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Sample Weekly Bulletin April 6
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WEEKLY BULLETIN for
April 6, 2008
The Times and the
Scriptures
A Christian
citizenship curriculum for developing
people with an understanding of the times,
to know what America ought to do
(cf. First Chronicles 12:32)
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Because Someone
Stood Firm…
Victories
in Three “Religious Display” Disputes
Christian
attorneys and/or other strong-willed individuals have won
showdowns in three states defending the right to have public
displays of religious significance. The most surprising
victory came in the 9th Circuit Court, the most
notoriously liberal court in the U.S.
The city of Everett, WA, successfully defended its 49-year-old
granite monument near the Old City Hall building which contains
an inscription of the Ten Commandments. The 9th
Circuit, with jurisdiction throughout the western U.S., agreed
with the city’s contention that the display was not solely
religious in its purpose. A National Legal Foundation
spokesman said the not-so-hidden agenda of the ACLU and similar
organizations would require that Americans lie about their own
history as a Christian nation, but that agenda was defeated in
this case.
Officials at Penn State University backed down from an
Alliance Defense Fund lawsuit last month and permitted one of
their alumni to inscribe his name, graduation year and “Joshua
24:15” on a brick for a new campus walkway. Alumni
had been invited to donate $250 per brick and inscribe words of
their choice, but James Pursley’s message was ruled
unacceptable. The school has since decided it would rather have
Pursley’s $250 than a lawsuit.
Parents in the Lewisville, TX, school district leaped into action
upon learning that the national motto “In God We Trust”
on their gymnasium wall had been instantly painted over on the
very day when one parent complained of having the word
“God” in the school. The parents started by
sending their children to school with the motto on T-shirts and
backpacks while researching the law, and soon found that Texas
statute specifically allows “In God We Trust” to be
displayed in schools. The district has apologized for its
hasty paint job and says the words will be restored.
For discussion: Backgrounders that pertain to these
issues include #7, Public Acknowledgement of Christianity,
#12, Separation of Church and
State, #18,
Is America a Christian Nation?, #27, The Foundational Ten
Commandments, and #38, ACLU, Archenemy of Our Biblical
Heritage. What would it take to motivate more
Christians to take the kind of stands these people took in the
spirit of Jude verse 3?
City Council
Approves Special Day Honoring ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union has been unusually active in
the city of San Diego, CA, battling to kick the Boy Scouts out of
public facilities that other organizations are allowed to use,
restricting religious rights of the city’s school children,
harassing pro-life demonstrators at abortion clinics, and topping
it off by thwarting the 76% majority of San Diego voters who
wanted to keep an historic war memorial cross on public property.
(See 8-13-06 Update and its reference to earlier articles.)
This track record made it especially infuriating to the losing
side in the city council’s recent decision to honor the ACLU
with a special day. Several citizens at the March 24
council meeting hotly criticized the 5-2 decision. Heather
Cameron, representing a Christian law firm that donated time
unsuccessfully defending San Diego against the memorial cross
lawsuit that ended up forcing San Diego taxpayers to pay the ACLU
nearly a million dollars, addressed the council on the
ACLU’s history from founder Roger Baldwin’s famous
statement that “Communism is the goal,” down to the
most recent outrages against America’s Christian heritage.
James Hartline, a local Christian activist, said the honor would
be “one of the most repugnant acts” ever undertaken by
the San Diego city council.
For discussion: Explain how 76% of
the voters can stand firm against the ACLU and then have 71% of
their council members vote to honor the organization. We
are to honor those in government to whom honor is due (Rom.
13:7), so should we care to whom that honor is passed
on? Discuss Backgrounders #26, Romans 13: Government as
God’s Servant, and #34, Voting Like a Christian.
T&S WEEKLY BULLETIN,
April 6, 2008, Page 2
Parental
Choice Could Boost Education Success
Some Americans were stunned and some uttered a collective yawn
last week when another report on educational failure in the U.S.
was issued. One-third of the nations’ 50 largest
cities have high school graduation rates of less than 50% with
Detroit showing up worst at 25% according to statistics published
by America’s Promise Alliance, but an education analyst at
the Heritage Foundation says those numbers would improve if there
were more choices for families and competition between government
schools and independent schools.
The campaign by secularists, particularly the teacher’s
unions, to marginalize Christian schooling has become a largely
successful crusade against parental choice. Religious
schools generally outperform public schools and operate on less
money, even in the difficult socio-economic urban pockets focused
on by the APA’s report. The Heritage Foundation’s
response to the report concludes, “Everyone who’s
concerned about the performance of our nation’s schools
should support parents’ freedom to choose a safe and
effective school for their children.”
One expression of institutional bias against Christian schooling
is soon to be tested in court as Calvary Chapel High School is
suing the University of California system for its refusal to
recognize credits taught from a biblical worldview. The
outcome could set a national precedent.
For discussion: Review Backgrounder #24, Normal
Christian Education with its first-paragraph emphasis on Prov.
1:7 and Col. 2:3. Will schools do better by
incorporating those truths or banning them?
BBC
Airs Disturbing Interview on Radical Muslim Violence
A disturbing level of violence approved by some leading Islamists
has been acknowledged with broad news coverage in the U.K. as a
BBC reporter interviewed a prominent London Imam backed up by the
man the Imam calls “the top Muslim lawyer of Britain.”
The men frankly declare that Muslims are authorized by Allah to
kill and rape non-Muslims, all of whom are “guilty of
denying Allah and his prophet,” and that no Muslim can be
rightfully punished for such actions.
The YouTube site http://youtube.com/watch?v=maHSOB2RFm4&feature=related offers significant portions of the
interview which seems to represent the extreme view of Sharia
law, a code of Islamic law that is practiced in some countries
and which some Muslims want to enforce on the entire world.
(See our report on page two of the 2-17-08 Weekly Bulletin.)
For discussion: Review Backgrounder #10, Islam in
P.C. America and discuss our point that if the violent
radicals are really a minority fringe of Islam, the ostensibly
peaceful majority should be doing more to oppose them. Don’t
miss the Backgrounder’s key scripture, Matt. 10:14,
contrasting Islam and Christianity.
Website to check: www.islam-watch.org describes itself as “Islam Under Scrutiny By
Ex-Muslims.” It contains a variety of articles and
resources critiquing the Muslim religion.
THOUSANDS RALLY FOR REP WHO CRITICIZED
HOMOSEXUALITY
Thousands rallied at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City to
support State Representative Sally Kern whose reference to
homosexuality as a sin set off a flurry of condemnation and even
death threats against her. Rep. Kern was visibly protected
at the rally by state troopers who are assigned to escort her
until the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation has completed its
examination of the threats.
With her Baptist pastor husband at her side, Kern told the
applauding crowd, “When God calls something a sin, that
settles it. It is a sin. God says He’s the same
yesterday, today and forever, and His Word never changes.”
She said the huge turnout affirmed Christians’ freedom
“to stand up for the truth of God’s Word,” and
added that “God gave me a verse right after this happened.
It’s Phil. 1:12, ‘I want you to know that what
has happened to me has served to the advancement of the
Gospel’.”
Kern
says she has clearly acknowledged homosexuals’ right to
choose their lifestyle, but insists on her own right to criticize
the choice without having her words labeled “hate
speech.” The controversy started when her speech to a
Republican Party group was secretly recorded and posted on
YouTube after creative editing made it sound like she had said
homosexuals were worse than terrorists.
For discussion: Consider Rep. Kerns’ bravery in
the face of the kind of intimidation you read about in
Backgrounder #45, Free Speech vs. Intolerance. Discuss
the Phil. 1:12 passage she mentioned.
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NEXT
WEEK: High school student gets zero for including
John 3:16 in art project. Student sues!
Copyright 2008,
The Times and the Scriptures, 948 Darlene Ave, Springfield, OR 97477 www.timesandscriptures.com,
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