A school teacher in Terre Haute, Indiana was ordered to remove a Bible verse and a Latin cross from her classroom after a “concerned parent” complained.
The unnamed English teacher at Honey Creek Middle School had a cross displayed in her classroom. There was also a passage of Scripture from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,” the verse states.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a radical gang of atheists and agnostic activists based in Wisconsin, sent the school a letter demanding that the religious material be removed.
The out-of-town atheists alleged the religious items violated the U.S. Constitution.
“In recognition of the district’s constitutional obligation to remain neutral toward religion, please remove this cross and bible verse display from [the] classroom, as well as any other religious displays [the district] becomes aware of in its schools,” FFRF’s Sammi Lawrence wrote to Supt. Christopher A. Himsel.
However, the Dept. of Education’s own guidelines affirm the rights of teachers to practice their faith on school property. Teachers do not surrender their religious liberty at the schoolhouse door.
“The display violated the basic constitutional prohibition by proselytizing students and creating the appearance that the district preferred religion over nonreligion, and Christianity over all other faiths,” the FFRF said.
To our knowledge, not a single student spontaneously converted at the sight of the cross or the Bible verse. Nor did the teacher hold any Billy Graham-style revival services.
The school district’s attorney responded by announcing that the cross and the Bible verse had been removed.
In other words, the Vigo County School Corporation surrendered to the out-of-town atheists.
“Maintaining students’ constitutional protections is the duty of all public schools,” FFRF’s Annie Laurie Gaylor said in a statement. “A student looks to their teacher for guidance and support. Projecting religion onto them isolates nonreligious and non-Christian students.”
My recommendation is for the good church-going people of Terre Haute to mobilize. Every pastor should be addressing this issue from the pulpit. Sunday school teachers and youth pastors should be organizing peaceful protests.
And most importantly, thousands of citizens should turn out at the next school board meeting to let their elected leaders know they will not tolerate a bunch of godless heathens trying to throw the Almighty out of the classroom.
https://www.toddstarnes.com/campus/school-orders-teacher-to-remove-bible-verse-cross-from-classroom/
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