on the American homeland.
Yet, it appears that some in our midst cannot prioritize the enormity of events in just the last few weeks. Presumably, the import of history older than that is completely lost on them, as well. Rather, it seems the most vital thing in their lives is to complain about trivialities.
Ostensibly, a music teacher in the fair city of Oak Ridge exposed students to a portion of the most famous oratorio in history: the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Besides the Hebrew word, “hallelujah,’” that piece of music contains the phrase: “The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”
Mystifyingly, objecting to that “heinous offense” is suddenly the most essential thing to worry about in some peoples’ lives. Evidently, it occupies more of their thoughts and efforts than floods, earthquakes, wildfires and wars.
As a result, some very clear questions arise: Can music created by one of the most famous composers of the last three centuries, enjoyed by millions, abruptly become offensive? Performed publicly in countless American venues since its creation, can it suddenly become an anathema to the Constitution?
Is the Declaration of Independence unconstitutional because it contains references to Nature’s God and a Creator? How about the Star Spangled Banner and its fourth verse statement “… in God is our trust”?
Where does the irrationality end? Astronomy is taught in public schools. By the complainers’ logic, astronomy must be banned because the planets are named for Greco-Roman gods… Obviously, that is a blatant, state endorsement of religion.
Similarly, constellations named for religious myths cannot be used for navigation of government-owned ships and aircraft. Furthermore, using a navigational chronograph must be forbidden since it is named for the Greco-Roman god, Chronos… another all-too-recognizable state endorsement of religion.
In deed, four days of the week are named for Norse gods and another for a Greco-Roman god. Since calendars come with these religious endorsements and are used throughout schools and government, must we ban them as well?
Is the absurdity of complaining about Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus clear enough, yet? Rather than fretting over trivialities, let us help American families losing loved ones and suffering from natural disasters, wars and terrorism.
That beautiful music goes through my head every time I think of Hillary losing the election.
Well, now you’ve done it. That song has been in my head all day ;-)
Just do it.
A day late and a $ short...that was a Wonderful post Lucky Dog....the Hallelujah Chorus is universal!
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