# Another Example of Atheists Destroying Christian's Rights **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 30, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555 "2012-05-30T16:52:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/181 "2012-05-31T04:09:05Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Didn’t Jesus say something about not being a boisterous asshole about religion? I don’t know, but I’d think someone would have mentioned it if He had. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/182 "2012-05-31T04:12:40Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Do you think medicine or prayer is more likely to heal someone? [Prayer didn’t help this guy.](http://news.yahoo.com/serpent-handling-west-virginia-pastor-dies-snake-bite-173406645--abc-news-topstories.html) > [@](#): > > “I know it’s real; it is the power of God,” Wolford told the Washington Post Magazine last year. “If I didn’t do it, if I’d never gotten back involved, it’d be the same as denying the power and **saying it was not real.** ” Looks like it wasn’t real. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/183 "2012-05-31T04:17:40Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > How do we know you’re Christian? This girl has been threatened with violence by self-proclaimed Christians yet you’ve been silent. These people represent your religion yet you fail to distance yourself from their hatred. FWIW, I don’t particularly feel the need to publicly distance myself from opinions I don’t share, ideas I don’t defend or behaviours I don’t condone. Do you ? ---
**Author:** ![GEEPERS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c89c15/32.png) [@GEEPERS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GEEPERS)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/184 "2012-05-31T04:22:16Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > Leave the moral code to the parents, churches and Sunday school. And just because Big Happy Sky Daddy is not mentioned in school does not mean that an _Evil Atheistic Ideology_ is being taught in its place. > > And why do you feel it is ok for my taxes to go to support primitive superstitions of an ancient, ignorant people that has no relevance to modern life? Hey my tax payer money goes to fund things that I consider immoral and anti-Christian like aborition. WHy is that ok? Parents? In the real world, the divorce rate is high, and many kids come from broken homes, single parents who use the internet and tv to babysit the kids while they work their tails off to put food on the table. Where do these kids get their morals from then? As for ancient ignorant people, the Jews have become perhaps the world’s most influencial race, defying the odds, surviving genocide and becoming a nation again. Israel is the geo political center of the world just as the Bible predicted. Israel is also a major producer of food, oranges in particular, in what was once just sand dunes. Just as the Bible predicted. And the list goes on and on… Yes, I believe this people does have relevance to modern life. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/185 "2012-05-31T04:26:50Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > Besides, anyone can claim to be a Christian. There are pastors out there like Michael Bernard Beckwith who combine new age teachings and many paths to God way of thinking. This certainly doesn’t align with the Bible’s teachings. Another false Christ. Not quite sure why you feel it’s relevant to bring Michale Beckwith into it. He doesn’t claim to be a Christian. ---
**Author:** ![GEEPERS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c89c15/32.png) [@GEEPERS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GEEPERS)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/186 "2012-05-31T04:26:50Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > No it doesn’t. It’s better to solve the problem that is making you anxious than is to pray to an imaginary god and not solve the problem. > > All sorts of standards; it’s more logical, it’s more based on reality, it has better results, and so on. There are many better standards than “my Bronze Age demon-god says so”. > > _Mainstream Christianity_ is about hatred; just look at the anti-same sex marriage initiatives that have passed. > > And given the history of Christianity, I’d say that no true Christian would show mercy, compassion or tolerance; any Christian who tries to act decently is trying to twist a fundamentally evil religion into something good. And it doesn’t work very well; Christianity is a religion optimized for brutality, aggression and ruthlessness; not kindness and tolerance. Christianity got to its present position by its followers being willing to wade through blood to the hips, not because it’s nice. > > Anyone who claims to be Christian is a Christian. There’s no standard. And history demonstrates that hatred and brutality are exactly what is to be expected from the kinds of Christians who want to shove their religion is everyone’s face like this. The Holy Word of God is the standard, and it clearly says that we should show love to our neighbors and enemies. You obviously don’t know a single thing about Christianity. War that was waged in the name of Christianity was waged by evil men, not true Christians. OTOH, atheism has ruined a generation, giving hopelessness and despair to our youth. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/187 "2012-05-31T04:28:34Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > FWIW, I don’t particularly feel the need to publicly distance myself from opinions I don’t share, ideas I don’t defend or behaviours I don’t condone. Do you ? Yes, I do. My former church is pro child rape. They bent over backwards protecting vile monsters who destroyed the lives of children while pretending to be god’s ambassadors on earth. They vilified people and victims who spoke out about the child raping priests while shielding the guilty from civil authorities. I will speak out against this evil organization and distance myself from it as far as possible. The fact that so many don’t is appalling to me and frankly anyone who still belongs to that organization I have less than zero respect for. And I have many family members included among them. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/188 "2012-05-31T04:28:55Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > The Holy Word of God is the standard, and it clearly says that we should show love to our neighbors and enemies.[…] OTOH, atheism has ruined a generation, giving hopelessness and despair to our youth. Feel the love, atheists. Feel the motherfucking love. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/189 "2012-05-31T04:44:33Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > The Holy Word of God is the standard, and it clearly says that we should show love to our neighbors and enemies. The “Holy Word of God” is just a meaningless phrase. There is no god of any kind, and the followers of these imaginary gods can’t agree on what that “Word” _is_. The “Word of God” is just a way for believers to restate their own prejudices and desires, while stamping “Made by God” on them. The “Word of God” has no more authority than declaring “because I say so”. > [@GEEPERS](#): > > You obviously don’t know a single thing about Christianity. War that was waged in the name of Christianity was waged by evil men, not true Christians. True Christians are evil men (and women), judging by history. Being a good person means being a bad Christian; rather like how being a good person means being a bad Nazi. Some Nazis were good people, but they were bad at being Nazis, just as there are good Christians, but they are bad at being Christian. The two forms of “good” are mutually exclusive. > [@GEEPERS](#): > > OTOH, atheism has ruined a generation, giving hopelessness and despair to our youth. The vast majority of kids are Christians. And overwhelmingly, Christianity is a religion of guilt, self hatred and the hatred of any form of happiness that doesn’t come from cruelty. Christianity doesn’t reduce hopelessness and despair; promoting hopelessness and despair is one of the things Christians have typically made a point of doing; in their eyes it “promotes faith”. And that’s when it isn’t browbeating people into believing they are evil for being homosexual, or female, or like sex. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/190 "2012-05-31T04:46:26Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > You are delusional. Personal comments are not allowed in this forum. You’ve been told this many times, and since it isn’t sinking in, I’m making it a formal warning this time. Other posters are also advised not to comment on **GEEPERS** or other posters. And let’s see if we can keep this thread on topic. The subject is the Rhode Island school case and other First Amendment and religion-related issues. Discussions of the efficacy of prayer, modern medicine, and the purported evils of religion and belong in another thread. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/191 "2012-05-31T04:49:50Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > The Holy Word of God is the standard, and it clearly says that we should show love to our neighbors and enemies. You obviously don’t know a single thing about Christianity. War that was waged in the name of Christianity was waged by evil men, not true Christians. OTOH, atheism has ruined a generation, giving hopelessness and despair to our youth. So who are the true Christians? I see the highest level leaders of both church and government preaching hatred and intolerance. Despite a history of infidelity, people like McCain and Gingrich get votes and are listened to by the voting population. How many nationally known preachers are found to be unfaithful, hiding the sexuality they condemn and rip off their supporters while living a decadent life style? ETA: **Marley** got in there while I was typing. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/192 "2012-05-31T04:50:59Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > Hey my tax payer money goes to fund things that I consider immoral and anti-Christian like aborition. WHy is that ok? It isn’t anti-Christian, that’s why. > [@GEEPERS](#): > > Parents? In the real world, the divorce rate is high, and many kids come from broken homes, single parents who use the internet and tv to babysit the kids while they work their tails off to put food on the table. Where do these kids get their morals from then? Christianity, most likely; it permeates our society. > [@GEEPERS](#): > > As for ancient ignorant people, the Jews have become perhaps the world’s most influencial race, defying the odds, surviving genocide and becoming a nation again. Israel is the geo political center of the world just as the Bible predicted. Israel is also a major producer of food, oranges in particular, in what was once just sand dunes. Just as the Bible predicted. And the list goes on and on… Yes, I believe this people does have relevance to modern life. :rolleyes: Please. The Jews aren’t a race, and aren’t that influential. Israel isn’t the center of the world, and it isn’t very profound for a religion to to “prophesize” that Israel is going to be considered important by people who follow that very same religion. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/193 "2012-05-31T04:51:57Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > The Holy Word of God is the standard, and it clearly says that we should show love to our neighbors and enemies. It also say that wearing clothing of mixed fibers and eating shellfish is bad, yet selling your daughter into slavery is good. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/194 "2012-05-31T05:00:05Z")
> [@Cumberdale](#): > > Yes, I do. My former church is pro child rape. They bent over backwards protecting vile monsters who destroyed the lives of children while pretending to be god’s ambassadors on earth. They vilified people and victims who spoke out about the child raping priests while shielding the guilty from civil authorities. Did you do any of that shit ? No ? Then what have you to apologize for, or distance yourself from ? Do you feel a similar need to apologize on behalf of and distance yourself from **PosterYouCan’tStand** because you’re a Doper, from Charlie Manson because you’re American, or from Genghis Khan because you’re part of the human race ? Say what you say, do what you do. And if others judge you based on anything beyond that, they’re just garden variety assholes. Who cares what assholes think, long as they’re not being violent about it ? I do think our friend \*\*GEEPERS \*\*here has a serious cognitive dissonance problem if he can’t come to terms with the fact that Christians can do shitty things ; but I’m not about to ask him to apologize for those things just because he’s a Christian himself - these jerks really aren’t speaking for him nor acting on his behalf ; no more than Bin Laden is speaking for Muslims or representative of them. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/195 "2012-05-31T05:00:19Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > Hey my tax payer money goes to fund things that I consider immoral and anti-Christian like aborition. WHy is that ok? There is a difference between a legal medical procedure and forcing young, innocent children to be subjected to a specific religious belief system that they or their family do not agree with. > [@](#): > > Parents? In the real world, the divorce rate is high, and many kids come from broken homes, single parents who use the internet and tv to babysit the kids while they work their tails off to put food on the table. Where do these kids get their morals from then? Yes parents and other family, friends and church. > [@](#): > > As for ancient ignorant people, the Jews have become perhaps the world’s most influencial race, defying the odds, surviving genocide and becoming a nation again. Israel is the geo political center of the world just as the Bible predicted. Israel is also a major producer of food, oranges in particular, in what was once just sand dunes. Just as the Bible predicted. And the list goes on and on… Yes, I believe this people does have relevance to modern life. There is one race, the human race. Many groups of people have suffered because of the stupidity of their fellow man. And so, because they grow oranges now that means that what their ancestors believed 2000 years ago is true? ---
**Author:** ![Makeitstop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bb73d2/32.png) [@Makeitstop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Makeitstop)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/196 "2012-05-31T05:08:29Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > The Holy Word of God is the standard, and it clearly says that we should show love to our neighbors and enemies. You obviously don’t know a single thing about Christianity. War that was waged in the name of Christianity was waged by evil men, not true Christians. OTOH, atheism has ruined a generation, giving hopelessness and despair to our youth. So what defines a ‘true’ Christian? I’ve heard countless arguements before about how one denomination or another, one sort of people or another are not ‘true’ Christians. That becomes a very difficult line to draw, eventually. Soon, one finds themself all alone, screaming to the skies “None of them are Christian but me!” Expecting someone to embody all Christian values 100% of the time is an exercise in futility. Last I checked, there was only one guy who did that. He’s dead now. Or back. Or…coming back. I can’t remember. Point is that being Christian does not make you free from sin, nor does it make you any less likely to make mistakes. You can’t just point to any Christian who has done wrong as say “They are not true Christians.”. Christians do, in fact, commit sin, ‘better moral compass’ be damned. Everyone is guilty of being wrong, everyone is capable of evil. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/197 "2012-05-31T05:08:31Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Did you do any of that shit ? No ? Then what have you to apologize for, or distance yourself from ? > Do you feel a similar need to apologize on behalf of and distance yourself from **PosterYouCan’tStand** because you’re a Doper, from Charlie Manson because you’re American, or from Genghis Khan because you’re part of the human race ? > > Say what you say, do what you do. And if others judge you based on anything beyond that, they’re just garden variety assholes. Who cares what assholes think, long as they’re not being violent about it ? > > I do think our friend \*\*GEEPERS \*\*here has a serious cognitive dissonance problem if he can’t come to terms with the fact that Christians can do shitty things ; but I’m not about to ask him to apologize for those things just because he’s a Christian himself - these jerks really aren’t speaking for him nor acting on his behalf ; no more than Bin Laden is speaking for Muslims or representative of them. I feel that I as an ethical and decent person must distance myself from an organization that endorses and supports vile behavior. If I didn’t I’d feel like I’d essentially be supporting it by proxy. Now, if the powers that be in the organization stopped it when it was discovered, I would agree with you. But this behavior went to the very top of the church. So if the US government helped Manson leave California, avoid prosecution and moved him to say Vermont with a new identity and let him roam free to kill more pregnant women, then yes I would criticize America and distance myself from it for supporting the murder of pregnant women. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/198 "2012-05-31T05:13:50Z")
The problem I have with all of your logic is that I don’t see how a banner that says “heavenly father” actually in any way promotes Christianity. I don’t believe in that NLP shit that everything you see somehow has an effect on what you believe. I have no doubt that absolutely no student has ever been converted to Christianity because of that banner. That’s where I object. It’s not that schools should be teaching this stuff. It’s that all it takes is one person who wants to create strife to cause a problem where absolutely none is necessary. The school is not net better off because the banner is gone. If anything, all this stuff does is embolden Christians like GEEPERS to believe they are being persecuted and causes them to double down. There is a reason I support the concept of ceremonial deism, and that’s exactly what this was. You guys are inflating the importance of this due to your personal beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/199 "2012-05-31T05:34:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The problem I have with all of your logic is that I don’t see how a banner that says “heavenly father” actually in any way promotes Christianity. I don’t believe in that NLP shit that everything you see somehow has an effect on what you believe. I have no doubt that absolutely no student has ever been converted to Christianity because of that banner. It does worse than promote it - it establishes as a base ground fact that children going to this school are \*naturally \*good little Christians and no one would ever object to the words nor feel excluded or ostracised by them. That’s what ceremonial deism does. Besides this, as has been stated in the thread already, the “heavenly father” and “amen” parts are not necessary for the sentiment or message at all ; the banner would have been just as much bland pap without them. But the good folk defending the banner REFUSED to have it amended that way, preferring to take it to court where they were, naturally, soundly beaten and told to remove it altogether instead. So who’s causing problems where there are none ? > [@](#): > > The school is not net better off because the banner is gone. It probably is at that, if little atheists and little Muslims and little Buddhists get the notion than they don’t have to sit and take it should they be bullied by the Christian majority. That they \*can \*rock the boat. That the law is actually on their side. The removal of the banner is meaningless as an act, but not as a symbol. Just as it was a bland-ass banner as a message, but a toxic symbol to uphold. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2012, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555/200 "2012-05-31T06:18:06Z")
> [@GEEPERS](#): > > Despite the fact that the banner had been in the school for decades without protest… Irrelevant to its constitutionality. > [@](#): > > …and cherished by the majority… A majority used to oppose women’s suffrage and civil rights, so what? Also irrelevant. > [@](#): > > …one atheist’s complaint has destroyed a message of morality for future generations. It’s not the responsibility of the school to promote religion. > [@](#): > > First, the banner doesn’t even promote a specific religion. So what? It goes beyond “ceremonial deism,” in my opinion, which has always seemed totally dubious to me as a argument for state promotion of religion. But regardless, appeals to “Heavenly Father” are characteristic of a very narrow, Judeo-Christian subset of religions. You don’t think it’s an appeal to Brahma, now, do you? Or Odin? > [@](#): > > It is a simple creed for all students to follow regardless of their spiritual beliefs. It’s promoting a “Heavenly Father,” so it’s promoting a very specific subset of religious belief. The creed could be equally effectively stated without a call to prayer to a “Heavenly Father.” > [@](#): > > Yet, the rights of believers to express themselves has been overrun by a single atheist. Damn that pesky establishment clause. But, actually, it wasn’t just a single atheist, was it? If significant people hadn’t agreed with her, she would have gotten nowhere. NB: not everyone who agrees with her is an atheist. I rather suspect only a minority of them are. By the way, are people in the school prohibited from, say, wearing similar slogans on their T-shirts? Praying when it does not obstruct the class? Covering their folders or binders or laptops with stickers expressing similar sentiments? If not, then their rights to express themselves are entirely unhindered. Why do religious types require an authority to trumpet their beliefs in official settings, otherwise they think their rights are being infringed upon? > [@](#): > > Exactly how is that right, and what is so wrong with this message? Calls to a “Heavenly Father” in an official setting with approval of a state authority run afoul of the U.S. Constitution. > [@](#): > > It is a solid simple message, giving a young mind the right kind of attitude to approach life. And could convey that same message without some asinine appeal to “Heavenly Father.” > [@](#): > > Atheists are not for freedom of religion which is clearly established in the 1st amendment. Your scholarship is a bit off, here. The Constitution specifically prohibits the establishment of religion: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” Invocation of “Heavenly Father” in an official place sanctioned by authority clearly runs afoul of this, and is therefore un-Constitutional and furthermore un-American. > [@](#): > > The slippery slope has begun ,and eventually Christians will have to go back to the ancient days of hiding in secret in order to worship… Wow, Christians really do yearn for martyrdom. Sorry, ain’t gonna happen. > [@](#): > > The fact that this student is being rewarded… Is heroic. Is distinctly American. Shows that our Democracy works. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-example-of-atheists-destroying-christians-rights/623555.md?page=11)