For a number of years now, there has been a trend to kick God out of the
public school system, out of government, out of public places, etc. People
are basically telling God to get lost, to mind His own business, and to let
humans run their lives however they please. They want to keep the Almighty
confined to a little cement box where people can visit Him on weekends.
However, don't be surprised if someday when America needs God the most, He
refuses to respond, because He is not simply a God of convenience who can be
called upon just when we need Him.


Court: No Bible for kindergarten show-and-tell

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

By: Maryclaire Dale - Associated Press


PHILADELPHIA  -- A kindergartner's mother cannot read Scripture during show
and tell, even if the Bible is the boy's favorite book, a U.S. appeals court
said Monday in the latest challenge over religion in public schools.

The Marple Newtown School District in suburban Philadelphia told plaintiff
Donna Kay Busch in October 2004 that she could not read the Bible passages
during her son's "All About Me" program. The school did permit the boy to
discuss a poster that included references to his church as well as his
family, pet and best friend.

"Parents of public school kindergarten students may reasonably expect their
children will not become captive audiences to an adult's reading of
religious texts," Chief Judge Anthony J. Scirica of the 3rd U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals wrote in the split 2-1 opinion, which upheld a lower court
decision.

Schools can more tightly control speech presented to younger students, who
may not distinguish a parent from their teacher, the ruling said.

Busch argued that the class heard stories related to Passover, Christmas and
other religious holidays, but the court concluded there was a "significant
difference" between identifying such holidays and reading from Scripture.

Principal Thomas Cook of Culbertson Elementary School believed such a
reading would "proselytize ... a specific religious point of view," the
opinion stated.

Busch, who describes herself as an evangelical Christian, is contemplating
an appeal, according to lawyer Jason Gosselin. He said he took the case pro
bono after a request from The Rutherford Institute, which focuses on First
Amendment and religious freedom issues. Busch had contacted the group.

Gosselin argued that the school districts can restrict content but must
remain "viewpoint neutral" once they invite parents in to celebrate their
child.

"What Donna Busch wanted to do was well within that restriction. She wanted
to come in and share something that was special to her son, something that
they did every day," Gosselin said.

A lawyer for the school district, Mark A. Sereni, declined immediate
comment. But in its brief, the district said the case was more about the
mother's interests and motives than her son's. A family baby sitter
described the boy's favorite book that year as the children's book "Brown
Bear, Brown Bear," the district said.

"This case is not at all about Wesley -- it is all about Busch (and) Busch's
(religious) mission," the brief said.

School officials have to make similar decisions nearly every day in public
schools across Pennsylvania and the U.S., according to a lawyer for the
Pennsylvania School Boards Association, which filed an amicus brief in the
case.

"This particular situation may not come up every day, but some version of it
comes up often," said Emily J. Leader, the association's deputy chief
counsel.

She believes the ruling strikes a balance between a student's right to
express religious beliefs, the need to maintain a church-state separation
and the need for schools to control curriculum.

"It's probably not inherently harmful for children to hear a passage from
the Bible, but it is going to be inherently harmful for kids to hear other
things, something violent perhaps, that would be extremely disturbing to a
5-year-old," she said.


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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