Should a religious song be banned from a school talent show?

[EsmeraldaX]

School has no business being involved in any way with Religion. Not even a song at a talent show. The ONLY time that is an exception is if the school is a religious school.

School is a place for learning FACTS. Religion, even a song, is not fact, it is faith and myth.

Wow. So you'd apparently be against a chorus of small schoolchildren singing Puff the Magic Dragon or reading King Arthur also...

I mean, it's not fact, it's just fiction, it's not teaching the kids anything. Oh, and no more putting on fairy tales as school plays...

I'm glad that kind of logic wasn't used when I went to school.

 

[JimB.]

Should a religious song be banned from a school talent show?

No, it should not.

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

School has no business being involved in any way with Religion. Not even a song at a talent show. The ONLY time that is an exception is if the school is a religious school.

School is a place for learning FACTS. Religion, even a song, is not fact, it is faith and myth.

No more "Charlotte's Web" either?

No more "Paul Bunyan" ?

Non-fiction only?

Schools discuss culture, mythology, philosophy, (most all involving gods or a superior beings). And how and who come up with those goofy star constellations? I see the dippers, but the rest require a lot of "faith."

A belief system = religion, whether there is a God (god) or not.

It's freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. If a Native American wished to sing a religious song from their culture, I wonder if the principal would have had the same reacton.

Some people are too easily offended. Should I be offended because you say by implication that my religion is not a fact, but a myth? (I'm not.)

 

[snoopy]

If it were my child's school, I'd have no objection to a child singing a religious song at a talent show, regardless of religion. I'm all for celebrating diversity and excluding no one their right to embrace their culture or religion at a school talent show.

 

[Aidensmom]

IT'S NOT?!!!
AAACK!!!!
Sorry, I have to leave now. I have to catch the squad of Christian commandos that we sent out after singing that hymn and tell them "never mind".

LOL

 

[Aidensmom]

[/font]
You're both right, and you're both wrong. Just as the Bible is abstract, but a lot of Christians believe everything in it is literal, there are those who would believe that this song calls upon Christians to literally wage a moral war against sin and sinners (of course, we are all sinners, but that logic would escape them). And their belief system is just as valid as anyone elses.

So we should tell a little girl she cannot sing a song because there may be a handful of extremists in the world who would consider it a literal call to a physical war? And, just to clear up your misconceptions, if one did not realize they were a sinner, they would find no need for a savior, thus there would be no Christians.

...wait, hold that thought, my CD play is now telling me to "shock the monkey", I'll be back after I have electrocuted one....

 

[Chuck S]

So we should tell a little girl she cannot sing a song because there may be a handful of extremists in the world who would consider it a literal call to a physical war? And, just to clear up your misconceptions, if one did not realize they were a sinner, they would find no need for a savior, thus there would be no Christians.

...wait, hold that thought, my CD play is now telling me to "shock the monkey", I'll be back after I have electrocuted one....

I didn't know the little girl was wanting to sing "Onward Christian Soldiers"?! And apparently, you also missed the context of the above statement. The poster to which I was replying said that the song could not be taken literally, that it was abstract. My point was that much of the Bible is also in absract, and open to interpretation, yet some people take it literally, and that some would also take the song literally. We may not ALL interpret the meanings of religious songs the same way. BTW, I also said MORAL war, not PHYSICAL war, that was YOUR interpretation, NOT what I wrote.

Moral war could be "fought" by confronting people verbally. I was confronted in the super market by a "moral policeman" about a year ago, for purchasing a product with a French label...never mind that it was simply a dual-labeled product that was also offered for sale in Canada, the product was imported from Germany.

Again, it seems the parent of this little girl are using their daughter for their own personal Christian agenda.

There were even posters on this board that basically said if it was indeed a set-up from the start, so what? Do you consider purposeful confrontation a Christian Value? What ever happened to faith being a personal relationship with the Almighty instead of holding your religion high to prove to everyone what a "good Christian" you are? It seems many in the Christian community have a lot in common with what they seem to be condemning in other religions.

 

[auntpolly]

If it were my child's school, I'd have no objection to a child singing a religious song at a talent show, regardless of religion. I'm all for celebrating diversity and excluding no one their right to embrace their culture or religion at a school talent show.

Yeah, what she said. I don't get how this is a problem at all.

 

[Aidensmom]

I didn't know the little girl was wanting to sing "Onward Christian Soldiers"?! And apparently, you also missed the context of the above statement. The poster to which I was replying said that the song could not be taken literally, that it was abstract. My point was that much of the Bible is also in absract, and open to interpretation, yet some people take it literally, and that some would also take the song literally. We may not ALL interpret the meanings of religious songs the same way. BTW, I also said MORAL war, not PHYSICAL war, that was YOUR interpretation, NOT what I wrote.

Moral war could be "fought" by confronting people verbally. I was confronted in the super market by a "moral policeman" about a year ago, for purchasing a product with a French label...never mind that it was simply a dual-labeled product that was also offered for sale in Canada, the product was imported from Germany.

Again, it seems the parent of this little girl are using their daughter for their own personal Christian agenda.

There were even posters on this board that basically said if it was indeed a set-up from the start, so what? Do you consider purposeful confrontation a Christian Value? What ever happened to faith being a personal relationship with the Almighty instead of holding your religion high to prove to everyone what a "good Christian" you are? It seems many in the Christian community have a lot in common with what they seem to be condemning in other religions.

Earlier posts had compared the actual song that was sung with "Onward Christian Soldiers", so what I was said was applicable. And neither song is telling anyone to go confront other people, physically or morally, they are talking about an individuals battle with evil.

I am sorry someone got upset about you buying salad dressing with a French label, not too sure what the has to do with this. Didn't realize that was a moral thing....guess I need to read my Bible more.

Do I consider purposeful confrontation a Christian value? Yes, there is nowhere in the Bible that says that if you are Christian it is immoral to stand up for your rights. In this case, the freedom of speech. If I am standing up for my rights, it has absolutely nothing to do with my relationship with Jesus Christ, it has to do with my rights as a citizen of the United States. Standing up for my rights has nothing to do with proving what a good Christian I am (in fact, what exactly is a "good Christian"? A Christian is someone who admits that they are a sinner and need a savior to make them acceptable to God). What is it I am condemning in other religions?

And I guess I am out of the loop, what exactly is the parent's "Christian agenda?" Free speech is not a religious issue. Stating/singing that "my God is an awesome God" is an opinion, you can take it or leave it.

 

[BrinxFam]

NO, absolutely not!

 

[Charade]

Again, it seems the parent of this little girl are using their daughter for their own personal Christian agenda.

Again, so what? Everyone (almost) has an "agenda". Seems as of late it's become a "dirty" word.

There were even posters on this board that basically said if it was indeed a set-up from the start, so what? Do you consider purposeful confrontation a Christian Value?

Seriously, I wouldn't know because I'm a former Catholic turned agnostic.

I guess I don't understand why standing up for one's beliefs is a bad thing. Even if the method is questionable by some.

Unless you can prove that the parents set this up to be a confrontation with the school, you can only speculate what their motives were. I choose to believe it was a reaction to the school censoring the song and nothing unscrupulous on the part of the parents.

What ever happened to faith being a personal relationship with the Almighty instead of holding your religion high to prove to everyone what a "good Christian" you are?

I think you see a motivation that isn't there (in most cases). People celebrate their faith because of their faith, not because they want to showboat.

The child in this case is doing two things, one is showing that she can sing (hopefully) and expressing her faith. I'm sure they are *not* trying to turn the talent contest into a revial. Her personal relationship with her God can be expressed in any manner she chooses. That's what the first amendment says. Are we to now send Christians into the closets left vacant by another persecuted group?

It seems many in the Christian community have a lot in common with what they seem to be condemning in other religions.

Huh? Where'd that come from?

 

[auntpolly]

Again, it seems the parent of this little girl are using their daughter for their own personal Christian agenda.

So if she sang "Take me home Country Roads" the agenda would be to get everyone to move to West Virginia?

It's a song. A pretty one. The girl was expressing herself, she wasn't making the audience sing it; was whe? Shame on the people that want to take that away from us. You hear the word Jesus in a song? I think you'll survive that traumatic experience!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

So if she sang "Take me home Country Roads" the agenda would be to get everyone to move to West Virginia?

It's a song. A pretty one. The girl was expressing herself, she wasn't making the audience sing it; was whe? Shame on the people that want to take that away from us. You hear the word Jesus in a song? I think you'll survive that traumatic experience!

I agree. With you & Snoopy. I'd love it if all the children were encouraged to express their cultural diversity, as long as they were doing it in a way that was positive and did not insult anyone else.

Doesn't seem like anyone is being directly insulted here.

 

[Charade]

I agree. With you & Snoopy. I'd love it if all the children were encouraged to express their cultural diversity, as long as they were doing it in a way that was positive and did not insult anyone else.

Doesn't seem like anyone is being directly insulted here.

The "insult" is that some believe that it's a violation of SoCaS (tired of writing Separation of Church and State!).

 

[auntpolly]

The "insult" is that some believe that it's a violation of SoCaS (tired of writing Separation of Church and State!).

I'm a huge SoCaS supporter but I think this takes it waaaaay too far. Unless she's doing a sing-a-long, she's just expressing herself. What next? A child's faith not allowed in crayon drawings and essays, too? I want everyone to express themselves. I love to hear expressions of all people's faiths, as long as they aren't insisting on praying with them their way.

What? Are your ears so delicate they can't even bear to hear the words?

 

[Chuck S]

So, if the song had lyrics considered anti-African American, or anti-Jewish it would be appropriate?

Would an Islamic song with lyrics about Allah defeating Christians be appropriate?

Say that there may be a same-sex couple attending to see their niece, nephew, or own child participate in the PUBLIC SCHOOL SPONSORED event. Should they "expect" to hear a song about God's wrath upon them? Would it be appropriate? Would you like to hear the lyrics to "Awesome God"?

Our God is an awesome God
Judgment and wrath
He poured out on Sodom

Yep, sweet little innocent song there, huh?

 

[Charade]

What? Are your ears so delicate they can't even bear to hear the words?

Hey now! I agree with you! I was just expanding on what EsX said.

But you hit the nail on the head. There is an continuous push to remove any references to religion from public sector in governmental locations/programs even when the intention of the expression is for purely personal reasons.

 

[Charade]

So, if the song had lyrics considered anti-African American, or anti-Jewish it would be appropriate?

You're reaching there Chuck.

Say that there may be a same-sex couple attending to see their niece, nephew, or own child participate in the PUBLIC SCHOOL SPONSORED event. Would you like to hear the lyrics to "Awesome God"?

Would they be offended? Probably. No law protects you from being offended.

Our God is an awesome God
Judgment and wrath
He poured out on Sodom

Yep, sweet little innocent song there, huh?

And this is anti-what?

 

[Chuck S]

You're reaching there Chuck.

Would they be offended? Probably. No law protects you from being offended.

And this is anti-what?

Reaching? A song praising God for destroying Sodom isn't anti-gay? A publically funded school should endorse this? Are you so naive as to think if similar lyrics were sung about Christians there wouldn't be an uproar?

I also noticed you didn't answer this part:


Should they "expect" to hear a song about God's wrath upon them? Would it be appropriate?

 

[LoraJ]

If it were my child's school, I'd have no objection to a child singing a religious song at a talent show, regardless of religion. I'm all for celebrating diversity and excluding no one their right to embrace their culture or religion at a school talent show.

I agree with this too.

I don't see the big deal, but I also think the parents are going overboard by suing.