(Personal Note : As always, please check out "The Coral Ridge Hour" this Sunday. (5:00 pm, channel 40.1 (over the air), in Orlando.) Last Sunday, they began a four part series on why Christians should keep abreast of the public policy issues, ie "politics," in our country. I am saddened by the great number of Christians who do not believe this. I believe that this view is unbiblical citizenship. I'm sorry if you missed last week's broadcast, "Will the Church Forget." It is one of the most challenging and powerful messages I have ever heard. If you live in Orlando and would like to borrow my DVD copy of it, just call me at 407-382-3735. Also, please check the ministry website at Coral Ridge Ministries.org and click on the "Equip and Grow" button. One of the downloads you can get is entitled "The Christian and Politics." I strongly urge you to check it out.)
Public Schools and the Bible - What You Need To Know
By: Chuck Colson, August 26, 2010 – Breakpoint.org
It may be hard to believe, but many state school officials across the country actually encourage teaching public school students about the Bible and Christianity. That’s because the Bible and Christianity are so important in understanding Western civilization and, specifically, American history and culture.
For example, the California Department of Education’s History-Social Science standards expect sixth-graders to “Note the origins of Christianity in the Jewish Messianic prophecies, the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament, and the contribution of St. Paul the Apostle to the definition and spread of Christian beliefs (For example, belief in the Trinity, resurrection, salvation).”
In Massachusetts, state school officials expect seventh grade students to “Describe the origins of Christianity and its central features: monotheism; the belief in Jesus as the Messiah and God’s son who redeemed humans from sin; the concept of salvation; belief in the Old and New Testament; and the lives and teachings of Jesus and Saint Paul.”
High school students in Florida are expected to “know the significant ideas and texts of… Christianity…”
Not only is it academically expected across the country, it is legally supported by the courts. Many people mistakenly assume using the Bible in a public school is prohibited by law. But in fact, the Supreme Court has actually endorsed using the Bible in public schools. In the 1963 Supreme Court case of Abington School District v. Schempp, the Court ruled that public schools cannot initiate devotional reading of the Bible. However, Justice Clark, writing the majority opinion also stated: “It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities.” In the case of Stone v. Graham, where the Supreme Court ruled against the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools because they “are undeniably a sacred text in the Jewish and Christian faiths,” it nonetheless found that Commandments and the “Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, and the like.”
This is why courses like the Bible Literacy Project you’ve heard me speak about so often, are so important. You can find out about the Bible Literacy Project at BreakPoint.org. And because introducing the Bible to public school students is academically expected and legally supported, our friends at Gateways to Better Education have written a one-page document entitled “School District Guidelines for the Use of Bible Stories in The Classroom.” Gateways is a national ministry with expertise in the much-needed work of equipping Christian parents and teachers in the public schools. Having a Bible reading policy in place will reduce the “chilling” effect teachers feel from a principal who thinks it is not appropriate to reference the Bible. Your school may be open to implementing these guidelines for two reasons: First, it establishes what is and isn’t appropriate for teachers and guest speakers, and second, it helps protect a school from accusations that it is allowing devotional readings of the Bible as a classroom activity.
To download a free copy of the Bible reading guidelines for public schools, come to our website, www.breakpoint.org.
Further Reading and Information
Gateways to Better Education - Keeping the Faith in Public Schools
Model Curriculum and Resources California Department of Education
Bible Literacy Project - An Educated Person is Familiar with the Bible
Friday, August 27, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
#62 - Homosexual Marriage at the Polls - The People Have Spoken
By: Chuck Colson|, Breakpoint.com, August 18, 2010
(Personal Note #1: As always, please check out "The Coral Ridge Hour" this Sunday. (5:00 pm, channel 40.1 (over the air), in Orlando.) Last Sunday, they began a four part series on why Christians should keep abreast of the public policy issues, ie "politics," in our country. I am saddened by the great number of Christians who do not believe this. I believe that this view is unbiblical citizenship. I'm sorry if you missed last week's broadcast, "Will the Church Forget." It is one of the most challenging and powerful messages I have ever heard. If you live in Orlando and would like to borrow my DVD copy of it, just call me at 407-382-3735. Also, please check the ministry website at Coral Ridge Ministries.org and click on the "Equip and Grow" button. One of the downloads you can get is entitled "The Christian and Politics." I strongly urge you to check it out.)
(Personal Note #2: While it is often referred to as “gay” marriage, you will never see me use that term. (1) I don’t believe that any behavior condemned in God’s Word should be called “gay.” And (2) In 1987, I attended a retreat at which a woman who was named Gay by her parents cried at one of our meetings when she shared how the perversion that the term “gay” is now used to refer to causes her much pain. Since that day, I’ve pledged never to use that term to refer to homosexual behavior.)
"As the ruling in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which overturned California’s Proposition 8, makes its way through the appeals process, one of the big questions concerns the impact of another case: Lawrence v. Texas. That 2003 Supreme Court decision overturned the Texas law making sodomy a criminal offense. Judge Vaughn Walker clearly thinks that the line between Lawrence and his ruling is clear. His opinion not only cited Lawrence – it was, as many commentators have noted, practically written for an audience of one: Justice Anthony Kennedy, the author of the Lawrence decision, and the likely swing-vote on the Supreme Court. But is the link as clear as Walker and his supporters say it is? No. Especially when you take public attitudes into account."
"At the time Lawrence was decided, Texas was one of only thirteen states that made sodomy a crime. In the rest of the country, consensual same-sex acts had been made legal by legislation. In other words, the public had adopted what could rightly be called a tolerant view of these acts: whatever people thought of homosexuality, they didn’t think it was a matter for the criminal law, and the political process reflected this cultural and political consensus. Thus, the ruling in Lawrence, whatever its constitutional merits, ratified an already-existing consensus – it didn’t set out to impose one. Even justice Thomas, who dissented from the majority opinion, called the Texas law 'uncommonly silly.' ”
"The same cannot be said of the ruling overturning Proposition 8. Only five states and the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriage and half of those are the result of court rulings. What’s more, the trajectory of public, as distinct from elite, opinion has been clearly to ratify the traditional understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Since 1993, when the Hawaiian Supreme Court upheld same-sex marriage, the American people have consistently made their opposition clear at the polls. Every time the issue has been on the ballot (31 states in all), voters have rejected same sex marriage. This despite being outspent by same-sex marriage proponents and always being vilified in the media and elite opinion. All of this exposes the claim that we’re trying to “impose” our view on others. We aren’t doing that. That’s ludicrous! We’re simply defending the democratic consensus."
"The only way to counter this distortion is if we do it ourselves: present our case winsomely and persistently. And, given what’s at stake in this battle, we don’t have any choice. The battle over this California case involves more than same-sex marriage or even the institution of marriage. As the Manhattan Declaration [Manhattan Declaration.org] points out, the biggest threat to religious freedom comes from those who want to redefine marriage and impose a particular view of sexual morality on all of us."
"How could pastors denounce sinful behavior held by a court to be a constitutional right? The only way to keep that from happening is to make clear—to make known—the great consensus in America in support of traditional marriage. Because courts rarely go against that."
Further Reading and Information
Poll: Support for Same Sex Marriage Grows, Brian Montopoli | CBS News | April 27, 2009
Same-Sex Mariage, Gay Rights, PollingReport.com
'Gay Marriages' Haulted; Case Fast-Tracked, Michael Foust | Baptist Press | August 17, 2010
(Personal Note #1: As always, please check out "The Coral Ridge Hour" this Sunday. (5:00 pm, channel 40.1 (over the air), in Orlando.) Last Sunday, they began a four part series on why Christians should keep abreast of the public policy issues, ie "politics," in our country. I am saddened by the great number of Christians who do not believe this. I believe that this view is unbiblical citizenship. I'm sorry if you missed last week's broadcast, "Will the Church Forget." It is one of the most challenging and powerful messages I have ever heard. If you live in Orlando and would like to borrow my DVD copy of it, just call me at 407-382-3735. Also, please check the ministry website at Coral Ridge Ministries.org and click on the "Equip and Grow" button. One of the downloads you can get is entitled "The Christian and Politics." I strongly urge you to check it out.)
(Personal Note #2: While it is often referred to as “gay” marriage, you will never see me use that term. (1) I don’t believe that any behavior condemned in God’s Word should be called “gay.” And (2) In 1987, I attended a retreat at which a woman who was named Gay by her parents cried at one of our meetings when she shared how the perversion that the term “gay” is now used to refer to causes her much pain. Since that day, I’ve pledged never to use that term to refer to homosexual behavior.)
"As the ruling in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, which overturned California’s Proposition 8, makes its way through the appeals process, one of the big questions concerns the impact of another case: Lawrence v. Texas. That 2003 Supreme Court decision overturned the Texas law making sodomy a criminal offense. Judge Vaughn Walker clearly thinks that the line between Lawrence and his ruling is clear. His opinion not only cited Lawrence – it was, as many commentators have noted, practically written for an audience of one: Justice Anthony Kennedy, the author of the Lawrence decision, and the likely swing-vote on the Supreme Court. But is the link as clear as Walker and his supporters say it is? No. Especially when you take public attitudes into account."
"At the time Lawrence was decided, Texas was one of only thirteen states that made sodomy a crime. In the rest of the country, consensual same-sex acts had been made legal by legislation. In other words, the public had adopted what could rightly be called a tolerant view of these acts: whatever people thought of homosexuality, they didn’t think it was a matter for the criminal law, and the political process reflected this cultural and political consensus. Thus, the ruling in Lawrence, whatever its constitutional merits, ratified an already-existing consensus – it didn’t set out to impose one. Even justice Thomas, who dissented from the majority opinion, called the Texas law 'uncommonly silly.' ”
"The same cannot be said of the ruling overturning Proposition 8. Only five states and the District of Columbia permit same-sex marriage and half of those are the result of court rulings. What’s more, the trajectory of public, as distinct from elite, opinion has been clearly to ratify the traditional understanding of marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Since 1993, when the Hawaiian Supreme Court upheld same-sex marriage, the American people have consistently made their opposition clear at the polls. Every time the issue has been on the ballot (31 states in all), voters have rejected same sex marriage. This despite being outspent by same-sex marriage proponents and always being vilified in the media and elite opinion. All of this exposes the claim that we’re trying to “impose” our view on others. We aren’t doing that. That’s ludicrous! We’re simply defending the democratic consensus."
"The only way to counter this distortion is if we do it ourselves: present our case winsomely and persistently. And, given what’s at stake in this battle, we don’t have any choice. The battle over this California case involves more than same-sex marriage or even the institution of marriage. As the Manhattan Declaration [Manhattan Declaration.org] points out, the biggest threat to religious freedom comes from those who want to redefine marriage and impose a particular view of sexual morality on all of us."
"How could pastors denounce sinful behavior held by a court to be a constitutional right? The only way to keep that from happening is to make clear—to make known—the great consensus in America in support of traditional marriage. Because courts rarely go against that."
Further Reading and Information
Poll: Support for Same Sex Marriage Grows, Brian Montopoli | CBS News | April 27, 2009
Same-Sex Mariage, Gay Rights, PollingReport.com
'Gay Marriages' Haulted; Case Fast-Tracked, Michael Foust | Baptist Press | August 17, 2010
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