Apology Follows Christian-Themed Assembly

[Judi Lynn]

Apology Follows Christian-Themed Assembly
By Associated Press

October 27, 2005, 12:33 PM EDT

NEWARK, Del. -- The principal of a public high school apologized to parents for allowing a Christian-themed assembly that featured two pro football players, saying he was misled about what the presentation would cover.

Newark High School Principal Emmanuel Caulk wrote in a letter that he expected the talk by Philadelphia Eagles players Tra Thomas and Thomas Tapeh to focus on "values, choices and challenges that adolescents face in today's society."

He said promotional material used the name "Tra Thomas Promotional Tour," and that he did not know Thomas was founder and spokesman for Athletes United for Christ.

A projection of that organization's logo was shown throughout Tuesday's assembly, and the athletes urged students to attend an upcoming rally and concert at a Philadelphia-area Christian center.
(snip/...)

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-religious-assembly,0,5518243.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

1. Ummm, apology for what?

Maybe I'm missing something here, but did it, (or should it) bother people that these two athletes expressed their Christian faith? Why the uproar?

Of course, I already know the answer to this, but..

[LostinVA]

4. Yeah, it should bother people, it was a public HS

Not a Catholic HS or a Baptist HS, a public school funded with public dollars, and attended by kids of many different faiths. And they had to sit there and listen to this. Yeah, they HAD to... there aren't too many high schools in the US where the students can just meander out of a class or assembly whenever they want. It also seems like a stealth ploy, since their promo materials didn't reveal the true purpose of the presentation.

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

15. OK, I've thought it over, and I see the problem.

The fact that it was forced (via assembly) does set up a situation in which non-Christians, or even other Christian denominations might be exposed to proselytization that their parents may not approve of, in a public forum.

I have to be honest, though. As a civil libertarian, it bothers me, but as a Christian, not nearly as much as it probably should.

I do cede your points, however.

[mondo joe]

39. The problem is using an agent of the government (the school) to promote

or endorse a religion, on school time that kids are expected to attend.

[hippiegranny]

50. good on you.

I like people who take ownership!

[Realityhack]

51. You rock.

Its rare that someone can admit they were not initialy correct and rarer still that they can see their own preduduce and act against it.

BTW speaking of how much it should bother you... just think about the fact that all religions claim the same thing... to be good. Then imagine if this had been from a non-christian religion.

[Zhade]

57. Agreed, now if he could only give up his support for the war...

That would seriously impress me.

[Connie_Corleone]

5. He was there promoting a christian rally. Can't do that at a public

school.

[TrogL]

6. Fine. I want equal time

No doubt the two football players spouted the Fundamentalist Christian viewpoint, no doubt from a Southern Baptist spin.

I'd like equal time to present the case for:

• Anglo-Catholic
  
• Old Catholic
  
• Episcopalean/Traditional Anglican
  
• Greek Orthodox
  
• Russian Orthodox
  
• Ukranian Orthodox
  

and I'm sure a few others would like a kick at the cat. I'm sure we could squeeze it into the school year if no other subjects were taught (like that pesky science curriculum)

[indie_voter]

7. Equal time for the Atheist point of view too! n/t

[TrogL]

9. Yep

and where's a Druid when you need one?

[LostinVA]

12. Hey, Samhaim is coming up, so that's a great idea!

[fshrink]

13. Don't hold your breath.

[LostinVA]

8. Every tradition of Neo-Pagan, Buddhist, Hindu, Shinto

Zorastersism.......

[hyphenate]

16. And don't forget

Wiccans, Pagans, Moslems, Hindis, Buddhists, Taoists, Jainists, Agnostics, Secular Humanists, Universal Unitarians, New Age, Sikhs, Jim Jones type cults, Moonies, etc.

[zbdent]

17. Don't forget FSM!

And Poland!

[sarcasmo]

20. Let's not forget us Atheist.

[Critters2]

49. Progressive, pro-gay, pro-choice,

pro-feminist, vegan, pacifist, Mainline Christians like myself...do we get to put on an assembly?

I thought not...

[kestrel91316]

53. It all means nothing until and unless we are willing to provide equal time

to the SATANISTS.

And no, I am not one. But their religious liberties are no less than those of any other group.

It's all or none (and I prefer none in public institutions).

[Matariki]

10. right. and if i misled a school principal - saying i was giving a pep talk

to a school assembly and instead talked about Vodou and how it's enriched my life, then encouraged students to attend a Vodou ceremony, how do you think that would fly? My religion is as valid as a Christian's, but I would be drawn and quartered methinks.

[JerseygirlCT]

26. At a public school assembly? Yeah, that's a problem. nt

[Tesha]

33. Try to imagine it this way...

> Why the uproar?

Try to imagine it this way...

Two Nobel Prize-winning scientists come to the school. They give an
exciting, inspirational talk suggesting that if the kids only open
their minds and throw away their child-like beliefs in the supernatural,
that the kids will be able to achieve far more than they can today,
burdened as they are by beliefs in strange father-like figures
floating somewhere up in the air watching their every move and
keeping score.

Tesha

[eppur_se_muova]

43. Wow, you're really testing me...

Personally, I think they SHOULD hear that message (nicely worded too, kudos to you, Tesha). BUT...I have to acknowledge that, speaking as a citizen of the USA, where there is "no establishment regarding religion", the idea is wrong in principle. If attendance is not a matter of choice, no one has the right to exploit the captivity of this audience to promote their own spiritual values above any others.

Who was it that said "I may deplore what you say, Sir, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"? It seems to me there should be an equally vigorous defense of children's rights not to be forced to sit through an attempt at persuasion they didn't ask to hear, at least on matters wisely placed outside the rightful arena of gov't.

[Stuckinthebush]

41. My kids are not Christian

They are immersed in an overtly Christian environment whenever they walk out of their door. They feel pressure to become a Christian by peers at school, and they feel like outcasts at overtly Christianized events at school such as the singing of Christian Christmas carols in December.

They are bombarded by that stuff, so it adds insult to injury when the school officials who are supposed to protect their diversity betray them by making them attend Tra whoever's yay for Jesus pep rally. And I'm sure he is not a talented theologian either.

Yes, it is wrong. There is no valid argument here that makes it right for my children to be subjected to this crap in the one safe place that they are supposed to have.

[zanne]

2. PUBLIC high school.

Remember that word?

[LisaM]

3. Well, they are evangelists

and if you think the public schools should be sponsoring evangelical events by ANY faith, I would be surprised. What if Opus Dei came by to recruit? Or the Mormons?

[LifeDuringWartime]

11. or Satanists?

n/t

[MindPilot]

19. Any other religious group would say such an underhanded tactic

demeans their faith. But Christians seem to think the government owes them a platform from which to proselytize.

[Zenlitened]

23. Yup. Fundies use stealth, half-truths and lies to slip in through the gate

... just about constantly. Quite the set of values they've got, huh?

:crazy:

[Bridget Burke]

14. It sounds like he did the right thing.

No problem here.

[ToolTex]

27. No he didn't do the right thing. He should have checked first.

And if he was still lied to, he should have stopped the cultists mid first sentence from preaching to the gathered public school students.

[Realityhack]

46. I agree...

He thought he was doing the right thing by letting it go but IMO he should have stopped the assembly called the police and had them thrown off the schools property.

Then they could have done a school wide awaremess activity the following week about seperation of church and state :-)

I do not think he was intentionaly doing the wrong thing though. He dropped the ball to some degree but one wonders how many people would be equaly fooled.

Can the school district file a civil suit on behalf of the students/teachers/whatever against the speaking group for violating their rights?

[Lydia Leftcoast]

55. I'm a mainstream Christian, and I agree with you

If I were a school principal and two fundies used stealth means to spread their message at a public school, I'd interrupt them and remind them of the separation of church and state.

Better yet, I'd never invite any speaker to speak to a required assembly without clearly understanding what he or she was going to talk about. You don't want fundies proselytizing the students, and you also don't want Holocaust deniers or other fruitcakes.

[jayfish]

18. Those Students Should Consider Themselves Lucky.

They could have gotten these two guys.

http://kkmime.org/

Watch if you dare.

Jay

[xchrom]

21. lol -- oh my

that was a surprise.

[zanne]

24. Do you think that was real or satire?

I seriously couldn't tell!

[jayfish]

29. Oh It's Real.

A buddy e-mailed me that link and my jaw about hit the floor.

Jay

[Realityhack]

47. I do not think there are words to describe that ;-)

ok. stupid pun. But seriously I can't beleive it.

[jayfish]

52. Yeah, Evangelic Mime.

Isn't that antithetical?

[MindPilot]

31. Now we know what killed Rosa Parks...

"K&K has had the distinct privilege to perform before the legendary historic hero Mrs. Rosa Parks, Television sitcom’s Martin’s Tommy Ford, Boys To Men, BeBe Winans, and the classic “Sanford and Sons” Demond Wilson. They appeared as guest with MC Hammer on the Hammer Time Show aired on TBN(Trinity Broadcast Network)."

http://kkmime.org/index2.html#bio

[LizW]

22. You'd think principals would be cathing on by now

There are several of these groups who go around to schools putting on assemblies that are a thin disguise for evangelical Christian proselytizing. It's always supposedly about "values, choices and challenges" and then--Surprise! It's really about Jesus!

[lolly]

25. What is it with athletes and religion?

A little off-topic, but why are so many athletes such hard-care fundies?

Football would seem to be about the most un-Christlike activity I can imagine, short of breaking laws--yet they all carry on about Jesus all the time. Notre Dame has that idiotic "Touchdown Jesus," as if Jesus would give a damn about who wins a football game if he were to come back tomorrow . . .

Is it the whole patriarchal thing? Sports and Christianity both prop up the patriarchy, so they go hand-in-hand?

(Note: before anybody flames me, I've got nothing against football. I just don't see what it has to do with Christianity!)

[MindPilot]

28. I'm always fascinated by the prayer before a NASCAR race

All that safety gear is there just on the off chance that god wasn't listening.

And the whole "racers for christ" thing that permeates NHRA is getting so pervasive that it's not fun to go anymore.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

56. It's the authoritarian macho mindset

perfect for fundamentalist religion and the perfect underpinning for a militaristic society.

[pop goes the weasel]

30. blast from the past

That used to happen all the time when I was a schoolgirl. Go to some assembly and find out after you were there that it was a Christian religious event. Always a conservative evangelical Christian event. My Christian parents were not amused.

[lolly]

34. Teen Challenge Comes to Mind

The anti-drug movement of the 60s and 70s was ripe ground for these folks. Went to a couple of those Stay Off Drugs assemblies that were really Stay On Jesus revival meetings.

The current equivalent seems to be the abstinence movement. There are several "respect yourself" speakers who do the same thing these days. Some former model--can't remember her name--earns big bucks by going around to high school athletic teams and preaching abstinence/religion to them.

[donco6]

32. This is a common tactic.

We've learned to check references before we hire a speaker. It's amazing how often we find out that they're sneaking in a Christian evangelism message into the speech.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

35. Let's hope

the principal mailed the apology because it was the right thing to do and not because he feared a lawsuit.

If so, kudos to him for correcting a mistake.

[Danmel]

36. Maybe we can get the Lubavitchers in

All the girls can light Shabbas candles and the boys can put on Tefillin.

[Alpharetta]

37. Dobson will mention this on his show as prosecution of Christians

O'Reilly will do it too.

They'll mention the incident as part of the proof liberals want to outlaw Christmas and Halloween.

[ninkasi]

38. This is the part I consider dishonest...

"Thomas said he assumed everyone knew his promotional tour was connected to his organization but that he has heard similar complaints after speaking at other public schools. "

If he has heard complaints before, then he also knows that the content of his message is not made clear when his organization offers to make their presentation. There is something wrong, if a man who purports to be a Christian has to resort to less than honest tactics in order to spread his message.

This has no business in public schools, and is becoming way too common. There are many other religions in this country, and everybody is free to worship at their places of worship, in their homes, and silently, wherever they are. They are not free to use public money to spread their message, unless other religions are given the same right.

[Realityhack]

48. These people need to face criminal penalties.

IMO violating students civil rights like that should be like any other crime. these people should face charges and be heavily fined. Certainly several times what they took in for the performance.

[PunkPop]

40. Damn sneaky Christians.

[woodsprite]

42. This is my alma mater and the school my daughter will go to in

a year. I'm Christian and I have a problem with it. If they had left it at a values talk, etc. That would be one thing. They had a cross with their logo projected up on the screen during the whole presentation. IMO, it was underhanded publicizing that got them where they were in the first place. I really don't think our school district would have invited them if they knew exactly what it was. I would LOVE to see the promo material that NHS received.

From the way the article sounded, I think the principal *THOUGHT* about stopping it, but realized it might have a worse impact than letting it continue. At the end of the article he says something about deciding how to handle such instances in the future.

I would bet money on it not being the schools fault. (Unless the new principal of the school is from the Kenneth Blackwell School of Educational Management. If he is, then all bets are off.) Wonder if he's a repub?

This does make me a bit uneasy since that's where my munchkins will go. But, it falls right into the "theme" of some mega churches being built around here that are trying to get some covert converts.

[Realityhack]

44. too bad the idiots who were speaking...

can't be charged with violating the childrens civil rights.

Sounds like the principle was probobly misslead or just un-informed. But this is a violation of the childrens rights and the religious wakos know it and did it anyway. IMO they should face some kind of charge/fine/whatever.

[Realityhack]

45. Wonder if these people realise...

that violating these childrens rights by doing this is probobly one of the things that somewhere in their religion is considered a sin.

Idiots.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

54. I do declare...

I am gonna get mke a copy of The Necronomicon, conjure up Cthulhu, Yog-Sothoth and N'yarlhotep and send them out on a promotional tour.

Say a few words no one can understand, a little song and dance, eat a few brains...their usual sort of thing. ;-)