Front Page: Proverbs 22:6

11/12/21
Disclaimer from Editor-in-chief:
All my writers at this paper are booklearned, respectable folks with morals. Whether folks think morality is subjective, or if it aint fit yalls opinions, views, or agendas, thats yalls hang up. This IS America- and if even yall got sights on changing it, it aint gone happen. We're AMERICAN, and freedom to think for ones self and are given rights by our Creator...If yall believe yall done 'evolved,' I dont know what to tell you... YALL got a constitution- Its mainstream news, social media, big tech, Hollyweird, the elites, and the government. I encourage yall to think for YOURSELVES. OUR Constitution is for the religious and the moral persons, and we believe and honor it- like I said; this is America, and we entitled to freedom of speech, and religion- NO HUMAN, entity, or government got the power to change it. Respect my writers. Yall are welcome to disagree. WE respect YALL and yalls opinions and we ask yall do the same. We gone always be polite, but kindness aint weakness. A disagreement aint got to be as unwelcome as an outhouse breeze. As Editor, all negative comments should come to me Bride A. Livewire , firebrandtimes, and not my writers.

Welcome to America.


Why Does the Bible Have to be so Controversial?

When I was little, we prayed in the mornings before school together. We prayed again at lunchtime. Today, there is nothing like seeing a group of kids in a circle praying together at a football game. The schools where I live offer the Bible as an elective. Why do we have to make things so complicated? If you want to take the Bible as an elective in school, you should do so.

The first amendment of the of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of religion and freedom of expression from government interference. It prohibits any laws that establish a national religion, impede the free exercise of religion, abridge the freedom of speech, infringe upon the freedom of the press, interfere with the right to peaceably assemble, or prohibit citizens from petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

The five freedoms it protects: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Together, these five guaranteed freedoms make the people of the United States of America the freest in the world. It doesn't much feel like freedom when we aren't allowed to pray in our schools or choose the Bible as an elective. I never thought I would see the day we could not say Merry Christmas.

While some public schools have made their classrooms decidedly politically correct, including banning Christmas Carols on campus, other states seem to be headed in the opposite direction. A number of states around the country are introducing legislation to bring the Bible back to school – purportedly as a resource for teaching the history of the United States, rather than advocating a particular religion.

The Bible is the most important work of literature in Western Civilization. Biblical literacy, which is to say a basic, functioning knowledge of the stories of the Bible, is essential to have a full understanding of how our society works and why it differs so dramatically from others. This is why it must be thoroughly taught in the public schools. One of the most interesting classes I took in college was a study of all religions.

At a time where it seems like anything goes finding a way to teach young people about faith should be a national imperative and achieving this is going to require Americans to get over the "don't talk about religion or politics." Look around you. It's high time we start talking about religion and politics.

Extremists talk about religion and spew messages of hate. Self-rightous flamethrowers hold the Bible up and say "but the Bible says this" while moderates say "but it also says this." It's like this whether you believe like I do or not is not my concern. The Bible is important to the history of western civilization and to its future to be ignored. The subject matter is important if we are going to understand other people and other societies. We can’t look at politics, economics, art, social relationships, science, our environment, or religion, without looking at how they interact with each other. An indigenous spiritual world view might impact our treatment of the environment and our economic system. It might affect what one eats, how much one produces, who gets what, and so on. This, in turn, will impact how much time we spend with our families, how we treat Elders, and other social relationships.

The subject matter is also important if we are going to understand ourselves. Students can see the long term effects of ideas and beliefs that permeate cultures today that arose from religions and world views of the past. If those ripple effects happen to be part of American history, we are really learning about layers of ourselves and assumptions about the world that we can now “unpack”, evaluate, then either embrace, reject, amend, or leave them to percolate as we continue our quest for self-identity, our beliefs, and our role in society. Students are fascinated to learn of the Puritan work ethic, pre-destination, and the “city upon a hill” mentality that has rippled into our economic and political systems today. They also learn the rich history of the Quakers and their firm and early stance against slavery, the subjugation of women, and the suffering of the poor. The Quakers, too, are part of our identity that they rarely have a chance to learn about.

Making religion an integral part of the fabric of our curriculum may not be easy, but it is certainly legal and well worth the effort if we want to help our kids become independent tolerant critical thinkers who seek to understand and improve themselves and the world in which we live.

Addison