Well, here we are again. Greetings all!
Tonight I am putting up some completely random poetry! My friend (A.) and I (B.) were chatting on facebook, and for some reason we began talking in rhyme. This, of course, led to a poetical conversation about poetry. I found it very interesting, so I decided to document it. Hope you like it!
><>RileyRose<><
A Poetical Meta-dialogical conversation.
A.
I will miss you very much
But still, I revel in the lush
Sound of silence that I hear
Dearest girl, please never fear
You will always be my friend
But conversations have to end
B.
Well done, well done oh darling Dear,
but not as good as me I fear.
For poetry is my forte,
although not modest for to say
A.
In poetry class I have the highest mark
Rhythm and meter are just a lark.
B.
Poetic speech is not technique,
it's passion makes the words unique.
To the heart the words must talk,
if poetry it's not to mock
A.
Poetry requires a lot of study
Or else the meter will be muddy.
B.
But all the meter in the land,
can't bring love from heart to hand.
If the feelings that you tell,
are understood then all is well
But if there is no feeling there,
the poem makes not the reader care
A.
I would beg to disagree
Just between you and me
Without some knowledge it's just trashy
But an expert's work can be quite smashing.
B.
But, dear friend, you will agree,
the expert's work shows both to thee.
technique, feeling, all is there,
both the meter and the care
Love is present with the Rhyme,
If 'tis not it is a crime
A.
Verily, verily, that is true
But I must admit to you,
That people who think meter doesn't matter
Are completely mad, mad as a hatter
B.
I agree with what you say,
words are really like a clay
molded in the form we want,
as encouragement or taunt
Words do mighty power hold,
harnessed only by the bold
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Monday, 5 December 2011
I'm a Christian...Unless you're gay?
I'm a Christian...Unless you're gay?
The other day I read an article on someone's blog entitled 'I'm a Christian, unless you're gay.' The article was written by a non-christian, and it really got me thinking. The author of the article was basically trying to say that most religions (not just christianity) have some sort of teaching about loving others, and yet so many people from every religion seem to completely forget about that part of their religion and concentrate merely on the things that people disagree with them about.
The article obviously had something of a non-christian slant, and some of the things that the author said absolutely cannot be accepted by a Christian. However, the basic message was very applicable, and I think it is a message that really needs to be taken to heart by many people, and especially Christians. I was completely shocked by some of the comments that had been posted on the the article. Many 'Christians' had commented and said absolutely terrible and un-Christian things. One man, in his comment, said:
'those people who are having such a hard time being gay? it's only cause they don’t want to let it go. If they actually wanted to let it go I bet life would get a lot easier for them. After all, being gay is going against what god made us naturally to be and doing what is natural is a whole lot easier.'
Another person commented that:
'homosexuality is unnatural and a choice they simply make because it’s easier for them to get some action that way......It’s not my job to love the people who pervert God’s laws. It’s not my job to love people who purposefully defile the things that I hold sacred.'
I find it extremely unsettling that people who call themselves Christians can say things like this and yet believe that what they are doing is in accordance with God's will. The repeated idea that people 'choose' homosexuality because they want to makes no sense to me at all. It is possible that some people may be pressured into 'trying' homosexuality by our culture, (bi-curious) but it is also true that many people who have never experienced any sort of pressure do struggle with homosexual tendencies. I think all Christians will agree that every human on the face of the earth is born into the world with a tendency to a certain sort of sin. Some have the tendency to have a flaming hot temper, some have a tendency to be attracted to and addicted to porn. Sinfulness comes in every shape and form and attacks us in every part of our life, whether that may be our temperaments, our sexuality, our mentality, etc.
As Christians, we need to realize that every single sinful thing that we do is enough to put us in hell for all eternity. We also need to realize that if we are proud of ourselves for struggling against and controlling our hot temper, we should also be proud of the man or woman who struggles against homosexuality and does not give in to it. It makes me sick when I hear stories of people who admit to their friends or to their churches that they struggle with gay tendencies and who are immediately discarded by their friends and shunned by God's people.
I am not talking merely about people within the church though, there are, of course, people outside of the church who are openly homosexual, and do not struggle against it at all. Well, since they do not fight against it, then we can hate them, ignore them, and insult them, right? Wrong! The first thing we have to ask ourselves is this, 'if this person is not a christian, then how can I tell them that it is wrong for them to be gay? What do I base that on?' We need to realize that telling a gay person that they are sinning because they are gay is completely abstract for them. To explain to them why it is wrong, you have to explain EVERYTHING to them. You must explain who God is, why there is sin in the world, what sin is, what happens to sinners, and how they can escape. Only on this foundation can you explain to anyone in an understandable way that what they are doing is wrong. And guess what? It's going to take a while! This is not something that you can explain to someone in a day, and it is not something that should be said in an aggressive way. Christ commanded us to 'Speak the truth in love.' It is impossible to truly love a person if we do not understand anything about them. Sometimes you have to 'eat with tax collectors' in order to explain the truth to them.
Another thing to keep in mind is that once (and if) a person admits that homosexuality is indeed a sin, you CANNOT just leave them to fend for themselves. To tell someone that they are doing something wrong, and then leave them with no support as they attempt to struggle against it is cruel. I encourage you to think of sins that you may have/have had a problem with. What do you think is better, trying to struggle through that sin on your own, or having Godly friends to encourage you in the battle? I would definitely argue that it is always easier to fight against sin when you have people that you trust there to put an arm around you and tell you that you are doing well.
In conclusion, I would like to go back to one of the comments that I earlier quoted. The one commenter said 'It’s not my job to love the people who pervert God’s laws.' But isn't that exactly what our job is? I hope that every person who reads this can see the problem with this man's statement. What is evangelism about? Is it about preaching God's love to those who look righteous enough? Or is it about gathering up lost, filthy sheep and lovingly leading them to a savior who has the power to wash them white as snow? You decide.
The other day I read an article on someone's blog entitled 'I'm a Christian, unless you're gay.' The article was written by a non-christian, and it really got me thinking. The author of the article was basically trying to say that most religions (not just christianity) have some sort of teaching about loving others, and yet so many people from every religion seem to completely forget about that part of their religion and concentrate merely on the things that people disagree with them about.
The article obviously had something of a non-christian slant, and some of the things that the author said absolutely cannot be accepted by a Christian. However, the basic message was very applicable, and I think it is a message that really needs to be taken to heart by many people, and especially Christians. I was completely shocked by some of the comments that had been posted on the the article. Many 'Christians' had commented and said absolutely terrible and un-Christian things. One man, in his comment, said:
'those people who are having such a hard time being gay? it's only cause they don’t want to let it go. If they actually wanted to let it go I bet life would get a lot easier for them. After all, being gay is going against what god made us naturally to be and doing what is natural is a whole lot easier.'
Another person commented that:
'homosexuality is unnatural and a choice they simply make because it’s easier for them to get some action that way......It’s not my job to love the people who pervert God’s laws. It’s not my job to love people who purposefully defile the things that I hold sacred.'
I find it extremely unsettling that people who call themselves Christians can say things like this and yet believe that what they are doing is in accordance with God's will. The repeated idea that people 'choose' homosexuality because they want to makes no sense to me at all. It is possible that some people may be pressured into 'trying' homosexuality by our culture, (bi-curious) but it is also true that many people who have never experienced any sort of pressure do struggle with homosexual tendencies. I think all Christians will agree that every human on the face of the earth is born into the world with a tendency to a certain sort of sin. Some have the tendency to have a flaming hot temper, some have a tendency to be attracted to and addicted to porn. Sinfulness comes in every shape and form and attacks us in every part of our life, whether that may be our temperaments, our sexuality, our mentality, etc.
As Christians, we need to realize that every single sinful thing that we do is enough to put us in hell for all eternity. We also need to realize that if we are proud of ourselves for struggling against and controlling our hot temper, we should also be proud of the man or woman who struggles against homosexuality and does not give in to it. It makes me sick when I hear stories of people who admit to their friends or to their churches that they struggle with gay tendencies and who are immediately discarded by their friends and shunned by God's people.
I am not talking merely about people within the church though, there are, of course, people outside of the church who are openly homosexual, and do not struggle against it at all. Well, since they do not fight against it, then we can hate them, ignore them, and insult them, right? Wrong! The first thing we have to ask ourselves is this, 'if this person is not a christian, then how can I tell them that it is wrong for them to be gay? What do I base that on?' We need to realize that telling a gay person that they are sinning because they are gay is completely abstract for them. To explain to them why it is wrong, you have to explain EVERYTHING to them. You must explain who God is, why there is sin in the world, what sin is, what happens to sinners, and how they can escape. Only on this foundation can you explain to anyone in an understandable way that what they are doing is wrong. And guess what? It's going to take a while! This is not something that you can explain to someone in a day, and it is not something that should be said in an aggressive way. Christ commanded us to 'Speak the truth in love.' It is impossible to truly love a person if we do not understand anything about them. Sometimes you have to 'eat with tax collectors' in order to explain the truth to them.
Another thing to keep in mind is that once (and if) a person admits that homosexuality is indeed a sin, you CANNOT just leave them to fend for themselves. To tell someone that they are doing something wrong, and then leave them with no support as they attempt to struggle against it is cruel. I encourage you to think of sins that you may have/have had a problem with. What do you think is better, trying to struggle through that sin on your own, or having Godly friends to encourage you in the battle? I would definitely argue that it is always easier to fight against sin when you have people that you trust there to put an arm around you and tell you that you are doing well.
In conclusion, I would like to go back to one of the comments that I earlier quoted. The one commenter said 'It’s not my job to love the people who pervert God’s laws.' But isn't that exactly what our job is? I hope that every person who reads this can see the problem with this man's statement. What is evangelism about? Is it about preaching God's love to those who look righteous enough? Or is it about gathering up lost, filthy sheep and lovingly leading them to a savior who has the power to wash them white as snow? You decide.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Short story for my brother :)
So, my final blog of the evening will be the short story that I wrote today. We were given four random words to use as an idea springboard and 30 minutes of class time to come up a short childrens story. I wrote mine with a specific audience in mind, that is, my little brothers, so it may be a little juvenille for older readers. Personally, I had a lot of fun both writing and re-reading it, and I hope you will enjoy the read too! :)
><>RileyRose<><
An Adventure of Epic Proportions
Peter was having quite a wonderful time. He had run through the jello forest, jumped down the root beer waterfall, found several magic mushrooms, and was feeling quite pleased with himself. At the moment he was walking through the field of the sapphires, picking a couple of the nicest ones when he saw them. His wavey blond hair was lifted by the slight breeze, and sunlight glinted off his baby blue eyes. Smiling to himself, he brushed a speck of dirt off of one of the biggest gems and stowed it away in his knapsack. Suddenly a loud voice boomed out, making Peter jump.
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY GARDEN LITTLE BOY?!!' Peter looked around, but he couldn't locate the source of the voice. 'I'M BEHIND YOU, SILLY!' the voice boomed again. Peter wheeled around, but saw nothing except a small plant with an odd red and white speckled top, which looked rather out of place in the sapphire garden. To his suprise, the petals of the plant opened like a mouth, revealing rows and rows of sharp white teeth. The plant grinned, an odd, and slightly disturbing sight. 'You have been picking my sapphires. You don't think you can just take them for free do you? You must pay the price for them.'
'Well,' said Peter, 'I don't have any money with me, what else can I give you?' The plant grinned again, it's teeth glinting in the sunlight.
'I don't need money, little boy. I am in need of amusement....I will give you a game to play, but you must promise to finish it...and if you don't finish...I will eat you.' Peter was a little frightened by the prospect of being eaten by a plant, but he figured that if he lost the game, there was very little chance that the plant would be able to eat him, since it was, of course, rooted to the ground, and it would most likely be fairly easy to run away. So, he agreed to play whatever game the plant would give him.
'Wonderful,' said the plant. 'The game is an obstacle course... you must get over the crocodile pit, swim through the quicksand,
and climb the tall tower near the garden.' Peter found the idea of crocodiles quite scary, but, being a very brave little man, he agreed to attempt the obstacle course.
First came the crocodiles. Striking their eyes with a large stick, Peter jumped on the noses of all the crocodiles, keeping their mouths shut as he jumped across the pond. He reached the other side safe and sound.
The next obstacle was the quicksand. Jumping in, Peter attempted to swim for the other side of the pool. Unfortunately, Peter had not thought quite far enough ahead, and had not realized that it is actually quite impossible to swim in quicksand. He slowly began to sink down into the mud and it finally dawned on him that the plant had been tricking him from the very start.
The plant grinned evilly at Peter. Suddenly, the plant begain to grow. It grew and grew, becoming larger and larger untill it was the size of a man, maybe even larger.
The ravenous man-eating plant turned and snapped it's pearl-like teeth at poor Peter, who was desperately trying to make an escape, which was rather difficult, since he was stuck in the quicksand. The plant's roots writhed and wriggled as they pulled out of the ground with a sickening sucking noise. Free at last, it slowly advanced on the struggling young man sitting helplessly before it. It stretched out its long floral head untill it was so close to Peter that he could smell its sweet stench. Peter shut his eyes and cringed, awaiting a blow from the sharp teeth of the garden-variety monstrosity. Summoning all his remaining energy, he made one last valiant effort to escape. He threw himself forward with all his might and suddenly.....he landed painfully on the floor beside his bed. 'Ow', he muttered. 'I have GOT to stop doing that...'
From that day forward, Peter decided that it was probably a good idea to find better uses for his time than prolonged playing of video games, since these games seemed to give him very odd dreams. Peter began reading more books and spending his time on more profitable things in general, although he has never quite gotten over the fright of his dream that day.
The End.
><>RileyRose<><
An Adventure of Epic Proportions
Peter was having quite a wonderful time. He had run through the jello forest, jumped down the root beer waterfall, found several magic mushrooms, and was feeling quite pleased with himself. At the moment he was walking through the field of the sapphires, picking a couple of the nicest ones when he saw them. His wavey blond hair was lifted by the slight breeze, and sunlight glinted off his baby blue eyes. Smiling to himself, he brushed a speck of dirt off of one of the biggest gems and stowed it away in his knapsack. Suddenly a loud voice boomed out, making Peter jump.
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY GARDEN LITTLE BOY?!!' Peter looked around, but he couldn't locate the source of the voice. 'I'M BEHIND YOU, SILLY!' the voice boomed again. Peter wheeled around, but saw nothing except a small plant with an odd red and white speckled top, which looked rather out of place in the sapphire garden. To his suprise, the petals of the plant opened like a mouth, revealing rows and rows of sharp white teeth. The plant grinned, an odd, and slightly disturbing sight. 'You have been picking my sapphires. You don't think you can just take them for free do you? You must pay the price for them.'
'Well,' said Peter, 'I don't have any money with me, what else can I give you?' The plant grinned again, it's teeth glinting in the sunlight.
'I don't need money, little boy. I am in need of amusement....I will give you a game to play, but you must promise to finish it...and if you don't finish...I will eat you.' Peter was a little frightened by the prospect of being eaten by a plant, but he figured that if he lost the game, there was very little chance that the plant would be able to eat him, since it was, of course, rooted to the ground, and it would most likely be fairly easy to run away. So, he agreed to play whatever game the plant would give him.
'Wonderful,' said the plant. 'The game is an obstacle course... you must get over the crocodile pit, swim through the quicksand,
and climb the tall tower near the garden.' Peter found the idea of crocodiles quite scary, but, being a very brave little man, he agreed to attempt the obstacle course.
First came the crocodiles. Striking their eyes with a large stick, Peter jumped on the noses of all the crocodiles, keeping their mouths shut as he jumped across the pond. He reached the other side safe and sound.
The next obstacle was the quicksand. Jumping in, Peter attempted to swim for the other side of the pool. Unfortunately, Peter had not thought quite far enough ahead, and had not realized that it is actually quite impossible to swim in quicksand. He slowly began to sink down into the mud and it finally dawned on him that the plant had been tricking him from the very start.
The plant grinned evilly at Peter. Suddenly, the plant begain to grow. It grew and grew, becoming larger and larger untill it was the size of a man, maybe even larger.
The ravenous man-eating plant turned and snapped it's pearl-like teeth at poor Peter, who was desperately trying to make an escape, which was rather difficult, since he was stuck in the quicksand. The plant's roots writhed and wriggled as they pulled out of the ground with a sickening sucking noise. Free at last, it slowly advanced on the struggling young man sitting helplessly before it. It stretched out its long floral head untill it was so close to Peter that he could smell its sweet stench. Peter shut his eyes and cringed, awaiting a blow from the sharp teeth of the garden-variety monstrosity. Summoning all his remaining energy, he made one last valiant effort to escape. He threw himself forward with all his might and suddenly.....he landed painfully on the floor beside his bed. 'Ow', he muttered. 'I have GOT to stop doing that...'
From that day forward, Peter decided that it was probably a good idea to find better uses for his time than prolonged playing of video games, since these games seemed to give him very odd dreams. Peter began reading more books and spending his time on more profitable things in general, although he has never quite gotten over the fright of his dream that day.
The End.
Global Warming?
Okay, so this was a very random assignment that we were given a few weeks ago. We were told to write a paper on global warming from any standpoint that we wished to, as long as we attempted to make some sort of a point. I took my professor at her word and had entirely too much fun with the paper. :) The point that I attempted to make was...well, let's see if you get it shall we? Whether I made my point or not, I sure had fun trying!
><>RileyRose<><
Global Warming is a Martian conspiracy, which aims to make all of mankind believe that the earth will eventually become uninhabitable because of the copious amounts of heat. This will, (they hope) eventually lead mankind to abandon the earth. Humans will then take up their residence on some other planet, thus leaving the earth free for the Martians, who are becoming rather tired of their bare and rocky planet.
This conspiracy started long, long ago, around the time the Mars rover landed. The Martians have been sending subversive signals through the video footage that we receive of their sad little planet. These signals have been gradually drilling into the minds of men, brain-washing us into believing that the heat of the earth will slowly rise until the entire world spontaneously combusts and all life ceases with a loud sizzle.
The aliens have been aided in their struggle to gain the earth as their home by certain politicians. Al Gore, former Vice President of the U.S. and the writer of 'An Inconvenient Truth', a film documentary, was a fierce supporter of the 'fact' of Global Warming. He was, of course, allied with the Martians, who had promised him 50% of the world's precious stones in exchange for his co-operation. This, of course, is just another reason to never trust a politician. Although we may sympathize with our small green neighbours, seeing their sad-looking, dusty planet compared to our lush green one, should we really be swallowing their stories with such eagerness? Where is our pride? Why is it that we calmly swallow all of these 'facts' without even knowing where they have come from? Are not our minds more highly developed than this? Must we meekly open our minds to be brainwashed by the lies that are so prevalent in our society? No! We must stand in protection of our planet! We must not let ourselves be driven from our beautiful world by these despicable green creatures!
The load of malarkey that I have just spouted is one of many proposed theories on Global Warming. There are many theories that may explain the apparent temperature changes in the world without jumping straight to the conclusion of 'Global Warming'. For example, it is possible that occasional climate shifts are part of the regular cycle of the earth. The 'average' temperature of the earth, we are told, has risen 0.6 degrees in the last 20 years. Is this small amount really all that dangerous? Or is it just normal fluctuation in the earth's atmosphere?
The question is whether Global Warming is really happening, or if the whole idea is merely a government and/or media (or alien!!) generated hype that is, in reality, pure fiction?
Perhaps we should be doing our research more carefully and taking a look at the alternative theories before swallowing everything that we are told without question. One of the key factors that differentiates men from animals is our ability to reason, so I ask you, are you man, or are you beast?
><>RileyRose<><
GLOBAL WARMING
Nov. 8th, 2011
Global Warming is a Martian conspiracy, which aims to make all of mankind believe that the earth will eventually become uninhabitable because of the copious amounts of heat. This will, (they hope) eventually lead mankind to abandon the earth. Humans will then take up their residence on some other planet, thus leaving the earth free for the Martians, who are becoming rather tired of their bare and rocky planet.
This conspiracy started long, long ago, around the time the Mars rover landed. The Martians have been sending subversive signals through the video footage that we receive of their sad little planet. These signals have been gradually drilling into the minds of men, brain-washing us into believing that the heat of the earth will slowly rise until the entire world spontaneously combusts and all life ceases with a loud sizzle.
The aliens have been aided in their struggle to gain the earth as their home by certain politicians. Al Gore, former Vice President of the U.S. and the writer of 'An Inconvenient Truth', a film documentary, was a fierce supporter of the 'fact' of Global Warming. He was, of course, allied with the Martians, who had promised him 50% of the world's precious stones in exchange for his co-operation. This, of course, is just another reason to never trust a politician. Although we may sympathize with our small green neighbours, seeing their sad-looking, dusty planet compared to our lush green one, should we really be swallowing their stories with such eagerness? Where is our pride? Why is it that we calmly swallow all of these 'facts' without even knowing where they have come from? Are not our minds more highly developed than this? Must we meekly open our minds to be brainwashed by the lies that are so prevalent in our society? No! We must stand in protection of our planet! We must not let ourselves be driven from our beautiful world by these despicable green creatures!
The load of malarkey that I have just spouted is one of many proposed theories on Global Warming. There are many theories that may explain the apparent temperature changes in the world without jumping straight to the conclusion of 'Global Warming'. For example, it is possible that occasional climate shifts are part of the regular cycle of the earth. The 'average' temperature of the earth, we are told, has risen 0.6 degrees in the last 20 years. Is this small amount really all that dangerous? Or is it just normal fluctuation in the earth's atmosphere?
The question is whether Global Warming is really happening, or if the whole idea is merely a government and/or media (or alien!!) generated hype that is, in reality, pure fiction?
Perhaps we should be doing our research more carefully and taking a look at the alternative theories before swallowing everything that we are told without question. One of the key factors that differentiates men from animals is our ability to reason, so I ask you, are you man, or are you beast?
Essay on the controversy of Islamic Prayer services in school
One of my assignments for school the other day was to write a short paper on this controversy. I found it really interesting to think about....there is really a lot more going on here (I think) than just 'keeping the children in school'. If anyone has any thoughts or questions, I'd love to hear them!
><>RileyRose<><
Should Islamic Prayer Times be allowed in schools?
Nov. 28th, 2011
Valley Park Middle School has recently been at the center of a major
controversy concerning religion, education, and the connection between the two.
This controversy was sparked because some schools have begun allowing the
attending Islamic students to use their school cafeteria as a place to conduct
their friday prayer services. The Islamic people are required to attend a prayer
service on friday afternoons, and the school board decided to allow the children
to conduct these meetings on school property. The reasoning behind the School
boards decision was largely for educational purposes. The Islamic children are
required to attend these prayer services, and if they are not allowed to do so on
the school property, the children have to leave the school to attend the nearest
mosque. This tended to result in the children skipping out on school, simply
attending the prayer service and not bothering to come back to school at all. By
allowing the children to worship on school property, the school board is hoping
to better contain the children during school hours.
The decision may not have been the best one where the government is
concerned, however, since it brings the question of religion in the school back
into the public eye. It is no longer allowable for a teacher to read the Bible or
pray with their class, but it would seem that it is allowable for a large mass of
students to take time out of their classes to have an entire worship service in the
middle of school hours! The question that should be asked is 'Why is it that the
government and the school board feel that it is necessary to bend over
backwards for every religious and ethnic group except Christians?' All traces of
a Christian message have been scrubbed out of the school as if dirtier than the
mud tracked into the halls by a hyperactive schoolboy, but it seems that the
school board thinks it only proper that the messages of other major world
religions should have a large presence in the educational system.
The question of whether Islamic prayer times should actually be held in
schools is not a question easily answered. On one hand, some people would
likely say 'Well yes, as part of their religion they have to pray at certain times of
the day, so of course they should be allowed! It's part of religious freedom!'. On
the other hand, the Christian religion calls its people to evangelize and to speak
about their faith to everyone around them, so why is it that if a christian teacher,
or even a student, makes mention of their faith to others, they are liable to be
held guilty of 'forcing their faith on others'? Does it really make sense that a
teacher stating to his class that he is a Christian is classified as force feeding
the students religion, but a school clearing their entire cafeteria to allow Islamic
children to pray is not? I imagine that the argument for this would most likely be
something like 'Well, the teacher is talking to non-christians and forcing them to
listen..the Muslims are keeping it amongst themselves'. It is, however, fairly
easy to protest against an argument such as this. It is highly unlikely that the
children making this mass exodus from the classroom and migrating to the
cafeteria would go unnoticed by, or without question from the other students. It is
also unlikely that if a non-muslim were to ask a teacher why the prayers were
happening the teacher would refuse to explain. If the standards for both Islam
and Christianity were the same the teacher would refuse to explain because it
would be 'forcing religion' on the child. At least in France, where any expression
of religion in public is forbade, the taboo applies to all religions. Crosses are not
to be worn in schools, and neither is the Hajab head covering. But in our
country, it seems that Christianity must go unnoticed and unmentioned, whilst
other religions have been granted bragging rights.
It must be concluded that if there are to be Islamic prayer times in school,
then the implied religious rights must be granted across the board. Teachers
must be allowed to teach science from all possible viewpoints, not just the
evolutionary viewpoint that is currently espoused by the powers that be.
Chapels must be allowed back into the school for the christians who wish to
spend time worshipping. There are many different religions that must be
accepted into the school and made part of the system if this path is to be
followed to the end. If the government attempts to create a middle ground, it is
inevitable that they will find the task exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. A
third choice is not easily found in this matter, there seems to be only two
available. Either the government must allow all religions freedom in the school,
thereby doing the unthinkable and allowing Christianity to have a voice within
the school once more, or they must return education to the moral and religious
desert that we have recently become accustomed to.
><>RileyRose<><
Should Islamic Prayer Times be allowed in schools?
Nov. 28th, 2011
Valley Park Middle School has recently been at the center of a major
controversy concerning religion, education, and the connection between the two.
This controversy was sparked because some schools have begun allowing the
attending Islamic students to use their school cafeteria as a place to conduct
their friday prayer services. The Islamic people are required to attend a prayer
service on friday afternoons, and the school board decided to allow the children
to conduct these meetings on school property. The reasoning behind the School
boards decision was largely for educational purposes. The Islamic children are
required to attend these prayer services, and if they are not allowed to do so on
the school property, the children have to leave the school to attend the nearest
mosque. This tended to result in the children skipping out on school, simply
attending the prayer service and not bothering to come back to school at all. By
allowing the children to worship on school property, the school board is hoping
to better contain the children during school hours.
The decision may not have been the best one where the government is
concerned, however, since it brings the question of religion in the school back
into the public eye. It is no longer allowable for a teacher to read the Bible or
pray with their class, but it would seem that it is allowable for a large mass of
students to take time out of their classes to have an entire worship service in the
middle of school hours! The question that should be asked is 'Why is it that the
government and the school board feel that it is necessary to bend over
backwards for every religious and ethnic group except Christians?' All traces of
a Christian message have been scrubbed out of the school as if dirtier than the
mud tracked into the halls by a hyperactive schoolboy, but it seems that the
school board thinks it only proper that the messages of other major world
religions should have a large presence in the educational system.
The question of whether Islamic prayer times should actually be held in
schools is not a question easily answered. On one hand, some people would
likely say 'Well yes, as part of their religion they have to pray at certain times of
the day, so of course they should be allowed! It's part of religious freedom!'. On
the other hand, the Christian religion calls its people to evangelize and to speak
about their faith to everyone around them, so why is it that if a christian teacher,
or even a student, makes mention of their faith to others, they are liable to be
held guilty of 'forcing their faith on others'? Does it really make sense that a
teacher stating to his class that he is a Christian is classified as force feeding
the students religion, but a school clearing their entire cafeteria to allow Islamic
children to pray is not? I imagine that the argument for this would most likely be
something like 'Well, the teacher is talking to non-christians and forcing them to
listen..the Muslims are keeping it amongst themselves'. It is, however, fairly
easy to protest against an argument such as this. It is highly unlikely that the
children making this mass exodus from the classroom and migrating to the
cafeteria would go unnoticed by, or without question from the other students. It is
also unlikely that if a non-muslim were to ask a teacher why the prayers were
happening the teacher would refuse to explain. If the standards for both Islam
and Christianity were the same the teacher would refuse to explain because it
would be 'forcing religion' on the child. At least in France, where any expression
of religion in public is forbade, the taboo applies to all religions. Crosses are not
to be worn in schools, and neither is the Hajab head covering. But in our
country, it seems that Christianity must go unnoticed and unmentioned, whilst
other religions have been granted bragging rights.
It must be concluded that if there are to be Islamic prayer times in school,
then the implied religious rights must be granted across the board. Teachers
must be allowed to teach science from all possible viewpoints, not just the
evolutionary viewpoint that is currently espoused by the powers that be.
Chapels must be allowed back into the school for the christians who wish to
spend time worshipping. There are many different religions that must be
accepted into the school and made part of the system if this path is to be
followed to the end. If the government attempts to create a middle ground, it is
inevitable that they will find the task exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. A
third choice is not easily found in this matter, there seems to be only two
available. Either the government must allow all religions freedom in the school,
thereby doing the unthinkable and allowing Christianity to have a voice within
the school once more, or they must return education to the moral and religious
desert that we have recently become accustomed to.
First Post :)
So, I should probably start this off by saying that blogging is completely new to me. I have never done anything like this before, and I'm basically doing it now only because my professor believes it to be a good way to polish ones writing skills. I guess we'll see if she's right.
I'm going to start this blog by posting up a few of the short essays and a short story that I have written for school in the past two weeks.
><>RileyRose<><
I'm going to start this blog by posting up a few of the short essays and a short story that I have written for school in the past two weeks.
><>RileyRose<><
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