The judge said yes that’s a religious prayer. A Daniel come to judgement. Also a guy who can read with his eyes open.
Why yes, that does seem quite religious, doesn’t it. Also patriarchal.
The prayer banner that hangs at Cranston West High School must be removed immediately said U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lagueux in his decision issued Wednesday.
According to the Justice’s decision “The purpose of the prayer banner was clearly religious in nature,” and that “No amount of debate can make the school Prayer anything other than a prayer, and a Christian one at that.”
Jessica Ahlquist, a Cranston West student brought suit against the city over the banner saying it made her feel excluded and ostracized because she is an atheist.
Not to mention she is a girl.
Remove the “Our Heavenly Father” bit, and you’ve got the morale view of every child/student out there.
Everything talked about there is personal and internal, and does not require a God. If you can’t be honest or helpful without asking for it from a divine power, then you’re not a good person. Simple.
Not to mention she is a good girl. Way to go!
You would have to do more than remove the “Heavenly Father” bit. The words “Grant us each day” suggest there is someone “out there” to do the granting. A better wording is “Let us start each day with…”.
OK I’m a nit-picker.
Gazza, that sounds like a great idea. Imagine the publicity we would get if we sent them a replacement banner that they could use. Any opposition would make our side look even better.
When these religious wall trappings get taken down, what goes up in their place? I think it’s a great idea to have encouraging words on the wall so long as they aren’t relgious (overtly or otherwise). It would be neat to get to design something else with all kinds of students in mind to go in the empty spot. Not to mention if the empty spot remained an empty spot, I can tell you with certainty when I was a religious nut student, I would have looked at that blank spot on the wall as the persecution of my way of life made manifest. It’d be nice to cover it with something… nice.
I’m not sure what in the prayer is patriarchal. Could someone point it out to me? Aside from the heavenly father bit it seems almost entirely unobjectionable. Does it have to do with the reverence to G-d and implicit request for subservience to the school?
I think you’ll find the “Help us to be good” line pretty much qualifies as a plea to the HVNLY FTHR to throw around some of his ‘moving in mysterious ways’ shtick in order to ‘help’ morally confused children figure out that it’s not good . . . to be bad.
Otherwise, yeah, a few minor edits and we could send them a version that doesn’t leave them screaming at us evil atheists that we are denying children the opportunity to be inspired. We’re not, we just don’t see why inspiration has to come from a fictional character. Who is watching them. All the time. Judging them. For all eternity. Sleep well little child, god is watching over you, protecting you from Satan, who wants you to burn in hell, except for when you displease your HVNLY FTHR, who will also send you to burn in hell, for eternity. Night night pumpkin. Daddy loves you.
It must have been an activist judge, i.e., any judge who rules against the desires of the right-wing religious interests.
I’ve heard Ms. Ahlquist on several podcasts. I look forward to hearing new interviews with her about the case, how her fellow students treat her, etc.
Ms. Ahlquist seams to be an intelligent and articulate person. I don’t think the atheist movement has heard the last of her, at least I hope we haven’t.
Thirty years ago, in Doe v. Aldine Independent School District (563 F. Supp. 883 (S.D. Tex. 1982)), my high school failed the Lemon test with its school song. Results? It was still up on the auditorium in 1995, when I graduated. It is as follows.
Dear God, please bless our school and all it stands for.
Help keep us free from sin honest and true.
Courage and faith to make our school the victor.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
I tell a little lie: the last line was gone by ’95. Apparently that makes it less of a prayer.
I’m still waiting for the banner that says:
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
GRANT US THE DISCOVERY OF A CURE FOR CANCER
ALSO HIV/AIDS
THAT WOULD BE SWELL
AMEN
An opportunity here: explain to the students the facts of the matter & have them come up with a replacement – perhaps several for various locations in the school – which will provide the intended uplift & positive attitude while remaining within appropriate guidelines. Bet’cha 2¢ they could do it.
Perhaps the removal of this banner (“mural”?) will also help the students of Cranston West to write using complete sentences.
I like Das Boese’s banner idea – my amended version says:
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
GRANT US THE DISCOVERY OF A CURE FOR CANCER
OH WAIT, YOU CREATED IT – YOU CREATED EVERYTHING
AND YOU KNOW THE SUFFERING IT CAUSES – YOU’RE OMNISCIENT
AND YOU COULD HAVE ENDED IT – YOU’RE OMNIPOTENT
BUT YOU HAVEN’T GOTTEN AROUND TO ENDING IT YET, RIGHT?
PLEASE DO – THAT WOULD BE SWELL
AMEN
ps WHY THE DELAY – YOU’RE NOT A SADIST, ARE YOU?
And as usual, the loving xians show their true nature with death threats, posting Jessica’s address, etc.
Can we get a sniper stationed on the roof at that address to watch out for various ‘love bombs’ and other signs of xian affection?
(With a paintball gun…to help the police find the perps later. And a real firearm as backup for the more militant loving xians….)
@timschultheis, you forgot to take out the vowels, because Mr. Sky Fairy hates them. (Makes me wonder why MSF created vowels, or didn’t wipe our minds of them when we made them up, but there you go.)
(I left the “Y” in there, because I think satan made it appear to be a vowel under certain circumstances as a way to trick everyone who reads or writes english.)
If she wasn’t going to hell before, she sure is now. Jessica Ahlquist was victorious in her fight against the Cranston West High School mural that was addressed to “Our Heavenly Father,” and concluded with the word “Amen.” Jessica — an atheist — made a stink about the mural earlier in the school year citing the separation of church and state. Her father, Mark, filed a lawsuit for his Jesus-spiting daughter. Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Ronald R. Lagueux ruled that the http://www.rhodeblock.com/2012/01/12/satan-forces-mural-west/
Going to hell. Really. You’re saying she’s going to be tortured for eternity – for what?
What a disgusting religion.
The stupidity in some of the comments is mindboggling. One stated that religious freedom came from God. The fact that religious freedom comes from the constitution that Jessica was defending, and that God is actually against it, doesn’t seem to have occurred to him/her.
More love:
@PepperGOP :
@jessicaahlquist I’ll hang a banner about Jesus from the freeway overpass for you today! Haha :p
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