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"Anyone
denying any student or teacher from expressing his/her belief
is violating our Constitu-tional rights and more importantly our
God-given rights."
"A
handful of delegates in our government said in essence, “God is
not allowed where our kids our concerned.” When this influence
was removed, a void of violence and havoc took its place."
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“We have a dangerous trend beginning
to take place in our education - We are spending less time in the classroom
on the Bible, which should be the principal text in our schools - The
Bible states these great moral lessons better than any other manmade
books” – (Fisher Ames, one of our founding fathers who created the Constitution.)
Fisher Ames was the man who worded the First Amendment, and he was talking
about the removal of spiritual influence in our schools. The question
is, should God be a part of our educational system? To answer this question
let’s look at matters that surround this subject such as: separation
of church and state and what our forefathers while writing the Constitution
intended our schools to be. Much has happened since prayer and the Ten
Commandments were removed from schools.
First, let’s look at the famous phrase “separation of church and state.”
Where did this phrase come from? Most people believe it was written
in our Constitution, specifically the First Amendment. Those people
are misinformed. “Separation of church and state” is not mentioned anywhere
in our Constitution. The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make
no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof.” The man who wrote this was Fisher Ames (the same
man who said removing the Bible from school was dangerous). So, where
did this phrase come from? It came from an unofficial document, a letter,
Thomas Jefferson wrote to a certain religious group. So, people using
separation of church and state to squelch Christian school activity
are misinformed.
Secondly, while writing our Constitution, what did our forefathers intend
for our schools? What did our forefathers think about religion and government?
George Washington, our first President, believed that, “Of all the dispositions
and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality
are indispensable supports - Reason and experience both forbid us to
expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious
principle. ” Washington goes on to say, “If I could have entertained
the slightest apprehension that the Constitution…might possibly endanger
the religious rights of any ecclesiastical Society {meaning any church},
I would never have place my signature to it-.” Governor Morris, who
spoke more than any other delegate in the Continental Congress wrote,
“Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education
should teach the precepts of religion, and the duties of man toward
God.” And, finally, James Madison, our fourth President and primary
writer of the Bill of Rights, stated, “Religion (is) the basis and Foundation
of Government.”
Third, much has happened since Christian influences (such as Bible reading,
prayer,and the Ten Commandments) were removed from public schools. The
same year that a simple prayer (that was read before school started
everyday) was removed from public schools, the rate of school violence,
drug and alcohol use, rape, and teen pregnancy shot way up. Also, that
same year the test scores (S.A.T.’s) dramatically went down. So, what
happened in 1963? A handful of delegates in our government said in essence,
“God is not allowed where our kids our concerned.” When this influence
was removed, a void of violence and havoc took its place.
In conclusion, our society has seen court cases that have forbidden
a teacher from reading the 23rd Psalm as poetry and have prohibited
students from leading congregations in prayer at graduation ceremonies
and football games. This was not intended by our forefathers or our
Constitution. School or any human authority cannot force a person to
believe or pray or worship God. But, the Bible can be a class textbook
to teach the most important morals or an English teacher read from the
book of Psalms as poetry or even starting off the beginning of class
with an out-loud prayer to God. Where do you think our schools are headed?
I see that more Columbine incidents will occur. What is the answer?
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. Christians taking
God back to their schools is the answer. Anyone denying any student
or teacher from expressing his/her belief is violating our Constitutional
rights and more importantly our God-given rights. 
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