# Gideons and spellbooks



## kappazei (Jan 27, 2012)

I just came off an online discussion regarding an incident in S Carolina where the Gideons made bibles available to students at an intermediate school.
The mom of a student who took a bible home is a Wiccan. This mom, in turn approached the schoolboard with copies of spellbooks. The schoolboard rejected her offer and now she has gone to the press with her story. There is to be a meeting about school policy regarding this incident. What would you do if you were on the same schoolboard? I imagine this sort of a thing happens from time to time.

Should schools allow religious texts to be offered to their students? - Your Community


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## Skyler (Jan 27, 2012)

There is no solution to this question.

That's because public schools are a contradiction in terms. It's pointless to try to appease parties that believe that Bibles should be permitted in school and parties that believe that Bibles should not be permitted in school. There is no satisfactory compromise to such a policy issue in schools designed to cater to everyone.


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## Marrow Man (Jan 27, 2012)

kappazei said:


> What would you do if you were on the same schoolboard?



Accept the spell books and then go all Acts 19:19 with them.


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## Miss Marple (Jan 27, 2012)

Advocate for return of local control of schools. If the School Board thinks a spell book is overall positive for the class, then they stay. If not, they go. Same with Bibles.

Then get sane and godly people on the board.


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## Pilgrim (Jan 27, 2012)

When public schools were first established, and up until about the mid 20th Century, there was a more or less lowest common denominator Protestant consensus. That's one reason why Catholic schools were established, btw, although I don't know that some kind of "neutral" school system would have been acceptable to them in those days anyway. 

This "Christian America" consensus being shattered some time ago, I suspect Skyler is correct. There is really no basis on which to include one while excluding the other except perhaps on the basis of some nebulous "local standards" as Miss Marple notes.


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## jogri17 (Jan 27, 2012)

If one group has the civil right to, others do. Simple as that.


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## RobR (Jan 27, 2012)

When I was a Gideon, our local schools would not allow us on campus, so we had to stand on public sidewalks to give out bibles. If the Wiken want to do the same.. I suppose there is nothin stoppin them. We could not get to the kids gettin on the busses though, because they never crossed to public areas.


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## J. Dean (Jan 27, 2012)

Marrow Man said:


> kappazei said:
> 
> 
> > What would you do if you were on the same schoolboard?
> ...


Post of the day!

By the way, we in education have a joke: if you want to see a program cancelled, demonstrate that it actually works.


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## Zach (Jan 27, 2012)

For a second I thought this might be a post about Gideon's passing out spell books. I thought, "Gee...that's a pretty drastic turn around!"


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## kappazei (Jan 29, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your replies. I guess we should be praying for the believers who are connected to the North Windy Ridge middle school as well. And thank you for allwoing me to be part of this discussion board. Have a great Sunday.


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## Miss Marple (Jan 29, 2012)

But Pilgrim, I don't want nebulous local standards.

I want Bible believing Christians on local school boards. Applying Biblical standards.


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## Skyler (Jan 29, 2012)

Miss Marple said:


> But Pilgrim, I don't want nebulous local standards.
> 
> I want Bible believing Christians on local school boards. Applying Biblical standards.



Well, then you have a Christian school, not a public school.

Which I have absolutely no problem with, for the record. =)


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## Andres (Jan 30, 2012)

jogri17 said:


> If one group has the civil right to, others do. Simple as that.


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## Miss Marple (Jan 30, 2012)

I must disagree, Sklyer, although I am not trying to argue just to be argumentative.

I have in mind a public school with Christians on the school board.

In this admittedly idealistic scenario, the Christians are making decisions based on what they believe to be in the students' best interests.

That's what local school board control is all about.

Of course if the majority in the community are Wiccans and most are Wiccans on the board, you won't have godly decisions being made.

But as Christians, something we can and should work for, in my opinion, is local control over the schools (the way it was in the early days) and getting serious Christians on the board.

Were I on my local school board, I'd not allow the Spell Books because I'd argue that the distribution of the same would harm the children psychologically, emotionally, spiritually, and perhaps physically. I'd vote against them. I'd allow the Bibles because I believe they would be of positive help to the children, and of significant educational value. I'd vote for them.

And that would not make it a Christian school. (which I have no problem with, either  )

I really feel we must not be so ginger about the public schools or wash our hands and say there is no legitimate way of hope. We must advocate for the local control and get godly men on our school boards, making decisions that are in the children's best interests. Without apology.


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## kappazei (Jan 30, 2012)

I'm pretty sure that I read somehwere in my province's Education Act that education in public schools be conducted in a secular manner. 
Yet, a believing friend was on a local schoolboard for years. If he can live out his Faith in that environment, I think it's do-able for other believers. Just because one is a believer doesn't mean we have to play the stereotype or get baited by Pagans who have good PR sense.


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## Skyler (Jan 30, 2012)

Miss Marple said:


> In this admittedly idealistic scenario, the Christians are making decisions based on what they believe to be in the students' best interests.



What's the difference between that and a Christian school? Other than that a Christian school admits its Christian influence?

I don't wash my hands and say there is no legitimate way of hope. There is; it just isn't through state-funded "public schools." It's through Christians rising up and publicly educating people according to God's standards, without shame and without compromise.


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## Miss Marple (Jan 30, 2012)

Skyler said:


> Miss Marple said:
> 
> 
> > In this admittedly idealistic scenario, the Christians are making decisions based on what they believe to be in the students' best interests.
> ...



A Christian school would have a Christian mission statement, a Christian administration, and Christian standards for student behavior and studies. Normally the teachers are all to be Christians, perhaps all employees would be required to be so. There'd be prayer and I suppose chapel, etc. Often a Christian school is sponsored by an actual church as a ministry. Students or employees walking outside biblical standards could be subject to being fired or expelled.

The public school would have, hopefully, Bible believing Christians on the school board. Informed by their faith, they could make various decisions to safeguard the students from harmful activities and curriculum. But the funding is public, there's no statement of Christian faith for anyone, no one is fired/expelled for a faith reason, there'd be no particular chapel or prayer or religious instruction (although I believe the absence of instruction is in itself instruction, but that's a philosophical point for perhaps another day).

I'd like to see Christians on locally controlled school boards. I think a lot of evil could be restrained and many children could be protected from the excesses of the evil prevalent in our culture today. It wouldn't save them. But it would protect them in substantial ways, and it would in my view be an act of mercy.

Of course we must all focus our energies where they are best used. It may be better use of our time and talents to serve a local Christian school or home school rather than trying to be salt and light on the school board. We can't be everywhere.


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## kappazei (Jan 31, 2012)

Skyler said:


> Persecuted Calvinist Plant



This sounds curious. Could you tell me what the above is about?


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