TheScroogeReport

Church and State

East Brunswick, N.J. high school football coach fights for right to bow his head, kneel with his players and pray

More separation of church and state paranoia and madness. This from the Washington Post:

After leading his team in prayers for 23 years, Marcus Borden, a football coach in East Brunswick, N.J., is involved in a legal battle that is pushing the courts to decide the boundaries of acceptable religious activity for coaches and other educators in public schools.

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit heard arguments on whether Borden has the right to bow his head and kneel while his players pray around him. Borden says he is not leading his players in prayer but simply supporting them. School officials say the coach should not participate in the prayers.

The case began in 1997, when East Brunswick school officials told Borden to stop inviting clergy to lead pregame prayers. After Borden began leading the prayers himself, parents complained to the school board in 2005, and the board threatened him with disciplinary action unless he stopped.

Borden resigned, only to return to his job and launch a lawsuit against his employer. Last year, a federal district court upheld his right to bow his head and kneel on one knee as students prayed around him.

“This is not about me praying,” said Borden, an award-winning coach and Spanish teacher, in a telephone interview, adding that it is about whether he may show his players the respect of participating alongside them.

Read Full Story/Washington Post

‘History of the Dead, Fun, and Christian Angst’ Post Garners Winning Comments, Discussion

Halloween is turning out to be a better topic for discussion than I thought. There’s some great comments coming in on my post: Halloween: History of the Dead, Fun, and Christian Angst.

We may not change the world with our airing out of Halloween, but we can certainly plant some good seeds….some becoming fruitful and ready for….you guessed it….harvest!

This from someone at Family Christian Shop:

I have been a born again Christian for 10 years now and during these 10 years I have been avoiding Halloween because…… you know death, witches, evil spirits, etc. Never once did I think to research the Holiday to find out when and why it began and why the costumes went from one extreme to the other. I have an 8 year old son that has never been trick or treating. Although we do have a fall festival at our church where the children are allowed to dress up as bible characters and I let him participate in that. I really need to step up my faith and pray a little more on the things I seem to fear and hide away in my most inner self. I do know that He who is in me is greater than all, so why do I have these hidden fears? Yes, there is going to be some real praying on my part about this and any other fears I may be hiding away. Thanks for sharing your knowledge it has been very enlighting.

Just goes to show you research is a good thing! Why are we so quick to file something in a good or bad file and forget about it? Let’s not be afraid to slow down and research!

Here’s another good one from Jay:

Can’t say I agree 100% with the article, but it gives Christians something to think about in seeking God’s will on this issue for their families. But there remain unanswered questions in my mind.

Occult themes are overtly present in the Halloween holiday, and I would think that more Scriptures such as “what fellowship hath light with darkness?” and ones talking about thinking on things that are pure are more on target. There are “lukewarmness,” “stumbling block,” and “worldliness” issues the Bible speaks of that the article does not address very well if at all. I guess I was hoping for a more Biblical argument perspective rather than another Christian’s “take” on the history of Halloween.

I agree with lots of Jay’s points. Those are:

1. Occult themes are overtly present in the Halloween holiday
2. What fellowship hath light with darkness?
3. Luke-warmness, stumbling blocks, and worldliness issues are all factors in our daily walk
4. A Biblical perspective is always best, but we tend to mess up that perspective

I’m leaning towards not putting Halloween on such a high or low pedestal, but to make sure that wherever I am on any given day…including Halloween…I am leaning on the Lord and asking to be Christ-like. I don’t think Jesus as a man would hide in a closet on Halloween, nor do I think he would be dressed up in any particular costume. He probably would be hanging out here and there, checking our hearts, and teaching us lessons about good and evil.

And finally, for now, there is this from Dan. He makes a very strong point:

Finally, someone stating a good logical slant on Halloween. If we as Christians have to throw out anything relating to Pagan practices, the Christmas celebrations would be next as the date Dec. 25 was picked due to another pagan holiday. I think people overreact to non-issues and lose sight of what our mission should truly be.

Yes, and that mission, simply stated, is to love others as ourselves, love God, and tell others about the Good News. I think that means on Halloween, too!

Let’s continue the discussion at the originial post: Halloween: History of the Dead, Fun, and Christian Angst. I’m having a great time with it. Hope you are as well!