[Chancellor]

Quote by: lsbskins1 Your definition of government time is too narrow, and isn't that just lucky for you.

I'm a Libertarian: I don't cede to the government anything beyond what is ceded to it in the Constitution.

The government, in any case, does mandate that children be in school.

Which is unconstitutional.

If you are poor, that means they essentially mandate that they be in a public school.

They can be homeschooled (something I would certainly recommend given the poor quality of education received in these government indoctrination centers called public schools.

And if I am poor and Jewish or poor and Hindu, what makes you think I want my kids to be forced to listen to prayers that name Jesus.

Why should Christian kids be forced to listen to anti-Christian secular dogma? Why should Christian kids be forced to listen to prayers to Allah or Vishnu or Gaia? You are attributing a position to me that I do not hold and I'm going to have to insist that you knock it off! If you're going to disagree with me then disagree with what I actually believe.

And talk about putting an animus falsely on someone,

I was merely speculating - you're overreacting.

I said Jesus because he is the central focus of the dominant religion in this country (Chritianity) and therefore the most likely to be used in any case.

Whether Christianity is really the dominant religion in this country is subject to debate.

I don't hate Christians. I don't hate Christ or Christianity. I hate what some do in it's and his name.

Your histrionics and overreaction to what you wrongly think I'm saying suggests there's more to it than just hating what some so-called Christians do.

I doubt the supernatural aspects of any religion, but I am not phobic of any of them.

You're free to doubt whatever you want and I'm using the term "Christophobia" in the way you homosexuals use "homophobia."

So, though you bristle at the idea that someone might assign motives to you that are not your own, you sure have no trouble doing it yourself.

I wasn't assigning motives, I was merely speculating.

And the reason the kids in the school should not be allowed to pray in Jesus' name over the intercom is because it does show favor to the dominant religion while some kids of other faiths HAVE to be there. Like it or not, it is disrespectful of their right to be free of someone elses version of "religious truth". So, suck it up. Pray to Jesus all you want, just do it at home, in church or in your head. Not over the public address systems. And if you are seriously contending that amplified voices are less intrusive than words on a coin, you probably don't understand the meaning of the word intrusive. Please do not condesend to me with all your Christophobia crap. You know and I know that there is absolutely no danger that Christianity will be forced into some dark corner anytime soon. I tried to be reasonable in tone with you. You were having no part of it. I thought maybe you might actually want to find some common ground. My mistake. I won't make it with you again.

You seem to be assuming I'm taking a position that I'm not taking, which is typical of people like you who tend to read into what other people post instead of reading what is posted. I challenge you to show me how the following statement that I made in my earlier post is supporting mandated prayer over the intercom at school before the start of classes: "With regard to opening classes up in the morning with prayer (why you felt the need to single out Jesus, I don't know - perhaps that's a particular animus on your part or a Christophobia), if the school district mandates it then it is unconstitutional (as all instances of ceremonial deism are). If students want to get together on school grounds before the start of classes to pray, the government has no constitutional authority to prohibit them from doing so." Oh, by the way, you might want to brush up on your reading skills because there was nothing in my post that said anything about students praying over the intercom in school. If you're going to disagree with me then I expect you to disagree with what I wrote and not your interpretation of it!

You said, "kids in the school should not be allowed to pray in Jesus' name over the intercom is because it does show favor to the dominant religion..." Does this mean kids in the school should be allowed to pray to Allah or Vishnu or Gaia or some other deity? Notice I'm just asking a question here based on what you actually wrote.

By the way, there is no constitutional right to freedom from religion. No one has a right not to be exposed to expressions of religious faith. So, take your own advice and suck it up!

In case you still aren't getting it, my position is that the government has no constitutional authority to mandate religious expression (including such things as mandated prayer at the beginning of the school day) and has no constitutional authority to in any way infringe on the free exercise of religion (regardless of what that religion is). Of course, I also think these government indoctrination centers (public schools) are unconstitutional but that's another issue.