Posted on 02/04/2004 12:19:29 PM PST by kattracks
PITTSBURGH (AP) A second-grader was suspended for a day for telling a classmate he would go to hell for saying, "I swear to God."Brandy McKenith, 7, was suspended for swearing for saying the word "hell," but her family says she was referring to the biblical location of fire and brimstone.
She served the suspension Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Public Schools' student code of conduct prohibits profanity, but doesn't provide a definition, spokeswoman Pat Crawford said. The school would not comment further.
Brandy's father, Wayne McKenith, said when he learned about the suspension, he thought perhaps his daughter had said something worse, so he called the teacher for details. He was told another student overheard his daughter say the word.
"I said, `Hell? She got suspended for that?'" McKenith said.
He said he asked the school to evaluate its profanity policy.
"`Hell' is like the least of the words in school today," McKenith said. "You go home and turn on the TV tonight and tell me how many times you hear the word 'hell.' And I mean network TV, not even cable."
Without a clear definition, the district could run into problems enforcing the policy, said Witold Walczak, legal director of the Greater Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
"The school's policy says 'no profanity' and that's not further defined," Walczak said. "How should this little girl know that `hell' is not allowed?"
"It's questionable whether `hell' is even a profanity, and it certainly isn't in the way that she used it," he added.
McKenith, a suburban Pittsburgh police detective, said family members aren't "religious fanatics," but there's a healthy respect for the Lord, so he accepts her daughter's explanation.
"She's under the assumption that good people go to heaven and ... bad people go to hell," he said Wednesday.
There are many faiths out there.
Anyone who can look at all of Creation and think it's just a cosmic accident is really, really deep into denial. :-)
You apparently have much experience proselytizing on behalf of atheism. Good for you. If you feel that you are good at it then it must be because you have so much practice. You probably have all of your arguments down pat and so you would come out looking better than me in a pro/con argument as I have no experience arguing this matter. I believe what I believe and I am content with that.
I'm searching for the truth, too. The difference between you and me is that I search the bible. I am able to read God's word and find truth. I am also able to view the world around me and find all of the evidence I need. The moon and the stars and the sky are my evidence. My children are my evidence. The feeling I get when I am in my car singing a hymn is my evidence. It's something I feel, Ranulf. If you don't want to qualify that as an intellectual defense, then that's your prerogative.
At the end of the day, though, I am living for the hope I find in salvation. You are living for intellect and I hope it sees you through the rough times.
Philippians 2:10There will be many adjectives to describe that day. "Boring" is not one of them. :-)
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth
So, tell me. Which of us is lacking the "common sense of deduction," the atheist or the theist?
But keep trolling. Such outbursts from you may draw another response from me.
You brought yourself (post #117) into my appeal (post #112) to sir_Ranulf to take it (post #110) elsewhere
Here's sir_Ranulf's bait/prompt for a lengthy off topic flame war: (post #110)
And your right if you try to argue god's existence it is a hopeless arguement, and I will trash you. I've done it many times before on forums, some it takes longer then others, most of the time a single post crushes all the arguments they have made.
Post #103 had this bit of prejudice and bigotry:
The people who have screwed me over time and again, in my personal and professional life have been the most devoutly religious. I have guessed at why this is, and the biggest reason I can see is that when you screw someone over you get a tremendous sense of guilt, however if you can walk into a church and be absolved of that guilt, and honestly believe that god cleared you, harming people becomes something that is easier to do, not harder.
Try to keep up.
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