Allentown, PA - There is nothing so evil, so clearly un-American, as the imposition of a particular religious dogma by force.

That is why America’s Founding Fathers made it the first order of business in the Bill of Rights to say that government must not advance ‘’establishment of religion.'’

Traitors always seek to undermine that principle.They want to force students to say prayers in government schools, even if some of the children have beliefs that clash with those prayers. They want to use force to prevent medical treatments and research that conflict with their own narrow views. They want to establish particular religions by erecting religious artifacts in public areas.

You need only visit the main courtroom in Northampton County’s courthouse to see that the enemies of the Bill of Rights sometimes prevail.

The Ten Commandments of the Judeo-Christian religions proclaim that this court does not tolerate Buddhists, Hindus or anybody else who refuses to surrender to the one and only religious dogma sanctioned by that county. No other religious or philosophical display — certainly not the Bill of Rights — is allowed on that courtroom wall. That is establishment of religion, and that, in my book, is treason.

I mention all this to certify my status as a hawk in the war against the imposition of religious dogma by force. If the above statements do not illustrate my opposition to government establishment of religion, I don’t know what will.

My credentials thus posted, let us move on to the story on page A10 of Thursday’s paper.

It said a 10-year-old boy at a public school in Montgomery County was not allowed to wear a costume of his choice for the school’s Halloween festivities — because the costume violated a policy banning the promotion of religion.

The story said the kid was dressed as Jesus, complete with a ‘’faux crown of thorns.'’

At the same Halloween shindig, however, the Willow Hill Elementary School in Glenside allowed other children to dress up in costumes representing other religions. There were witches (the Wicca religion) and devils (Demonolatry), according to a lawsuit filed, on behalf of the boy in the Jesus costume, by the Alliance Defense Fund.Ordinarily, I detest everything the ADF stands for. This group fights for the right of evangelical Christians to deny the rights of everybody else. It was established by a batch of holy roller radio broadcasters and other evangelicals to lobby for government imposition of religious dogma by force.

I am with the ADF, however, when it comes to a government school’s action to ban a Jesus costume. The kid is 10 years old and was exercising freedom of expression. This was not a tyrannical teacher or principal forcing students to recite a sectarian prayer.

What’s next? Obviously, manifestations of Wicca and Demonolatry religions have to go. For that matter, Halloween itself (the eve of All Hallows or All Saints Day) has religious roots. Should any utterance of the word ‘’Halloween'’ be verboten in public schools?

How about Superman costumes? With his supernatural powers, Superman does not need to walk on water; he can fly over it. Heavens! What are the implications of that ?

And why stop there? Hobo costumes are insensitive to the unfortunate, and cowboy outfits could include toy guns, which, if seen in a school, will trigger stampedes of parental panic and SWAT raids.

Going to extremes almost always begets more extremes.

A 10-year-old boy is not likely to pressure others to accept his religious dogma just because he wears a Jesus costume on Halloween. There is a difference between a boy and a Northampton County judge banging his gavel at people.

Lighten up, for God’s sake.

Source

• Carpenter, Paul. A boy’s costume does not impose dogma by force. (2007, February 23). Allentown Morning Call, PA. February 23, 2007.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 23rd, 2007 at 7:27 pm and is filed under Legal Issues, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.