The Wall of Separation
Not enough Americans, Christian or otherwise, truly appreciate or understand the wall of separation which our forefathers erected between church and state. All to often, Christians hear that provocative phrase, and are jolted immediately into a diatribe about how that phrase is not in the Constitution, and how all the
Founders of our nation were Christian. Soon thereafter, they skip into a lecture about how we need prayer in school, etc.
May I be frank? I don't want a Mormon teaching my kid how to pray. Nor, I imagine, does a Mormon want me to teach his kid how to pray. People who so ardently advocate prayer in school need to take a less myopic view of their position.
For instance, let's say the teacher of the class purports to be a Christian, but fervently believes that all good people go to heaven. Now, no orthodox Christian holds such a view, which is a stranger to the Bible. But a lot of sincere people who profess Christ do hold to such a view. And I do not need a teacher with such an errant view of Christianity teaching, whether explicitly or tacitly, my child unbiblical notions about salvation or anything else.
Look, it's bad enough that once I have children the state is going to compel me, under threat of taking away my children or imprisonment, to send my child to a crappy school for eight hours a day. It's bad enough they tax my property value in order to fund that daily kidnapping. But do you have to compel my kid to go to a crappy school supplemented by errant prayers? What's more, do my fellow Christians need to be supporting this? I'm sorry, but somewhere along the way we forgot why the wall was erected: the state has no business telling my family what or how to believe on any topic of religious import.
Founders of our nation were Christian. Soon thereafter, they skip into a lecture about how we need prayer in school, etc.
May I be frank? I don't want a Mormon teaching my kid how to pray. Nor, I imagine, does a Mormon want me to teach his kid how to pray. People who so ardently advocate prayer in school need to take a less myopic view of their position.
For instance, let's say the teacher of the class purports to be a Christian, but fervently believes that all good people go to heaven. Now, no orthodox Christian holds such a view, which is a stranger to the Bible. But a lot of sincere people who profess Christ do hold to such a view. And I do not need a teacher with such an errant view of Christianity teaching, whether explicitly or tacitly, my child unbiblical notions about salvation or anything else.
Look, it's bad enough that once I have children the state is going to compel me, under threat of taking away my children or imprisonment, to send my child to a crappy school for eight hours a day. It's bad enough they tax my property value in order to fund that daily kidnapping. But do you have to compel my kid to go to a crappy school supplemented by errant prayers? What's more, do my fellow Christians need to be supporting this? I'm sorry, but somewhere along the way we forgot why the wall was erected: the state has no business telling my family what or how to believe on any topic of religious import.
posted by Shane | 12:55 PM
|
0 comments
