The Church Thread: Chapter I Verse I

[Huckleberry]

If she isn't trying to teach religion or proselytize kids, this is ridiculous. I hope she sues.

As an atheist, I'm not all that concerned by a cross near her desk, though I think a case could be made that she is expressing an endorsement of Christianity to her students. Does seeing the cross posted by their teacher influence her students to see Christianity in a positive light?

For the past four years or so, many on the right (not necessarily on this board) have told us (by us, I mean teachers) that our job is to teach the subjects and that our personal lives have no place in the classroom. This perspective has been particularly emphatic when directed at homosexuals and social activists. Is religious freedom for teachers more important than freedom of speech? Should both be allowed while at work or neither?

 

[CrimsonJazz]

As an atheist, I'm not all that concerned by a cross near her desk, though I think a case could be made that she is expressing an endorsement of Christianity to her students. Does seeing the cross posted by their teacher influence her students to see Christianity in a positive light?

For the past four years or so, many on the right (not necessarily on this board) have told us (by us, I mean teachers) that our job is to teach the subjects and that our personal lives have no place in the classroom. This perspective has been particularly emphatic when directed at homosexuals and social activists. Is religious freedom for teachers more important than freedom of speech? Should both be allowed while at work or neither?

If a teacher wants a small cross, let them have it. If a teacher wants to turn the whole classroom into a cathedral, we have a problem.

If a teacher wants to put a little gay flag on the wall next to the desk, fine by me. Turning the classroom into a pride parade is a problem.

Same with BLM or shave the whales or whatever. Use your personal space however you wish, just keep it tasteful and don't shove it into anyone's face (especially kids.) This isn't complicated, but there seems to be an overabundance of people who can't be reasonable about this sort of thing.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

As an atheist, I'm not all that concerned by a cross near her desk, though I think a case could be made that she is expressing an endorsement of Christianity to her students. Does seeing the cross posted by their teacher influence her students to see Christianity in a positive light?

For the past four years or so, many on the right (not necessarily on this board) have told us (by us, I mean teachers) that our job is to teach the subjects and that our personal lives have no place in the classroom. This perspective has been particularly emphatic when directed at homosexuals and social activists. Is religious freedom for teachers more important than freedom of speech? Should both be allowed while at work or neither?

I was a Christian at one point and an Atheist at one point.

Now I have my own kind of personal belief system that if I had to give a label it would be Eastern influenced Gnosticism.

None of that matters other than context of where I'm approaching this from..

I don't think she did anything wrong so long as she isn't or wasn't trying to teach or influence kids towards her personal beliefs.

Maybe as CA hinted she could compromise with the School system by keeping a crucifix in her desk drawer instead of having it on the wall.

Maybe she was unwilling to compromise or maybe the schools were unwilling... not sure.

But this seems to have been taken to an extreme by both side wrt to stubbornness.

 

[Its On A Slab]

If a teacher wants a small cross, let them have it. If a teacher wants to turn the whole classroom into a cathedral, we have a problem.

If a teacher wants to put a little gay flag on the wall next to the desk, fine by me. Turning the classroom into a pride parade is a problem.

Same with BLM or shave the whales or whatever. Use your personal space however you wish, just keep it tasteful and don't shove it into anyone's face (especially kids.) This isn't complicated, but there seems to be an overabundance of people who can't be reasonable about this sort of thing.

I remember the t-shirt from back in the day: NUKE THE WHALES

Lampooning both the save-the-whales, and anti-nuclear folks.

Of course, it was then taken to the Nth degree: NUKE THE GAY WHALES.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

I remember the t-shirt from back in the day: NUKE THE WHALES

Lampooning both the save-the-whales, and anti-nuclear folks.

Of course, it was then taken to the Nth degree: NUKE THE GAY WHALES.

Kill a commie for Jesus was pretty popular, too.

 

[CrimsonNagus]

Yesterday, the Pope OKed the ordination of homosexual priests in Italy, so long as they remain celibate...

Maybe one day they can transfer to an American parish. Wink, wink.

 

[dayhiker]

Same with BLM or shave the whales or whatever. Use your personal space however you wish, just keep it tasteful and don't shove it into anyone's face (especially kids.) This isn't complicated, but there seems to be an overabundance of people who can't be reasonable about this sort of thing.

You're gonna need a bigger razor.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

You're gonna need a bigger razor.

Believe it or not, that was intentional. It’s the name of an old Dilbert book.

 

[75thru79]

Believe it or not, that was intentional. It’s the name of an old Dilbert book.

Here's a thought. Maybe Trump can pardon Scott Adams.

 

[Its On A Slab]

Kill a commie for Jesus was pretty popular, too.

I'm cross-eyed this afternoon. I first read that as "Kill a COMMA for Jesus".

The ones I saw were: Kill A Commie For Christ.

I went to New Orleans when I was in the 12th grade and picked up a "Jesus Is Coming, And He's Really ****ed" t-shirt. I wasn't very popular on the senior trip!

 

[Huckleberry]

‘She’s at peace and so am I’: why members of Australian religious sect the Saints deliberately denied Elizabeth Struhs lifesaving insulin
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...ason-brendan-stevens-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url

Absolute lunacy. If your religious beliefs cause harm to someone else, you should be held fully accountable.
12 people convicted of manslaughter. Good.

 

[Huckleberry]

Weak Gospel Messages Like 'He Gets Us' Ultimately Lead To Empty Pews

By focusing too much on 'us' and not enough on Christ, the ad prioritizes outreach and cheap grace at the expense of the Gospel message.

thefederalist.com

Watered-Down Gospel Messages Like ‘He Gets Us’ Ultimately Lead To Empty Pews
By focusing too much on ‘us’ and not enough on Christ, the ad prioritizes outreach and cheap grace at the expense of the Gospel message.

This year, “He Gets Us” spent an estimated $17.5 million on a pair of Super Bowl ads as part of their billion-dollar ad campaign. One commercial showed a series of images of people in various circumstances in answer to the question, “who is my neighbor,” alluding to Jesus’s command to “love thy neighbor” in Matthew 22:39. The second commercial depicts Christians washing the feet of various individuals who many might consider to be the Christians’ ideological opponents. The minute-long ad ends with a line of text that reads, “Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet,” referencing John 13:1-17 in which Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.

Unfortunatley, by focusing too much on “us” and not enough on Christ, the ad prioritizes outreach and cheap grace at the expense of the Gospel message. The end result of this kind of watered-down Christianity is ultimately a dying church.

The Cult of Self-Adoration
Rather than proclaiming the good news that Jesus has been “declared the Son of God in power” by his death and resurrection, redeeming creation and summoning all of his creatures to live under his lordship, these ads fixate on the sympathetic but wayward “neighbor,” suggesting that an undiscriminating love of humanity is the heart of the Gospel. In this way, the “He Gets Us” ad campaign merely perpetuates our society’s cult of self-adoration.

Jesus undoubtedly taught us to love one another. But that’s not all he taught: He also taught repentance and self-sacrifice. Jesus called for us to lose our lives for his sake and told sinners, in love, to “go and sin no more.” To make Jesus more palatable, the “He Gets Us” feet washing ad ignores key context to the biblical feet washing story and twists Jesus’ radical call to transformation into a tacit affirmation and acceptance of our cultural standards of morality.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Weak Gospel Messages Like 'He Gets Us' Ultimately Lead To Empty Pews

By focusing too much on 'us' and not enough on Christ, the ad prioritizes outreach and cheap grace at the expense of the Gospel message.

thefederalist.com

Watered-Down Gospel Messages Like ‘He Gets Us’ Ultimately Lead To Empty Pews
By focusing too much on ‘us’ and not enough on Christ, the ad prioritizes outreach and cheap grace at the expense of the Gospel message.

This year, “He Gets Us” spent an estimated $17.5 million on a pair of Super Bowl ads as part of their billion-dollar ad campaign. One commercial showed a series of images of people in various circumstances in answer to the question, “who is my neighbor,” alluding to Jesus’s command to “love thy neighbor” in Matthew 22:39. The second commercial depicts Christians washing the feet of various individuals who many might consider to be the Christians’ ideological opponents. The minute-long ad ends with a line of text that reads, “Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet,” referencing John 13:1-17 in which Jesus washes the feet of his disciples.

Unfortunatley, by focusing too much on “us” and not enough on Christ, the ad prioritizes outreach and cheap grace at the expense of the Gospel message. The end result of this kind of watered-down Christianity is ultimately a dying church.

The Cult of Self-Adoration
Rather than proclaiming the good news that Jesus has been “declared the Son of God in power” by his death and resurrection, redeeming creation and summoning all of his creatures to live under his lordship, these ads fixate on the sympathetic but wayward “neighbor,” suggesting that an undiscriminating love of humanity is the heart of the Gospel. In this way, the “He Gets Us” ad campaign merely perpetuates our society’s cult of self-adoration.

Jesus undoubtedly taught us to love one another. But that’s not all he taught: He also taught repentance and self-sacrifice. Jesus called for us to lose our lives for his sake and told sinners, in love, to “go and sin no more.” To make Jesus more palatable, the “He Gets Us” feet washing ad ignores key context to the biblical feet washing story and twists Jesus’ radical call to transformation into a tacit affirmation and acceptance of our cultural standards of morality.

Great post; I couldn’t agree more. I’ve seen those stupid commercials and I roll my eyes so hard, it literally gives me a headache. Having a charitable heart and genuine concern and love for those who are struggling are indeed an important part of Christianity, but that’s not all it’s about.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Pope will remain hospitalized as doctors treat a complex respiratory tract infection, Vatican says

The Vatican says Pope Francis’ respiratory tract infection is presenting a “complex clinical picture” that will require further hospitalization.

apnews.com

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ respiratory tract infection is presenting a “complex clinical picture” that will require further hospitalization, the Vatican said Monday, as concerns grew about the increasingly frail health of the 88-year-old pontiff.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the results of tests conducted in recent days and Monday indicate the pope is suffering from a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection that has necessitated a further change in his drug therapy. Scientists say polymicrobial diseases are caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.

 

[dtgreg]

‘She’s at peace and so am I’: why members of Australian religious sect the Saints deliberately denied Elizabeth Struhs lifesaving insulin
https://www.theguardian.com/austral...ason-brendan-stevens-ntwnfb?CMP=share_btn_url

Absolute lunacy. If your religious beliefs cause harm to someone else, you should be held fully accountable.
12 people convicted of manslaughter. Good.

I remember Coach Bryant being angry at his family for being anti-doctor. Although, in his case, like so many others, I believe it mostly stemmed from being ashamed of being too poor to go to the doctor so you made up a religious reason for not doing so.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Christians found killed in church in DRC

Christians in DRC have again been left reeling after a heinous act of violence that has left 70 believers dead. Please pray for our brothers and sisters in the country as they face escalating persecution.

www.opendoorsuk.org

Seventy Christians have been found beheaded in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in what’s the latest devastating attack on believers in the north east of the country.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Syria update: Christians among over 1,000 massacred amid worst atrocities since Assad's ousting

Christians and other religious minorities in Syria are sounding the alarm as more than 1,000 people have been killed since last Thursday in what rights groups describe as some of the worst atrocities

www.christianpost.com

We were warned the ouster of Assad was going to be deadly for Christians and other minorities in Syria. God, what a mess.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

I remember Coach Bryant being angry at his family for being anti-doctor. Although, in his case, like so many others, I believe it mostly stemmed from being ashamed of being too poor to go to the doctor so you made up a religious reason for not doing so.

My father, in particular, grew up anti-doctor, the whole family Dad. You've probably heard the mantra:

"Doctors get you hooked on medicines so you'll come back and also so they can get rich owning stocks in Big Pharma; they'll tell you something is wrong when nothing is wrong and bleed all the money out of your bank account. Then, when they know you're broke and not coming back, they'll suddenly 'cure' you."

But there was another issue - that was actually caused by what I just stated above.

There were two women, one in what was eventually the community where my Dad would grow up (and where his Dad did during this time) and another up the road closer to St. Louis. One, in particular (Bertha Gifford), posed as a nurse and poisoned to death at least 17 people. The other (Emma Hepperman) operated out of his own town.

My grandfather once - don't know the reason, my Mom told me the story -had to go to the doctor's office for something one time and didn't want to go "behind the curtain" to be seen, telling my mother, "That's where they take them when they're gonna kill them."

Yes, it was insane - but given the context I just provided, not quite as insane as it sounds, either.

 

[dtgreg]

My father, in particular, grew up anti-doctor, the whole family Dad. You've probably heard the mantra:

"Doctors get you hooked on medicines so you'll come back and also so they can get rich owning stocks in Big Pharma; they'll tell you something is wrong when nothing is wrong and bleed all the money out of your bank account. Then, when they know you're broke and not coming back, they'll suddenly 'cure' you."

But there was another issue - that was actually caused by what I just stated above.

There were two women, one in what was eventually the community where my Dad would grow up (and where his Dad did during this time) and another up the road closer to St. Louis. One, in particular (Bertha Gifford), posed as a nurse and poisoned to death at least 17 people. The other (Emma Hepperman) operated out of his own town.

My grandfather once - don't know the reason, my Mom told me the story -had to go to the doctor's office for something one time and didn't want to go "behind the curtain" to be seen, telling my mother, "That's where they take them when they're gonna kill them."

Yes, it was insane - but given the context I just provided, not quite as insane as it sounds, either.

These things do happen still, but they're exceedingly rare. When it comes to the recent COVID vaccines, just look how safe and effective they are. Now, back during the '50s and the Polio scourge, there was a midwestern vaccine producer, the Cutter facility, that was actually giving people polio and sending them back to their small towns to plague everyone else. Don't know if it was just regular incompetence with the vaccine or some type of organized crime that got the franchise and couldn't be bothered to use proper procedures or what.

I could understand people's reluctance if there was any kind of similar tragedy happening now but it appears the current reluctance is just due to insanity.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

These things do happen still, but they're exceedingly rare. When it comes to the recent COVID vaccines, just look how safe and effective they are. Now, back during the '50s and the Polio scourge, there was a midwestern vaccine producer, the Cutter facility, that was actually giving people polio and sending them back to their small towns to plague everyone else. Don't know if it was just regular incompetence with the vaccine or some type of organized crime that got the franchise and couldn't be bothered to use proper procedures or what.

I could understand people's reluctance if there was any kind of similar tragedy happening now but it appears the current reluctance is just due to insanity.

Nowadays, of course, suspicion would be aroused a lot quicker. We lived in a world back then where nobody thought 'sweet and innocent and pure women' would do things like kill people with arsenic (for the most part, obviously some exceptions).

Today, those things would get reported so that so-called 'angels of death' would be apprehended sooner in most cases.

Dad - for the record - is about as pro-vaccine as one can be. He was literally terrified that Covid was eventually going to get him, and he and Mom did catch it the week the vaccine was available. I was just glad there was a line in his own life where he wasn't going to follow whatever Trump said.