JISHOU, HUNAN — Kentridge High School in Washington state cannot have a Christians-only Bible club. Organizers of the club lost their legal battle when the US Supreme Court declined to hear their case yesterday.

The Court’s action puts greater restrictions on religious clubs in public schools. As long as clubs do not limit membership based on religious faith, high schools can permit such clubs. If clubs shut out anyone from full membership based on a person’s faith, the schools have the right to ban the club.

It’s a sensible state of affairs, but I predict the religious right will squeal like stuck pigs, saying, “War on Christianity! War on Christianity!”

The losers in this court battle were two, now-former students of Kentridge High School, who in 2001 applied for a school charter for Truth, a Bible club. Truth members, who could be of any faith, would read Bible verses on the school intercom and decorate the school once a month.

Then a federal court ruled that religion-based clubs in public school did not automatically violate the Constitutional separation of church and state. Truth’s founders, Sarice Undis and Julianne Stewart, upped the ante. They changed the rules of their club and applied for a new charter, since the student council had not yet acted on their first application.

Now, anyone could join Truth, but to be full voting members, they would have to profess “belief in the Bible and in Jesus Christ.”

June 30th, 2009 | Tags: Christian, club, constitution, high school, Kentridge, SCOTUS, Truth | Category: Civil liberties, Commentary, Schools, religion | Leave a comment

JISHOU, HUNAN — Findlay, Ohio, teen Tyler Frost stuck to his guns this weekend and flouted his church school’s rules against dancing and listening to rock music. He went to his girlfriend’s prom, and got suspended.

Go, Tyler!

His local paper, The Courier, printed this photo of Tyler and his sweetheart having some additional non-fundie fun in the parking lot of her school. (Caution: This photo may lead to thoughts of lust and … dancing. I am not responsible for any consequences that may ensue.)

To recap this little story of life in Jesusland, Frost is a senior at Heritage Christian School, a conservative Baptist school that forbids dancing, listening to rock music, and other such sinful behavior. Tyler’s girlfriend, Rebecca Smoody, attends Findlay High School, which in addition to having a traditional senior prom also condones dancing and listening to rock music. The couple wanted to attend the prom together.

FHS requires guests of its students to get permission from their own schools’ principals to attend the FHS prom. Frost did, but his principal said if he went, Frost would violate HCS behavioral regulations and face suspension.

Frost and his family feel the HCS regs should only pertain to behavior during school hours, and not after hours elsewhere. So Frost went, and his school suspended him.

He told his local paper that he enjoyed the dance (his first), and while he found the music a little too loud, “he certainly did not hear any music he hasn’t heard before.”

May 12th, 2009 | Tags: Findlay, Footloose, heritage christian school, high school, ohio, prom, suspension, Tyler Frost | Category: Random rants, Schools, religion | Leave a comment

JISHOU, HUNAN — It’s either her prom or your graduation, a Christian high school in Findlay, Ohio, has told Tyler Frost, 17.

If Frost goes to his girlfriend’s prom at the worldly Findlay High School, Heritage Christian School will suspend him, thereby depriving Frost of the chance to participate in his graduation ceremony. The boy, bless his little romantic heart, plans to attend his girlfriend’s prom anyway. He’s never been to a dance before.

Attaboy, Tyler!

Heritage Christian School, a Baptist torture chamber prison camp gulag school, forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing, I guess because Jesus didn’t do that kind of worldly stuff.

I have my doubts about that. There’s that whole thing about water into wine…

Anyway, Frost followed the rules for Findlay High and got his principal’s permission to attend the bacchanalia orgy Animal House party prom.

“I expected a short lecture about making the right decisions and not doing something stupid,” Frost said. “I thought I would get his signature and that would be the end.”

[Heritage Principal Tim] England acknowledged signing the form but warned Frost there would be consequences if he attended the dance. England then took the issue to a school committee made up of church members, who decided to threaten Frost with suspension.

“In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other,” England said.

May 9th, 2009 | Tags: Findlay, heritage christian, high school, john freshwater, ohio, prom, suspension, Tyler Frost | Category: Random rants, Schools, religion | Leave a comment