And our nation continues to slide into oblivion......

"Hate" is usually too strong a word to be used with regard to the view of most non-extreme Christians and Muslims have of Atheists. Pity, sadness, disappointment that such people can't share their belief in a divine presence is more like what I've found after exposure to numerous versions of both faiths.

What I usually find is that Atheists are often paranoid, angry, and frustrated at what they perceive is a non-intellectual acceptance of lack of proof of a deity in the community of believers. Agnostics are more accepting of attempts to make believers of them than Atheists.

Nonetheless, as a Deist, I share the position of Atheists that it's better not to try to incorporate any religious belief system into education. Given the incredible number of religious faiths and their numerous sects in each, it's near impossible to accommodate the rituals of all religious variants equally, as was intended by the Founders.

When the Constitution was written, the variance of Abrahamic faiths in the colonies was limited almost entirely to Catholic and Protestant Christianity, with a small Jewish population. It was much easier to convince this near homogeneous mix of faiths to abide peacefully with each other than trying to do the same with the much more diverse religious population our country has today.

To continue my humorous note: But imagine the expression on the faces of the teachers if you congratulated them for pre-conditioning the students to become born-again-Christians. (It is PC for them to be pro-Islamic, but not at all correct for them to be born-again-Christians, which liberals regard as being synonymous with devilspawn Republicans.)

The scientific study of the Middle East and its origins is something that I find absorbing. You are correct in that most people do not know that there are Mesopotamian and Egyptian texts that predate the bible and from which much of it seems to have been derived.

I think the major point that people miss is that the ancient Jews were Mesolithic goat-herders who were rubbing shoulders with well-developed bronze-age civilizations. The culture of the old testament was formed by these contacts: imitative or reactive.

Do you have a good source for your statements about the third-hand source of the Koran? I would be interested in reading more about that.

Jan

This is unconstitutional in so many ways. Don't matter what God you believe in or even if you don't. A little thing called separation of church and state. Freedom of speech. Where is everyone that is an American.

Unfortunately, both Christians and Muslims are demonstrably ignorant of the historical development of the three major faiths. Some Jews understand the development of their faith better than others, particularly the fact that there were at least four different versions of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible/Torah), with the earliest version of Genesis not having the seven day creation, which was added only after the Jews were exposed to the Babylonian culture, which created the seven day week as just one instance of how the scriptures evolved.

When either the Muslim or Christian believers are exposed to what a wide variation of scriptural development took place, both in the old and new testaments, and how the Koran is primarily a third hand "word of Allah" (written well after the life of the Prophet, by writers who interviewed illiterate tribesmen who were "inspired" to remember the words of the equally illiterate Muhammad as they or others they knew recalled them), they're usually extremely upset and unwilling to accept such academic revelations.

The nutty idea that giving credence to either Christian or Islamic religious promoters serving the interests of uniting the Abrahamic faith, or converting either to the others' views non-violently leads to no good end. Witness the violent clashes between Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam, or the bloody wars fought between Catholic and Orthodox Christianity should be proof enough of the unlikelihood of these faiths finding common ground. Coptic and Protestant Christians or Sufi Muslims can advise you on how poorly that's worked.

because they're at their windows doing the same? -- j

not like this -- but history, yes! -- j

That's true. The salute was dropped during World War II for obvious reasons. The pledge of allegiance, in different form, originally appeared in a Socialist magazine.

A flag is merely a piece of cloth unless one understands the system and the principles for which it serves as a symbol. I often recommend that people see or read James Clavell's "The Children's Story", which is on YouTube. It takes place in real time and demonstrates beautifully how unthinking "allegiance" can be used against those who do not think.

I agree. I suppose this incident will lead to rebellion on the part of some of some of the students, who will face toward Tel Aviv instead of Mecca. At least I hope some of the students are smart enough to figure out something of the sort.

We only have a Pledge to begin with because "progressives" like Sanger pushed it in the 1920s. The original version included the straight-arm Nazi salute. I say abolish the Pledge, and maybe replace it with Galt's Oath.

And theftism and eco-nut-ism are religions.

They (religions) all hate atheists, even more than each other. Your point about the First Amendment is well taken, but (there is always a “but”) the courts are peopled by political animals. One would think a state governor or the U.S. president issuing a Christian Proclamation of a Day of Prayer (done every year by all 50 governors and the prez since the 1950s) would violate the Constitution. The courts, however, say atheists do not have “standing” to bring the suit. I know. I was lead counsel in both a state and a federal case on this issue. Atheists don’t count.

But, that was not my point. Almost all the Christians with whom I speak, think "their" god is different from the Muslim god. My point. is that Christains are religiously ignorant even of their religion.

I thought Californians believed that Obama was the one true god.

Religion has no place in public schools. Any religion, any public school.

I thought the requirement of prayer in a public school was against the law.
Oh! But this is all about the PC coddling of Islam.
It's that oh so special "religion of peace" the Liar-In-Chief said it was.
That makes Muslims so-o exceptional for the giddy libtards in power.
So never mind.
Allah Akbar Boom.

All of today's hot items are making me want to break something. I was fine until I read all the topics. Luckily, I'm a feeble old poop who can't punch his way out of a tissue paper bag. What's the matter with people? Get up, go to your window and shout, I'm fed up and I'm not going to take it anymore!
Hold on -- the neighbors are looking at me funny. Oh, well...

Forget this nonsense and educate the women of Islam in academics, give them driver's license and a fashion trip to Rodeo Drive. Then ask if they want to go back to the teachings this school is foisting on US students! This is not education, this is indoctrination. I have been in class with Muslim males, talked with them, and they have no desire to set their women free, and they will use their religion to keep things as they are. US girls are already slaves to the TV and rap music, which can be quite disrespectful to women. I still remember Nine Inch Nails, and the disrespect on one album our daughter brought home. She had not yet picked up on the words to consider what they were saying. Teach the students math, science, philosophy, forget this junk education. A few years ago it was a black religion not even in existence until the late 60s, that they were promoting. I guarantee, in the end, it will the the UN's Gaia worship which will find its way into the classrooms.

Thank you, Lucky.

Jan

I usually agree with DrZarkov, but I think that in this case I prefer Esceptico's insight. If the Politically Correct pro-Islamists were congratulated on teaching the Abrahamic religions in their schools and someone perhaps enthused at how much easier the transition to born-again Christianity will be for the students, once this foundation has been laid...well, it might take the wind out of their sails a bit.

Jan

"God" is referred to by several names in Hebrew and Aramaic, but English-speaking Christians are uncomfortable about hearing anything but the three letter label. The reason the invocation of the Arabic term "Allah" raises such concern is that extremist Muslims react violently to any other name of the deity, and imposing that label as well as the prayer rituals on public school students implies an endorsement of that form of the Abrahamic faith, while the same school institutions will expel a student who tries to invoke any ritual of Jewish or Christian form of worship.

Trying to justify favoring any form of religion while denying any other in a public institution is a clear violation of the First Amendment. Invoking religious ritual is not the same as teaching the ideological differences of various faiths in a "Comparative Religions" class.

It should say, "One nation, indivisible,..." like it used to. Why was it changed to use the G word???

Another great pity is these people are so poorly educated in religion. They do not realize all Abrahamic religions worship the same god. The main Abrahamic religions are Jewish, Christian, and Muslim. So, in a sense, Allah is the only true god of Christians and Jews.

Especially with auto correct.

If our goal is peace, prosperity and freedom, we must have separation of education and State [http://www.schoolandstate.org/home.htm], health care and State, child care and State, charity and State & economics and State, as we should have separation of church and State ... and for the same reasons.

Let's replace our coercive State with the "Natural Republic" (aka “Free stateless Society”), in which all humans have 100% control of their lives and property. To do that, there must be a group of humans who thoroughly understand the solution. Please help as many of your thinking friends as possible to experience Jay Snelson’s “Human Action Principles” lectures, now available on the MP3 drive at http://www.suscivinst.com/store/.

That’s presently the BEST source for the SCIENTIFIC approach to the Voluntary Society. (Lou & I have no financial interest in this product but we have a STRONG intellectual interest in helping as many people as possible understand the Win-Win Paradigm.).

For FREE information on the SCIENTIFIC approach, Fred Marks’ book-in-progress, based on the work of Andrew J Galambos and others, is available at www.CapitalismTheLiberalRevolution.com.