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Valedictorian Defies School District and Recites Lord's Prayer [W:618]

Should the school have banned the reading of the prayer by the student?

  • Yes

    Votes: 24 27.3%
  • No

    Votes: 60 68.2%
  • Undecided

    Votes: 4 4.5%

  • Total voters
    88
I don't know about our school districts policy, but i do know during my daughters graduation tonight, the valedictorian thanked his lord and savior Jesus Christ and brought the house down with applause.. about 10,000 people went nuts...standing ovation and all.
 
This kid is exactly the kind of hypocrite that Jesus Christ spoke about when he talked about the Pharisees that love to stand and pray in in public so that others will see them. This kid is an attention whore who felt the need to stand in the public square and show his "spirituality" for all to see. Too funny that he can't even see that he is mocking the god that he claims to worship.
 
Is public property not owned by the public?

yes... very true, parks, streets, buildings, other things... however in places where to don't have a captive audience like open spaces,with people constantly moving about and continuing with there own business, people engaging in freedom of speech is not a problem, because a person or persons have the ability to just walk away.

but in a public building, where the public must transact some nature of business, like the DMV, or SS office, people are no able to just move along, just walk away, they are held there until they finish any business they have between themselves and the state.

this does not give individuals or groups of people the ability to just say anything they choose or engage in any action, among that captive audience, because people may find their action or words offensive.

this is why speech can be limited ,when a person or persons use the right to speech to abuse/ lecture/ self educate the people, while they are in public buildings, this helps to prevent altercations which may occur.
 
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here is where I agree with you, and why , because your going to a speech, and the topic can be on a variety of things, and if you don't like the speech, you can walk away.

years ago Linda Ronstadt was doing a music tour, and of coarse people wanted to hear her MUSIC, however during the concerts, she began to inject her leftist political ideas to the audience, which many people did not like, they had paid to hear her sing, not to hear political thoughts.

they wanted their money back, stating they didn't pay for her ideas but for her music, and they demanded there money, however they where questioned why?, when... they did get to hear her sing. this is an example of holding a captive audience using the power of money, to promote your political agenda.

the other example I have used for this thread is person using their speech, holding a captive audience while people are trying to transact official business between themselves and the state.

you cant use public buildings/institutions where people have to convene, and make it your soapbox, for anything you wish to say.
 
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Yeah reciting an ages old common prayer is such a success.:roll:

Now the cry for attention worked pretty well though.

He follows in a great tradition.
"Here I stand. I can do no other." --Martin Luther before the Diet of Worms, 1521
:cool:
 
You don't have the right to not hear the religion of someone else.

You live in a backward universe. The Constitution's 1st Amendment IS NOT the right to be heard, only freedom of speech, which we clearly know has limitations.

If you chose to express and/or impose your personal religious beliefs in a venue, which are subject to public or private policies and/or laws, there may be consequences that you might be required to submit to. Federal and State funded educational systems and facilities are subject to policies and laws, which may well impede or limit a person's freedom of speech.

Most all private corporations have the right to impede or limit freedom of speech.

BTW...I noticed a comment you made in another post regarding atheist and evolutionists. Atheism isn't a religion no matter how much you claim it to be so. Evolution is a derivative of science...which is certainly not a religion.
 
You live in a backward universe. The Constitution's 1st Amendment IS NOT the right to be heard, only freedom of speech, which we clearly know has limitations.

If you chose to express and/or impose your personal religious beliefs in a venue, which are subject to public or private policies and/or laws, there may be consequences that you might be required to submit to. Federal and State funded educational systems and facilities are subject to policies and laws, which may well impede or limit a person's freedom of speech.

Most all private corporations have the right to impede or limit freedom of speech.

BTW...I noticed a comment you made in another post regarding atheist and evolutionists. Atheism isn't a religion no matter how much you claim it to be so. Evolution is a derivative of science...which is certainly not a religion.

The First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.:mrgreen:
 
The First Amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.:mrgreen:

Uh huh...and we both know that's not without limits.
 
Uh huh...and we both know that's not without limits.

Yes, we do. But where those limits are is the point of the discussion. I'm not a lawyer so I won't pretend to know. The young man did a brave and principled thing. Ours would be a better country if more valedictorians, of all beliefs and unbelief, did the same.:mrgreen:
 
Yes, we do. But where those limits are is the point of the discussion. I'm not a lawyer so I won't pretend to know. The young man did a brave and principled thing. Ours would be a better country if more valedictorians, of all beliefs and unbelief, did the same.:mrgreen:

There was nothing brave about what this idiot did. He is an attention whore....nothing more. He claims to be "Christian"....yet knows nothing about the man he claims to worship. He is a hypocrite and a Pharisee who should educate himself before he opens his mouth.
 
There was nothing brave about what this idiot did. He is an attention whore....nothing more. He claims to be "Christian"....yet knows nothing about the man he claims to worship. He is a hypocrite and a Pharisee who should educate himself before he opens his mouth.

Says you.:roll:

"Here I stand. I can do no other." --Martin Luther before the Diet of Worms, 1521.:cool:
 
Says you.:roll:

"Here I stand. I can do no other." --Martin Luther before the Diet of Worms, 1521.:cool:

Correct. There was nothing brave about this. The kid exposed himself as just another hypocrite "Christian" who love to pray to the world, but knows very little about the man they profess to worship.
 
.

BTW...I noticed a comment you made in another post regarding atheist and evolutionists. Atheism isn't a religion no matter how much you claim it to be so. Evolution is a derivative of science...which is certainly not a religion.

That would be your opinion.
 
This kid is exactly the kind of hypocrite that Jesus Christ spoke about when he talked about the Pharisees that love to stand and pray in in public so that others will see them. This kid is an attention whore who felt the need to stand in the public square and show his "spirituality" for all to see. Too funny that he can't even see that he is mocking the god that he claims to worship.

"undecided" - my norm...
I prefer to think that this kid was not a whore and that he had courage of his convictions..I also think that one should be allowed to do these things without a fear of reprisal...after all, this prayer is but a 60 second thing....our time is not that precious.
I think we need to relax, cool it and smell the roses...and not make such a big deal out of things..
 
This kid is exactly the kind of hypocrite that Jesus Christ spoke about when he talked about the Pharisees that love to stand and pray in in public so that others will see them. This kid is an attention whore who felt the need to stand in the public square and show his "spirituality" for all to see. Too funny that he can't even see that he is mocking the god that he claims to worship.

No, no, and no. Not what happend at all, and not what Christ taught against at all.
 
Prove atheism is religion. Prove evolutionism is a religion.
These things are what people make them to be....on a time and enthusiasm basis, otherwise, of course, they are not..
My "religion" is the truth.....and futility....and opinions...
 
No, no, and no. Not what happend at all, and not what Christ taught against at all.

Oh ?!
I was there and saw it....Jesus was attacking hypocracy....one cannot buy their way into heaven....this I believe, if nothing else...
Or, David Taylor, give us your version.....
 
Oh ?!
I was there and saw it....Jesus was attacking hypocracy....one cannot buy their way into heaven....this I believe, if nothing else...
Or, David Taylor, give us your version.....

Jesus was speaking against hypocrisy yes, however He was speaking to the Pharisees who claimed to be the religious standard yet were twisting Scripture for their own personal gain. That is not what was going on with this individual student at all.

He was tired of the oppression Christian speech is getting and stood up for what is right. It was a rally call to Christians, not a Religious pompiety.
 
These things are what people make them to be....on a time and enthusiasm basis, otherwise, of course, they are not..
My "religion" is the truth.....and futility....and opinions...

It's not rocket science that atheism is the absence of belief in a god or supernatural being who reigns over and/or created the universe. Evolution is a discipline of academic/applied empirical science. Evolution is not pseudo science or new age religion pulled out of someone's imagination.
 
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