Washington School Bans Pastors From Proselytizing

[cleanhippie]

Bainbridge Island School District has said it will no longer allow pastors to proselytize students during school hours. Three pastors, associated with an organization dedicated to promoting Christianity to the youth, were proselytizing students during their lunch break.

After receiving multiple complaints from parents of pastors proselytizing students during school hours, the FFRF sent a letter to the school board stating that “it is both inappropriate and dangerous for schools to grant outsiders carte blanche access to minors — a captive audience — in a public school, let alone have that access to proselytize.”

Danny Smith, one of the youth pastors, said “the only time church may have come in is when they say, ‘What do you do?’ my response is, ‘I’m a youth pastor.’ Even sometimes say I’m a leader because most of the kids don’t know what a youth pastor is.” He says his reason for being at Woodward Middle School is “not for proselytizing or recruiting, but it’s just there to be there.” This is a rather creepy argument. A pastor going to a middle school, to just hang around little kids doesn’t seem appropriate either.

Unfortunately, it seems that this egregious violation has been taking place for years. It is thanks to the advocacy groups, such as the FFRF, that we are able slowly end the systematic proselytizing of our children in school.

http://seculartoday.com/washington-school-bans-pastors-from-proselytizing/

Thank god for the FFRF!

[immoderate]

1. The obsession to evangelize is very creepy.

--imm

[hrmjustin]

2. The bible says too go out and preach the religion.

[immoderate]

3. Yeh. That neither makes it right, nor forestalls the creepiness.

--imm

[hrmjustin]

5. You have the right to preach it and there is nothing wrong doing that.

The manner how it is done determines whether it is creepy.

[immoderate]

8. You DO have the right, but to exercise it is wrong unless sought.

And though I'm otherwise indifferent, if you want me to know about your invisible friend -- that's creepy.

--imm

[hrmjustin]

9. It is the manner how it is done that makes it creepy.

[immoderate]

12. Hard for me to imagine any uncreepy way of doing it.

"Hey buddy, you got a match?"

"I have a lighter. Will that do?"

"Never mind. I don't smoke. Is your soul OK with Jesus?"

"...?"

--imm

[hrmjustin]

13. That is not how it goes.

[immoderate]

14. Like I said, beyond imagining.

--imm

[hrmjustin]

20. I hate when I get on a train and I have to hear a sermon.

I dislike sermons in church so on a train I am not pleased.

I prefer evangelism that shows my faith by actually living by it.

[immoderate]

22. How would you show that you "living your faith," was different from someone with no faith...

...who was just a nice guy?

--imm

[hrmjustin]

23. if they ask I volunteer it. If they don't ask I don't volunteer it.

[AtheistCrusader]

26. There's a solution.

"No ticket!"

[Mariana]

19. Sometimes it does go that way, Justin.

I'll grant that it's not common in the Northeast, so maybe you've never seen it.

Having a complete stranger ask about your religious beliefs or your church affiliation is creepy enough. Much worse are the people - neighbors, co-workers, classmates - who pretend to befriend you, when their actual goal is to recruit you into their church.

Targeting children in a public school, where they're required by law to attend (so they can't escape), is beyond the pale. I think parents should be able to obtain restraining orders against anyone who does that.

[hrmjustin]

21. No we get it and it is annoying and creepy.

I think we should show faith by how we live our lives and not by shouting that we need to believe.

[Starboard Tack]

28. I had some friends do that once in NYC

Come see mywife perform her new dance routine. OK, we'll be supportive, nice people, professional dancer.
Turned out to be an EST recruitment event. What a joke.
Made religious hustling look lame.
Bottom line, it's all about business, and whatever button they need to push to make the $$$ flow.

[TlalocW]

25. Actually, that is how it goes sometimes

I was at a festival held in a parking lot of a bowling place turned into a Mexican-type market in a city I lived in. A woman came up to me and asked if there was a park nearby as the music was very loud. I told her there was a small one down the street. She replied, "Oh, thank you. By the way, do you know where you're going to go when you die?"
"I assume to a mortuary then a cemetery."
(A little huffily) "I'm being serious."
"So am I... I think that's the right answer, unless I die under mysterious circumstances, then I might go to a hospital for a post-mortem."
(More huffily) "I'm talking about your soul! You need to be serious about this!"
"And you need to not approach people under false pretenses because doing crap like that makes me and other people not want to treat you seriously. Bye."

A couple of weeks ago while I was busking while twisting balloons, a couple of gentlemen approached me and started asking all sort of questions about balloon twisting. Then they segued into the "dance" that I do (stretching exercises to make sure I don't lock up while standing for long periods of time) and asked if my back hurt (it did) and how badly on a scale of 1 to 10 (about a 1.5). They then proceeded to try to faith-heal me. "How badly does it hurt now?" "About a 1.5." I was going to tell them that if faith healing was real, and they could do it, they would be in a hospital. Not trying to heal a balloon twister with very minor pain, but some people walked up who wanted a balloon.

TlalocW

[Phlem]

4. Seems to be odds with the Pope.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pope-francis-issues-top-10-tips-for-happiness--including-dont-try-to-convert-other-people-9639488.html

[hrmjustin]

7. It depends how you do it.

[Hoppy]

10. .... and WHERE you do it.

[hrmjustin]

11. Yes.

[WovenGems]

15. Well...

If the Bible said "Jump off thy roof while hollering "Praise Jesus" would you? Common sense says NO!

[hrmjustin]

16. Your point?

[WovenGems]

17. The point

Take everything thing with a grain of salt and think, for the love of little green apples think.

[hrmjustin]

18. Good advice. I do think.

[rug]

6. DUpe.

And from a secondary source.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1218144067

[xfundy]

24. "most of the kids don’t know what a youth pastor is.”

Considering the number of 'youth pastors' molesting kids in the news, hopefully the students will also learn the signs of being "groomed."

[cleanhippie]

27. Spot on.