by Dr. Falwell Merry Christmas everyone! Oops, did I say Christmas? I meant to wish you Happy Holidays or a Cheerful Winter Season. Christmas, you see, contains that dirty little word ... Christ. If you don't believe me, just ask the veteran first-grade teacher who was informed this week that she could not mention the word "Christmas" in her Sacramento public school classroom. Imagine that. Christmas banned in a public school classroom. This interdiction is actually quite predictable because the word Christmas and the concept of a holiday bearing the name of Christ contradicts the situational ethics that pervades many public school classrooms. If there is no true right and wrong, there must not be a notion of a Savior or the need of a Savior. However, such a ban is nothing less than religious persecution. In order to promote "diversity," these types of policies actually target individual for their beliefs. It is systematic discrimination that is unconstitutional and illegal. Tragically, the ACLU and similar groups have convinced many public school officials that the mere mention of Christ or a biblical reference is barred by law. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the Harry Potter series, the evil character Voldemort is so feared that his name must never be mentioned. Similarly, real-life religious antagonists today are creating an environment that virtually prohibits the mention of Christ in public school classrooms or in the public square. By twisting the meaning of the Constitution, they have produced an atmosphere of fear regarding Christ and Judeo-Christian teachings. Across the nation, school and city officials are banning Christian themes. Nativity scenes have been barred in some New York schools. A New Jersey middle school cancelled a field trip to attend a performance of a play based on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." In Lewistown, Pa., a Christian church was denied tax exemption because it distributes food to needy families (the activity was deemed not to be religious worship). In Cleveland, Tenn., missionaries have been barred from placing religious literature on cars (even though other groups frequently do so). The Ten Commandments - the very foundation of American law - have been banned in many public arenas. (Thank God that Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore is leading the defense of the Commandments by legally defending his erection of a Ten Commandments monument in the rotunda of his courthouse.) These alarming actions are part of a diabolical scheme by anti-religion devotees to create distinctive and unfair rules for religious Americans. These individual cases will eventually add up to a national climate of overt hostility toward Christianity (and Christians). It's really quite a frightening scenario, but we are literally watching it unfold before our eyes. We have seen a federal court panel rule that the mention of God in the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional. Atheists are now attempting to seek the ban of congressional chaplains. Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State has admitted that he wants the word God erased from American coins. These people literally want a godless society, a concept that dramatically conflicts with the God-centered nation our Founders created and nurtured. The agenda is clear. Christians must be prepared to stand ready to fight for their rights. It is apparent that our adversaries who wish to stifle us will not rest until they have silenced every last one of us.
There is a glimmer in my little neck of the woods regarding church and state and Religon being seperated from the schools. It's not a problem here... it's accepted,.....Our school has at least 5 teachers that go to our church, the High School principle is a semi-regular at our church. Two of our Elders in our Church our involved in school, but not ours, one is the principle, the other is a science teacher for 8th graders. Our H.S. School football coach is actively involved in church and our youth. we also have a Religous Rock Band that one of it's members is the lead guitarist in the group, frequents the School alot, and dose the lunch thing and is a member of our church. I've recently have became involved in our church as a volunteer youth leader, with me being out of a job, I set one day aside to go with our Church's youth minister( wich all the kids appreciate and adore ) to eat lunch with the kids at the Middle and High School, we chat and talk and listen. Since starting this my wesnday nite cell group for the middle school boys has grown ! Having said all that , we are accepted in the Schools and are sometimes encouarged, we do a Prayer around the Pole , once a month in the mornings, and even our minister has been in to talk about religon not on sales pitch basis, but comparison and why's and what for's. Our kids in our area are hungry for whats been goin on , our youth ministry has grown leaps and bounds and we are a small town and comunity. Recently we've started attending these Youth Conferences, like Aquire the Fire, and the Extreme Winter Conference,I.C.Y.C. and those who had attended blossumed and came to Christ, It has been wonderful to be a part of this....and to see the out poring of community support, when we approched the church for finances for these trips they help a good deal in donations from the congergation itself, but when it went public we were over welmed with more than enough support from the comunity, enough so far to totaly pay for every kid and youth leader and volunteers on every trip plus cover the expensenes of food, gas, and lodging. God's Love and Grace and Power is moving hard in our community and our young ones and teens are reaping the benifits. No deniying God truely is at work......and we've just begun. Praise God
Chris - That's too cool, to hear what's going on in your school and community in general!!!:bglasses: I'm glad there are still a few towns like yours! It's sad to hear what some teens have to go thru at their schools.ou: It amazes me, that groups still want to remove anything to do with God in our schools! Especially, when it's so obvious, that's a big reason for the decline in our schools. I really hope the Lord will continue to give kids the courage to be a 'Light' in an otherwise dark world, at school!!:TU:
Scott Thanks for the praise and appreciation.. Today after do my routine job searches, I'm heading over to our newly remodeled youth center, and finish up some trim work and put sound deading material on the back side of the stage. This youth center is another example of community support, we didn't appraoch anybody except for the church board for the finances, it some how leaked... the responsive was enough money to redo it better than we could have thought and redo the churches sanctuary and have some left over. The kids see this...... It is awesume... they want to share in their own ways too...like time , skills, and general support. We moved here 3 years ago and found this church and was greatly accepted and welcomed and even invitied to several church activities, at the time my girls weren't old enough to be involved in the "youth Group" since still in grade school, now they are in middle school, they've led singing on Sunday Praise night, and volunteered for Various other activities, even some "real world ones" to help those who cant, or guide some one. Both have gotten baptized, and both have brought one friend to Christ , and now those friends families our starting to attend chur regulary. It is a Power of God ,that I honestly would say that I have never seen before in and church, a town or evena community. Assure you it is REAL........ It is a Blesssing, and these kids are a part of it, and are also making it grow themselves. Again thanks Scott..keep the Kids and US volunteers and the our Youth Minister in all of your prayers. :grin: I 'm happy to share this with everyone. It's Cambridge City Christian Church 106 W. Church Street Cambridge City, IN 47327 Kris LaGrange, youth minister