14 February 2011

CHURCHES USING SCHOOLS OK, SCHOOLS USING CHURCHES IS NOT

The (very few) AMERICANS UNITED FOR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE are at it again.  But then, they never stop.  Interestingly enough, they supposedly stand for religious freedom for all.  What they are really doing is trying to dictate to Christians when and where they can worship or even mention anything about Jesus.  They obviously took their cue from the founder of the AMERICAN COMMUNIST LIBERTIES UNION who told his original members not to appear Socialist, but patriotic.  


This organization is now threatening metro Atlanta schools with their dictatorial, agenda-forcing, and taxpayer money wasting lawsuits because a number of schools are renting church buildings in which to hold their graduation ceremonies.  The reason schools are using churches has absolutely nothing to do with anything religious.  Schools are wanting to get their students and their families out of the football stadiums at the mercy of the weather, and limited seating capacity where families have to choose which family members will be able to attend these once-in-a-lifetime events.  Churches rent their facilities at much cheaper rates than other facilities, and there is no threat of cancellation due to weather.  I graduated in a hot, 100+ gymnasium dressed in a cap and gown myself.  I can certainly relate.


According to an ARTICLE posted on One News Now, one school system seemed to make the news more than the other systems.  The Cherokee County School System in Canton, Georgia, has been renting the FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH WOODSTOCK in Woodstock, Georgia since 2005.  The church building has a capacity of 7,000, and costs literally thousands less than other buildings of similar capacities.  


This is obviously another leftist agenda as the Supreme Court ruled on this years ago when schools were being threatened with lawsuits over churches renting school facilities in which to hold their services.  Now we have the same thing in reverse.


As I have said before, there is only one way to stop this, and that's to stand up to them.  These leftist groups don't like public opposition.  I think one reason is it shows just how much of a minority they are.  The (very few) Americans United for Separation of Church and State, according to their website, have a membership of only 120,000.  There are Facebook pages with more people than that.  Cherokee Countians are taking the right approach.  They are going ahead and preparing in the event the leftists follow through with their threats. Cherokee Countians  are going with the idea of "better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."  They have a Facebook PAGE, but have created a WEBSITE, Cherokee County Fights Back.  Facing them down anywhere they show up is the only way to put a stop to this foolishness.  This is why the Christian flag is flying today in King, North Carolina.  These leftist groups have continuously bypassed Congress and the President, and thereby bypassing We The People with lawsuits.  





It has gone on far too long.  People are starting to stand up to them, with thankfully, the help of organizations like LIBERTY COUNSEL and the ACLJ.  Get behind your local politicians and pressure them to stand up for what is right, not just what is most cost effective which is what these left wingnut organizations count on.  The Cherokee County school board has done the right thing and listened to the will of their constituents.  On January 20, 2011, they voted to keep using First Baptist Woodstock's building for their graduation.  


                                    (image clickable link)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I am curious as to why you are mocking our nation's founding principles and religious heritage.

Church state separation is central to America's founding principles and faith heritage. In 1644, Baptist Roger Williams (persecuted by "Christian" colonial theocrats, who considered Baptists heretical) called for a "wall of separation" between church and state. Baptists' "wall of separation" would prevent government from interfering with the free exercise of religion, and prevent government from incorporating religion into governance.

Generations of Baptists were persecuted, and shed blood, in the fight (against colonial theocracies) to separate church and state. Their triumph finally came in the enactment of the First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, establishing the Baptist vision of a "wall of separation" between church and state.

Deniers of church state separation often respond that the phrase "wall of separation" is not in the U. S. Constitution. Well, neither is the word "Trinity" in the Bible, but most deniers of church state separation probably believe in the Trinity.

More importantly, Christians of the late 18th and early 19th centuries clearly understood that the First Amendment wording - "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof" - separated church from state. Their testimony bears much more weight than the fabricated history loved by many modern conservative Christians and politicians.

Make no mistake: denying church state separation mocks our nation's founding principles and faith heritage. Church state separation was good for America in 1791, and it is good for America now. To see the problems of merging church and state, look to the Middle East, where conservative religious law (Sharia Law, based on the biblical Old Testament) rules.

Church state separation is an American moral value of which we all can be proud.

Bruce Gourley, Director
Baptist History & Heritage Society
www.baptisthistory.org
www.wallofseparation.org