God in schools?

Question

People want to take God out of school. why is that? The Ten Comandments are not aloud in court rooms no more why? How come Christians must be silent when it comes to there opinions but Athiests can speak about there opinions? Why is it we learn about other Religions but can't learn about Christianity? Why do people put down not only Christians but any God Believing Religion? Please real answers.

Answer 1

i agree with you 100%! the government is trying to seperate church and state. when this country was formed, in all of the documents, they aknowledge the existance of God.

the only reason i see that people want to erase God from the history books is because they don't want to submit to their creator. God made you and will destroy when He sees fit. they are afraid of God and that He won't forgive them because their sins are too big. God heals all and takes care of all that is good. God loves everybody and people are too afraid to accept that.

Answer 2

Christians shouldn't be silent about their opinions, but they should be aware that their opinions on these subjects are just as annoying and frustrating to non-Christians as Atheists are frustrating to you.

Your god should not be in the public system, school, legal, or otherwise. It is the responsibility of the State to make sure that freedom of religion exists and the most important thing to insure that people are free to follow whichever religion they believe in is for the state to not endorse any religion.

If you'd like to know why, the consider that in addition to having the ten commandments and prayer in a school, you must also have sharia laws and have the children perform formal prayer while facing Mecca. You would also have to have each child learn the Rede, have children give up things for Lent, not eat during school hours at Ramadan. The point is that not everyone believes the same way and, in a free country, it's wrong to try to make them.

My high school taught Christian history as it pertained to whatever time period we studied. Additionally, in the social studies class that studed religions, Christianity was taught, but from an academic standpoint. There was backlash from the Christian community, but none from either the Jews or Muslims, because they wanted Christ taught as he would be in Sunday school, not in an impartial, observational manner that taught that Christianity is a religion among many, not the only religion among false religions.

Private schools are available and plentiful for those wishing to send their children to schools catering to a specific religion.

Answer 3

Two amendments to the Constitution. The first prohibts Congress from supporting in any way any religion. This is very important because at the time of the Constitution most states had an official religion. The constitution did not ban this. It banned it in the Federal government. The other amendment, because states were denying equal protection to blacks, made all Federal amendments binding upon all states and their instrumentalities. If you have a Federal right to vote, then you have a state right to vote and a county right to vote and a city right to vote. All the Federal rights and restrictions now fall upon the states and their instrumentalities as well.

God, Allah, Shivah and no other divine being may be permitted in any school funded or supported by the state.

The Court has allowed the ten commandments in courts provided their was no intention to support or recognize a religion and if a group provided it, their intention was not religious. The Supreme Court has the 10 Commandments in it, but it also has the 10 Commandments of Solon there equally. Further most of our ideals and democratic ideas come from Solon not Moses.

No one silences Christians or Athiests. Either can speak their opinions, however if it is in the schools both can be limited. Because students must be there by law, they are captured by the state and are effectively prisoners. Their right to be left alone and the schools obligation to maintain good order overide anyones freedom of speech. Nonetheless the Supreme Court has ruled that providing there is no disruption to the school, you may not prohibit anyone from praying.

People put down Christians because most cannot speak intelligently nor really take to the time to understand alternative points of view. Athiests do understand Christians. Christians rarely understand athiests or try to. As a Christian, I find this to be the case too, especially on these boards. Most people spout off what they know and have never read Calvin or Luther or Ignatius of Antioch or Francis of Assissi or Ephrem the Syrian.

God does not belong in the US public schools. It is part of our social compact. If you would like, I would recommend reading Jefferson or Adams. Both would give you a lecture as to why there should be no God in schools. In fact, Jefferson founded the University of Virginia to be free of religion. It is the first University in the world not tied to a religion. He was against tying things to stupidity. He is pretty scathing actually. Adams said in a letter to Jefferson, "This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it."

Franklin supported the religion of his customer base and appears to have none himself. He nominally joined a church for commercial reasons, but he also would be thrilled at the removal of God from school. Lincoln, who of course come eighty years later wrote an anti-Christian book which he never disavowed.

The world is getting more tolerant of Christians not less in my view. It is the loss of power that is bugging Christians. I think this isn't from a deChristianization but from the continued divisions of Protestantism. There are currently 46,000 Protestant denominations and growing. Every time a group divides the whole loses power. Everytime someone finds a new idea to latch onto they form a new Churh. That is a real loss in political power.

Answer 4

1. As students come from a great variety of backgrounds, it is best that their religious practices take place at their places of worship, not in an institution of learning.

2. The Ten Commandments is a religious document, not a legal document, and therefore does not belong in courtrooms.

3. Christians have as much right to express their opinions as atheists or anyone else.

4. There's a difference between learning about differing cultures and practicing the religion of those cultures. The one is a legitimate educational endeavor, the other should be carried out outside of schools at home or in a place of worship.

5. There are legitimate reasons to criticize Christianity and other religions.

Answer 5

God isn't being taken out of schools or the governmental systems. It's more like we're going back to the way things used to be. This nation was based on separation between church and state. This was not supposed to be a Christian nation. That's why our founding fathers left Europe in the first place; they wanted to start a nation of their own so they could get out from under the religious thumb of Europe.

Christians can voice their opinions just as much as anyone else can. That's the beauty of this wonderful nation - freedom of speech.

The reason why Christians are picked on so much is because Christians like to shove their beliefs down everyone else's throat. Not to mention Christians constantly tell others they will suffer fire and brimstone when they die.

Honestly, if you want to stop getting picked on maybe you should be the better person and stop picking on others.

You get what you give in this world - it's called Karma.

Answer 6

Not everyone believes in god, and not everyone believes in the same god. If you are christian do you want your children learning about the Muslim or Jewish religion in school? No you dont.. Just like the muslims dont want to learn about christianity etc.. If you have 1 religion in schools then you must teach them all!
Religion has no place in a public school! If you want your children to learn religion then send them to a school that specially caters for there religion!
As for it in court... Again not everyone believes so why should they make an athiest swear on the bible? why make a muslim swear on the bible? It doesnt make much sense does it considering it means absoulte jack $hit to them... Religion is a personal choice, so until everyone on this planet follows the same religion and it is a law that you must, religion has no place in our schools, justice system etc!

Answer 7

Sounds like you're pretty upset and hurt by all this. That makes a lot of sense that you would be - it's hard, as a Christian, to realize that your religion, which is the most perfect kind of relationship with God, is not the kind that every enjoys.
Unfortunately, in America, our precedent for the "separation of church and state" dates back to some writing (letters in particular) by Thomas Jefferson. Our founding fathers believed that there should be no state-supported religion in America, like there was in England at the time (the Anglican Church with the monarch as the spiritual leader, and the Archbishop of Canterbury as its spiritual guide). It makes sense, when seen in a context of what happened in England: repressions, forced tithing, etc.
Therefore, American as a governmental entity does not display the Ten Commandments or allow Christian prayer in schools. We're a country with a diversity of faiths, and we have to respect others' right to believe as they choose (though, of course, many Christians are free, through their evangelization and their example of God's love, to try to convert them).
I think that we learn about other religions in schools simply because it's assumed that students will have a working knowledge of the Christian faith, and that learning about other faiths will broaden their understanding of other cultures. The goal of an academic program that, say, includes readings from the Koran, is not geared toward making students Muslim. Its goal is to help students understand people of other faiths so that they can live peacefully with them.
Christians don't have to be silent! Maybe you feel as if you personally have been criticized for your beliefs, and my sympathies are with you. But remember that there are lots of places in which you can talk about being a Christian, and there are lots of political entities with explicitly Christian agendas. And keep in mind: even if people don't want to listen to your talking about God, you can still show them the example of a kind, loving person who has Christ as their strength. And perhaps that love and charity that you show them will turn their hearts to God.

Answer 8

It has nothing to do with "god" in schools, it has to do with Religion in schools. Public schools cannot back 1 religion over another. The 10 commandments are specifically Christian. Furthermore, public schools are secular institutions by separation of church and state. We don't learn about other religions in school. No public school I've ever attended has ever taught any religions. Try as you might to get people to believe it, but Atheism is not a religion, and atheism is not taught in schools either.

Answer 9

Christianity is the only religion to have ever been observed in public schools in the U.S., and it was done foir most of our country's history. The intent of the Founding Fathers in the Bill of Rights was that the government should take no position on religion. That's why there are no religious observances in schools anymore.

Answer 10

Nobody is telling anyone they cannot speak their opinion. But America does not have a single religion...we are a land of many cultures and religions....SO WHY SHOULD WE PUT CHRISTIAN BELIEFS like the ten commandments in court rooms. We aren't judging them on the ten commandments??? As for school goes...same thing...their are too many religions...why should Christian beliefs be in schools??? I think it is best without any..then everyone is happy. Practice whatever you want to at home.

Besides the ten commandments are f*cking idiotic....READ THIS ESPECIALLY THE LAST LINE!!!


Here is my problem with the ten commandments- why exactly are there 10?

You simply do not need ten. The list of ten commandments was artificially and deliberately inflated to get it up to ten. Here's what happened:

About 5,000 years ago a bunch of religious and political hustlers got together to try to figure out how to control people and keep them in line. They knew people were basically stupid and would believe anything they were told, so they announced that God had given them some commandments, up on a mountain, when no one was around.

Well let me ask you this- when they were making this **** up, why did they pick 10? Why not 9 or 11? I'll tell you why- because 10 sound official. Ten sounds important! Ten is the basis for the decimal system, it's a decade, it's a psychologically satisfying number (the top ten, the ten most wanted, the ten best dressed). So having ten commandments was really a marketing decision! It is clearly a bullshit list. It's a political document artificially inflated to sell better. I will now show you how you can reduce the number of commandments and come up with a list that's a little more workable and logical. I am going to use the Roman Catholic version because those were the ones I was taught as a little boy.

Let's start with the first three:

I AM THE LORD THY GOD THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME

THOU SHALT NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN

THOU SHALT KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH

Right off the bat the first three are pure bullshit. Sabbath day? Lord's name? strange gods? Spooky language! Designed to scare and control primitive people. In no way does superstitious nonsense like this apply to the lives of intelligent civilized humans in the 21st century. So now we're down to 7. Next:

HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER

Obedience, respect for authority. Just another name for controlling people. The truth is that obedience and respect shouldn't be automatic. They should be earned and based on the parent's performance. Some parents deserve respect, but most of them don't, period. You're down to six.

Now in the interest of logic, something religion is very uncomfortable with, we're going to jump around the list a little bit.

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL

THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS

Stealing and lying. Well actually, these two both prohibit the same kind of behavior- dishonesty. So you don't really need two you combine them and call the commandment "thou shalt not be dishonest". And suddenly you're down to 5.

And as long as we're combining I have two others that belong together:

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTRY

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S WIFE

Once again, these two prohibit the same type of behavior. In this case it is marital infidelity. The difference is- coveting takes place in the mind. But I don't think you should outlaw fantasizing about someone else's wife because what is a guy gonna think about when he's waxing his carrot? But, marital infidelity is a good idea so we're gonna keep this one and call it "thou shalt not be unfaithful". And suddenly we're down to four.

But when you think about it, honesty and infidelity are really part of the same overall value so, in truth, you could combine the two honesty commandments with the two fidelity commandments and give them simpler language, positive language instead of negative language and call the whole thing "thou shalt always be honest and faithful" and we're down to 3.

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR"S GOODS

This one is just plain ******' stupid. Coveting your neighbor's goods is what keeps the economy going! Your neighbor gets a vibrator that plays "o come o ye faithful", and you want one too! Coveting creates jobs, so leave it alone. You throw out coveting and you're down to 2 now- the big honesty and fidelity commandment and the one we haven't talked about yet:

THOU SHALT NOT KILL

Murder. But when you think about it, religion has never really had a big problem with murder. More people have been killed in the name of god than for any other reason. All you have to do is look at Northern Ireland, Cashmire, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the World Trade Center to see how seriously the religious folks take thou shalt not kill. The more devout they are, the more they see murder as being negotiable. It depends on who's doin the killin' and who's gettin' killed. So, with all of this in mind, I give you my revised list of the two commandments:

Thou shalt always be honest and faithful to the provider of thy nookie.

&

Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone, unless of course they pray to a different invisible man than you.

Two is all you need; Moses could have carried them down the hill in his ******' pocket. I wouldn't mind those folks in Alabama posting them on the courthouse wall, as long as they provided one additional commandment:

Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

---George Carlin

Answer 11

Christianity should not be promoted in public schools but....


If other religions are taught about as a form of cultural awareness then I dont like it when Christianity is left out. If I have to learn about Buddha and Gandhi then I should be exposed to Christ too