The complaint states the schools showed a pattern of endorsing religion that included the distribution of Gideon's Bibles in class, a teacher who has a cross on a classroom wall and sectarian prayers at school events.
"They let Bible promoters present their particular versions of the Bible during class time where there is compulsory attendance," said George Barrett, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. "It discourages honest citizens who have differing views from those of the dominant religion from participating in the public schools."
"It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible-
George Washington NEVER SAID THIS, it is a MISQUOTATION and it is up to anyone who wants to accurately quote someone to come up with the original source and SHOW that it is there. It's not.
Ditto with Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry NEVER SAID THIS.
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!"
So people that want to use that to prove that we are a theocracy need to quit using these examples.
It would be easy to get sidetracked into debating the merits of the War on Christmas. Why, for example, is the phrase "Happy holidays" so insufferable to Christian fundamentalists, but not the vulgar, surfeiting exploitation of Christ's name to sell smokeless ashtrays, dessert toppings, Droid phones and trampolines? I'm not a theologian but I think the Gospels are pretty clear that Jesus was no fan of merchants.
Eye of the needle and all that, eh? Plus, doesn't everybody know by now that this holiday is not a Christian holiday only but a mixture of all sorts of other religions and traditions? Take the pine tree- what does that have to do with the Bible? Nothing. But it does have to do with tree-worshipping religions. Or the date December 25-gee, that was Saturnalia.
One other point about boycotting the GAP in the name of Christian values...
And since China is in the news this week: Why not go after Gap and other retailers for trading in Chinese-made goods, since the Chinese government actively oppresses the Christian faith? Seems like building a case on religious tolerance would have more resonance. Oh, wait. Never mind.
That puzzles me too. The whole *I'm boycotting this store because they don't use Christmas enough to suit my taste* is a pretty frothy conceit. But boycotting them because they buy from China coudl be-oh, wait, can you buy anything anymore that's been made in the US and not in China? Oops.