Christian Churches
Douglas County Georgia
Why is there violence associated
with keeping the Church and State separated?
Religion has caused violence down through the ages and sadly it continues to this day. I will provide you with just a few examples of religion caused violence, but there is more that I can give you here. I have listed a couple of quotes taken from a book written by Robert S. Alley. You should be able to find this book in your local library, or even better purchase the book to have as your own. Without a Prayer - Religious Expression in Public Schools can be purchased from Prometheus Books. I recommend this book, not only because I am included in its pages, but it is a good study on the violence as a result of religion in public schools.
Without a Prayer - Religious Expression in Public Schools
By Robert S. Alley
Robert S. Alley is a professor emeritus of humanities at the University of Richmond (Virginia). He is the author of The Supreme Court on Church and State, School Prayer, and the editor of James Madison on Religious liberty.
A quote from the back cover of Without a Prayer - Religious Expression in Public Schools says it all.
"How can Christians have such evil ways."
"Over and over again throughout this book we witness the majority of citizens in a given community, in the name of prayer, abusing and tyrannizing those who have challenged local-or-state-endorsed religious practices. And these represent only a few examples: the problem itself is too widespread for every instance to be included here. Establishment in the name of the majority has bred hooligans ready to threaten fellow citizens, harassing both adults and children alike in the name of prayer. The disease of de facto religious establishments is evident today in the vicious treatment by community majorities of those courageous citizens who seek protection under the First Amendment."
"As a nation we have revisited that bitter lesson all too often since the school prayer decision of 1962. In the name of prayer and "family values," large numbers of citizens have reacted to their neighbors with hate and anger when public school religious practices have been challenged as violating the Bill of Rights. It is astounding and depressing to witness people who claim that school prayer is necessary to return the nation to spiritual values, attacking with vicious and intemperate behavior fellow citizens who disagree with their solution. In the name of their deity, these self-styled keepers of public morality exhibit the most outrageous forms of discrimination, hate, and intimidation against those who challenge organized prayer in public schools. And the venom has not been diluted over the thirty-four years since Engle. Further, on those occasions where the challenge to school prayer originated with Jewish citizens, the ugly head of anti-Semitism lurks all to close to the surface." Page 22 Without a Prayer - Religious Expression in Public Schools -- Robert S. Alley
Without a Prayer - Religious Expression in Public Schools not only points out the legal aspects of mixing religion in a public school, but goes on to describe the terrorism each family had to endure. The book describes the terrorist tactics that was used, the hate mail, telephone harassment, suggestions that something is going to happen to the children, the angry debates between children, and even the angry public debates that took place during public school board meetings, warnings that their houses would be burned down. The threat of house burning was actually carried out on Joann Bell's home. On September 18, 1981, while the Bells were 50 miles away watching their son play football, her home was set afire. When the Bells arrived home, their house was an inferno. The Fire Department did arrive, but forgot to put water in their pumper (fire) trucks.
Only those families in Without a Prayer - Religious Expression in Public Schools are listed below, there are many more that continue to suffer every time that government sanctioned religion is challenged.
Joann Bell and Lucille McCord of Little Axe, Oklahoma in 1980 over religious practices in their public school.
The harassment endured by the Weismans at Providence, Rode Island over graduation prayer.
The retaliation and torment suffered by Phyllis Harris who brought suit over graduation ceremonies at Grangeville High School in Idaho.
Harassment of Rachel Bauchman at West High School in Salt Lake City over Christmas religious ceremonies during 1995-1996.
Lisa Herdahl (a Christian) harassed and stigmatized challenged prayer and Bible reading in public school at Ecru, Mississippi 1995-1996
William and Doug Jager (information is on different pages of this web site starting with at the Bill Jager's Personal Page).
The Bible Teaches Intolerance
The Bible teaches and carries out the practice of intolerance. I listed only a few examples of Biblical intolerance, but many, many more can be found:
Exodus 32:28 "...Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."
Exodus 34:11 "...behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God."
Numbers 33:50-52 "And the LORD spake unto Moses...saying...When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:"
All of the people in Jericho: men, women and children, were killed or murdered.
Joshua 6:21 "And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword."
For marrying outside of the group.
Deuteronomy 7:3-4 "Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly."
Going out and destroying other peoples religious temples.
Deuteronomy 12:2-3 "Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree: And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place."
People who reject the Gospel will be judged.
John 12:48 "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
Acts 13:6-11 "...they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus...[who] withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then...Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand."
Some of my best friends are Christians. Some Christians I know call me a Christian, because I happen to be a good, decent and honest person with high moral standard. Even going so far as to say, that I am the best Christian person that they know (thank you Leroy, I know you mean well. Leroy is now an Assistan Fire Chief and a part time preacher). There are Christians that just do not understand that a person does not need to be a Christian to be a good person. My wife's been asked: 'your such as good and decent person -- how come your not a Christian?' My wife just says that she use to be a Christian. I do correct the people that tell me that I am a Christian, because Christianity has nothing to do with a person being decent and moral. I am pointing out some of the most common remarks made below by some Christians. However, I must also say that many of the Christians that I come in contact with are also decent and moral human being. I often ask Christians if they would still be a decent moral person if they were not a Christian. Much of the email that I get from Christians is not so judgemental as the comments I have Listed below.
Below is a some of the remarks that I keep getting from Christians about the violence that takes place in a Church and State separation struggle:
The people who threaten, harass and intimidate those who challenge a Church and State entanglement are not Christians.
You cant believe people when they call themselves Christians. Most are Christians in name only.
The very idea of Christians cause violence in public schools is ridiculous.
You bring the harassment on your self by taking away my rights to pray.
I feel sorry for you.
Unless you accept Jesus Christ as your savior you are going to Hell!
It is people like you that creates the violence.
It's morons like you that help to feed violence, in school or out!
When you say, that religion causes violence, you are full of bull.
It is not Christianity that creates the violence, it's satanism.
Claiming that Christianity causes violence is false, juvenile and phoney.
I am praying for you.
Why did most of the Churches in the Douglasville remain silent when my family was harassed and threatened during a Church/State struggle?
The greatest number of harassing telephone calls came in right after the Church services were over. I just wonder what the ministers were preaching.
I am giving cyber surfers the opportunity to contact Churches located in Douglas County, Georgia (the community where I live). There are many more Churches in the Douglasville and Douglas County, Georgia than I have listed below. And many more Churches took part in the effort to maintain the Church and State entanglement. While the Church leaders may or may not have condoned terrorist harassment actions, the public school leadership and the churches did create the climate for that intimidation to take place. These are not isolated incidents. This is something that happens over and over again whenever religion and government are entangled.
"In all cases where a majority are united by a common interest or passion, the rights of the minority are in danger.
What motives are to restrain them? . . . Religion itself may become a motive to persecution and oppression."
James Madison, 1787
Churches -- Douglas County, Georgia
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