Falwell’s Flub: Jerry-Rigged Policy Opens Door For Pagan Proselytizing In Virginia Public School

[deadparrot]

A group of Pagans in Albemarle County, Va., was recently given permission to advertise their multi-cultural holiday program to public school children – and they have the Rev. Jerry Falwell to thank for it.

The dispute started last summer when Gabriel and Joshua Rakoski, twins who attend Hollymead Elementary School, sought permission to distribute fliers about their church’s Vacation Bible School to their peers via “backpack mail.” Many public schools use special folders placed in student backpacks to distribute notices about schools events and sometimes extra-curricular activities to parents.

School officials originally denied the request from the twins’ father, Ray Rakoski, citing a school policy barring “distribution of literature that is for partisan, sectarian, religious or political purposes.”

A Charlottesville weekly newspaper, The Hook, reports that Rakoski “sicced the Liberty Counsel on the county,” and the policy was soon revised to allow religious groups to use the backpack mail system. Liberty Counsel is a Religious Right legal group founded by Mathew Staver and now affiliated with Falwell.

http://blog.au.org/2006/12/falwells_flub_j.html

[Virginia Dare]

1. Karma is a bitch...

but really, there is enough junk mail in the backpacks, they need to cut all of the non-school related crap out all together.

[jdadd]

2. Hey Jerry....

You reap what you sow.....HEH HEH HEH!!:applause:

[Zookeeper]

3. And some folks still don't get it....

(snip)
Jeff Riddle, pastor of Jefferson Park Baptist Church in Charlottesville, wrote on his personal blog, "If the school allows the Baptist or Methodist church to send home a note to its students about Vacation Bible School, it also has to allow the Unitarian Church to send home a note about its ‘Pagan ritual to celebrate Yule’….This kind of note adds weight to the argument that it is high time for Christians to leave public schools for reasonable alternatives (homeschooling and private Christian schools).”
(snip)

People like this are never going to accept the fact that one of our basic tenets is separation of church and state.

[Jawja]

6. In other words, if they can't have it

all their way, they will take their ball and go home?

[Zookeeper]

8. LOL! Exactly. n/t

[Miss Chybil]

19. If he only realized how many of his "Christian" celebrations are

based on Pagan rituals... Oh well. Who ever said religions make sense?

[ninkasi]

4. I love it!

I never thought I'd have any reason to thank Falwell for anything...hmmm...nah, I still don't. Some other fundie would have pushed to allow THEIR beliefs to be advertised, so this outcome is the same. It's welcome, too, after all, fair is fair.

[kiahzero]

5. Outstanding. (n/t)

[warrens]

7. Religious freedom...as long as it's MY religion

Your god is weak and puny, while mine is perfect.

[kestrel91316]

9. Actually, it's: My god is GAWD, and your "god" is an evil

satanic demon.

[alfredo]

14. Some Church of Satan fliers will really send them reeling.

[wryter2000]

10. That's the whole freaking point

That's why we keep our government and our religion separate -- because everyone is not going to like one group or another.

[dicknbush]

11. Exactly ! But hey you want to dance with Snakes on Sunday to prove you love God...

Go right ahead just do it in your tax deductable sanctuary not in the Publics schools!

Thanks and Amen!!

[bianca2001]

12. Finally, a hearty laugh on

a very gloomy and sad day.

[Lance_Boyle]

13. This is not a good thing.

The animistic tree-spirit-worshippers have no more place in public school students' backpacks than the snake-handling fundies. The *only* good that can come from this would be the realization that the county policy is now shown to the snake-handling masses to be bad because it allows contrary superstitions equal access. Schoolkids' freedom *from* religion in public school really needs to be codified.

[Blackhatjack]

15. The Problem With Breaching The Wall Of Separation B/T Church & State...

... is that you cannot 'favor or promote' any particular religion, as set out in the US Constitution.

Religious Leaders who promote 'school sanctioned' religious activities for mainstream religions in our schools open up this very pandora's box of impossible, irreconcilable inconsistencies, barred by the Constitution.

Eventually they will realize that the highest freedom a particular religion can have is to be left alone by Government, and the 'wall of separation between Church and State' actually gives them much more freedom to practice their religion as they see fit rather than having to modify their religious practices to match those sanctioned by the State.

It really goes to the heart of the purpose of involving Government in the business of enforcing religious tenets --creation of theocratic rule. The promoters of this approach are fine with this as long as the religion is their particular brand. However, they are outraged when a different religion seeks the same treatment by our government.

It is not anti-Christian to believe that Government should neither 'favor or promote' any particular religion. And the Falwells of the world are getting an object lesson as to what happens when they try to change this rule.

[kineneb]

16. exactamundo!

If you let one religious group into the schools, then all must be let in. That means every group from the snake-handlers to the satanists, and everything in between. The reason religion is not in the schools is because then every religion will want equal time. Better to have none and avoid the arguments.

[tblue37]

20. I wonder if they know that Islam is the fastest growing religion

in the world. If they breach that wall, there is no guarantee that the prayers being said in school will be their brand of fundie Protestantism.

One day kids could be saying rosaries in public schools (Catholics aren't supposed to practice birth control, so some Catholic families are going to have a bit of a numerical advantage in the future). Fudnies consider Catholicism to be a heresy. Or kids could be praying toward Mecca. It will all depend on who eventually has the numbers to push their brand of religion into the schools.

We really, really need to keep religion separate from publicly funded activities and services.

[AnnieBW]

17. I love It

When they get hoisted on their own petard! If I was closer to Charlottesville, I'd drive down to give them my support! Blessed be, my Pagani brothers and sisters! :toast: :thumbsup: :grouphug: :yourock: :applause: :woohoo:

[MountainLaurel]

18. Of course the next question

Is when the western VA schools will allow the Pagans and Unitarians to move trailers next to school property so that the kids can go to church school during the middle of the school day as they've been allowing the Falwell types to do for decades.

[Blackhatjack]

21. The Falwell Followers Haven't Learned Anything....

.... rather than see the freedom to practice their religious beliefs because there is a wall that separates Church and State, they immediately jump to the conclusion that all public schools should be abandoned and all their children homeschooled or enrolled in their religious schools.

Funny you never hear them quote the dissatisfaction of the original founders of this country with King George in England and the Church he created because the real Church found him to be living in sin. The founders did not want a Government mandated religion, knew the damage that results from the Government enforcing its own version of religion, and essentially set up the division we have today.

THere are many Christians today who find freedom in practicing their own religion because the Government does not involve itself in enforcing and/or promoting an 'official' religion.