Good News Clubs: Psychologically abusing your children in a public elementary school near you!

[backscatter712]

Last edited Tue Mar 5, 2013, 04:41 PM - Edit history (1)

OK, I'm OPing this, as I'm definitely concerned about these fundies going out of their way to brainwash and psychologically damage as many children as possible.

I'm talking about the Good News Clubs that have been springing up in public schools thanks to a 5-4 Supreme Court decision (three guesses which justices were in the majority, and the first two don't count.)

http://www.goodnewsclubs.info/

Last week, I went to see Richard Dawkins, Sean Faircloth, Eric Cernyar, and Katherine Stewart discuss Good News Clubs.

They gave a classic example of the kinds of lessons they teach as part of the Good News: the battle of Israel versus the Amalekites.

Recap: God ordered Saul and the Israelites to attack the Amalekites and slaughter them all - man, woman, child, cattle, ALL! The Israelites didn't obey. They kept the cattle, and spared the kids. Not good enough. God was PISSED! He was only appeased after they slaughtered the prisoners, the children, the cattle, the babies, everything.

Lesson as taught to the children in Good News Clubs: OBEY! When Abraham was ordered by God to bring his son to the mountain and barbecue him, he was required to OBEY. When the Israelites were ordered to slaughter all the Amalekites. Not just some of them, ALL OF THEM, they were required to OBEY! If you, child, are ordered by God or your friendly religious authority figures to shoot a baby in the face, OBEY!

Yep, that's what the Good News Clubs consider to be an appropriate lesson to teach to six-year-old children. Isn't that cute?

Oh, and on top of that, they teach the classic Christian doctrines of original sin, the sinful nature of man, and the salvation of Christ.

Let me translate that.

Because a man 6,000 years ago was goaded by his woman, who in turn was goaded by a talking snake, into eating a forbidden Apple of Smartness from a magic tree, YOU ARE A PIECE OF SHIT! YOU ARE SCUM! YOU ARE A HORRIBLE PERSON! YOU ARE EVIL! YOU DESERVE DEATH! YOU DESERVE TO BE TORTURED AND LEFT SCREAMING IN FIRE FOREVER AND EVER UNLESS YOU REPENT, GIVE YOURSELF TO JESUS AND [font size=24]OBEY!!![/font]

Yeah, that's also appropriate to teach to impressionable and emotionally vulnerable kindergartners! If I had kids, I'd sign them right up!

Worse yet, their tactics are to get into public schools, and pretend as much as possible that they're just another class for the kids. One club, when told to take their toxic theology out of the local elementary school, and in return, being offered more space in the Baptist church across the street, refused. They want to be in the school. When possible, they try to get a fundie teacher in the school to also lead the Good News Club. To the kids, they don't know the difference, they think it's just another class - English, Math, Science, Bible! Taught by authoritatively speaking adults, often school staff - what better way to force the Jesus-Aid down their little throats?

A little video on Good News Clubs:

[drm604]

1. Frightening

I had no idea about that ruling or how much power it gave this group.

Maybe the reaction to this should be everyone coming forward asking to use school's facilities for their particular club promoting their particular beliefs, to the point that there aren't enough hours in the week for everyone. At that point something would have to give.

[mbperrin]

2. Yeah! That old time Old Testament religion! Justice! Vengeance! Killing!

Yay!

Not like that wussy New Testament, all that forgiveness and crap.

Of course, some might question whether there's actually an old man in white robes in the sky, anyway...

yeah, that would be me.

[backscatter712]

3. Even with the New Testament, the core teachings of Christianity are toxic to self-esteem.

Like I mentioned in the OP, there's that original-sin doctrine that says you're evil scum unless you drink the Jesus-Aid. NO, YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE SELF-WORTH!

[mbperrin]

5. Oh, I agree. Let's face it, what was the question if the answer is

kill my son to get along with me?

[deucemagnet]

4. Thanks for sharing this.

TIL the only thing scarier than crazy talk is crazy talk coming from somebody wearing a chintzy tiara.

[cleanhippie]

6. PLEASE! Repost this in Religion.

Please, please, please.

[backscatter712]

7. Done. Let me know how the alert turns out. n/t

[Curmudgeoness]

12. Damn it.

You made me go over there to see how it was flying. And of course, because I am an idiot, I had to comment there.

Damn it.

[davidthegnome]

8. A few questions and comments...

One of the things I'm wondering about is, if in any public school, there are these sort of... religious classes that are required. Are the children forced to become involved with the Good News Club? Are they required to take religious classes from members that generally attempt to promote Christianity? I'm assuming that they can't do that - that that is actually illegal, but I'd like to know for sure.

How common is this group within elementary schools? The video said something about over 3500 schools having a Good News Club involved. How do these people setup? Do they go into the hallways... the cafeterias... the libraries, to hand out pamphlets, to preach, to, basically, legally try to sell our children Christianity?

In any event, up until now I had never heard of The Good News Club. It's members... the comments they made, the idea that they have a right to teach their religion within public schools... it's sickening. If we can't teach atheism, if we can't teach Buddhism, or Islam, or Wicca, or Druidism, or any other religion... than we should not be permitted to promote Christianity within public schools either.

There are plenty of Christian schools that involve their Faith as part of their education, parents raising children in the Christian faith can send them there. Not all of us want our children exposed to advertising... particularly the religious brand, when in school. In fact, I'd suggest that the vast majority of us would find this idea despicable. The highest court in the Nation, for some reason, has enabled these people to setup shop in our schools, to teach Christian mythology as if it were commonly accepted fact. To tell our children to "obey", to, "accept Christ as lord and savior or burn in hell forever".

None of my children will ever attend such a school. I'll move to another Country if I have to. This is... wrong on so many levels.

[backscatter712]

9. Some answers, just going off of what I heard from Dawkins et al.

The classes are officially after-school clubs, which the kids are officially not required to attend. That doesn't mean that the people running these clubs don't pretend they're required and try to herd the kids into them, neglecting to tell them they're not part of the official curriculum. Their strategy is to attach themselves remora-like to the public school system, leech their aura of authority, and come across to the kids as if they were just another class.

And they've got an aggressive and well-organized racket. It's nation-wide, and spreading quickly to more cities. Much of the time, they do get stopped from pamphleting the kids, but they continually try to do what they can get away with.

Technically, according to the Supreme Court, since they ruled they have to admit Good News Clubs as after-school clubs, they have to be even-handed, which means we could also have Buddhist or Muslim or atheist after-school clubs. Of course, unlike Good News Clubs, these other clubs would endure harassment and death threats from "good god-loving Muricans", while the school administration and local law-enforcement sit on their asses. Especially in the Bible Belt.

What's even nastier is that these Good News Clubs aggressively push the kids to proselytize to the other kids in a form of Jesus-bullying. If your kids are not in attendence, the Good News Kids (or Children of the Corn) are going to give them crap about it.

Yeah, these clubs are scary.

[davidthegnome]

10. Thanks for the answers.

It's scary that they could force themselves into any school - and that the school has no choice but to put up with them. I wonder if we'll actually have to start creating more (very expensive) private schools for the purpose of AVOIDING religious indoctrination. How many future voters are bullied, coerced, or bribed into joining this club? How many parents know about, or care about what's going on? The religious right wing now has even more power, even more access to young minds.

I am not opposed to religious education itself, I would have no objections to several religious classes or clubs being available in public schools, so long as they are not mandatory. This is rather one-sided though, I can't see other groups forming up, for the same reasons you pointed out.

How do we stop this club? Or at least slow it down? Can we?

[amuse bouche]

11. This is vile.

Good thing my sons are no longer underclassmen. I would be flipping out at their schools and

be the crazy mother on the news getting tased