Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Trigonometry is not defined as "the study of God"
Whew! What a cold, winter day. It is zero degrees F outside. That translates to "Brrrr" in every other measuring system. With the cold shutting me indoors, I find myself content to read and play video games. But the lack of warmth seems to still make me a little grouchy, and maybe a little depressed. So imagine the sort of mind set I am in to start with as you read this entry...
... and remember that it doesn't take much to expose my frustration with the American church.
Here in the Omaha area, there is a math teacher (Papillion/LaVista school district) who is under fire for exposing his religious views in class. It appears that he stopped class on the most current incident, and did a soap-box lecture on Christianity. The school system had to suspend him, and every Christian militant for miles is feigning outrage over it. They have come on the local news and complained about the removal of God from schools (always quick to throw in their continued disgust of the removal of prayer in schools, which was decades ago). They have mobilized their children to wear supportive T-shirts of the teacher, and those who aren't are wearing shirts that predominantly feature the word "Jesus" or "I pray."
The Christians in this school district are very quick to feel persecuted. They moan and groan about how God is being chased into the dark corners of American society. What they fail to realize is this; that this is not an ACLU/school board attack on God, but an attack on ignorance. The disciplinary action against the teacher was because he did not use common sense as a professional; his class is not a forum for discussion of religion. There are teachers in sociology courses who have criticized for mentioning religion, so what made him think it was appropriate for a math course?
This is the exact sort of thing the ACLU and other groups want to prevent... you have a captive audience of impressionable minds, and you should not be able to ramble about just any little thing. What if he had given a lecture about condom use, or the best tasting beer, or how sex works? It would have been obvious that he was not acting in a professional behavior, because the content is beyond the scope of the course he teaches. I myself think this teacher is a moron for not recognizing that matters of faith are a hot topic in education, and that the least he could have done was realize that bringing it up would cause trouble.
As a Christian, I am asking the rest of you to think with your minds and not your hearts. This knee jerk reaction only solidifies every criticism of the church and confirms every perceived weakness in our ranks. We are not a body of people just waiting for something to rally around to fight for... we should be also socially responsible and act as professionals. When we are appointed to certain roles in society, we have to work within the framework and rules of that role. Just as being asked to babysit in no way allows you the right to allow a kid to watch a rated R movie (because it is what you would allow as a parent), being a teacher does not allow you to educate children about any topic you desire. Math is a lot of things, and while Einstein and Hawking both alluded to the fact that mathematical sciences can help us see "the mind of God," it has no relationship to religious issues such as morality, salvation, and ultimate fates.
As for the Christians who got worked up over this, shame on you. This is more than a guy being attacked because he wore a cross necklace. This is more than a teacher being asked to not include Christian songs in the Christmas musical. This is even more than a teacher being criticized for talking about creationism in science class (which still makes me feel icky). Those things all have a legitimate defensive debate. What this teacher did was turn of his brain, and let his heart take over. And most of us are wise enough to know that the heart is a bad pilot; it can lead you into some very bad territory. Christianity, if it to be accepted as truth, should be a merger of heart and mind. You should understand it, have a logical foundation for it, and feel it deep within you as a passion. All passion and no logic is like all faith and no works. It doesn't help anyone in the Kingdom.
In a country where people do not want science teachers to talk about evolution, but are quite happy for a math teacher to discuss religion, it is no wonder the Church has trouble making any real progress in changing the hearts and minds of Americans. We are seen as ignorant and superstitious. And the people coming out of the woodwork to complain about this case only affirm this perception. If you want your teachers to spout God-talk despite the course material, then you need to send your children to a Christian school, or keep them home and home school them (two options you will NEVER see me take). If you choose to send your children to public school, then you have to be prepared for the climate there; and this includes the "walking on eggshells" approach that school systems have about the topic of faith.
This means "don't expect your child to learn about sanctification and subtraction from the same man."
Horns up!
... and remember that it doesn't take much to expose my frustration with the American church.
Here in the Omaha area, there is a math teacher (Papillion/LaVista school district) who is under fire for exposing his religious views in class. It appears that he stopped class on the most current incident, and did a soap-box lecture on Christianity. The school system had to suspend him, and every Christian militant for miles is feigning outrage over it. They have come on the local news and complained about the removal of God from schools (always quick to throw in their continued disgust of the removal of prayer in schools, which was decades ago). They have mobilized their children to wear supportive T-shirts of the teacher, and those who aren't are wearing shirts that predominantly feature the word "Jesus" or "I pray."
The Christians in this school district are very quick to feel persecuted. They moan and groan about how God is being chased into the dark corners of American society. What they fail to realize is this; that this is not an ACLU/school board attack on God, but an attack on ignorance. The disciplinary action against the teacher was because he did not use common sense as a professional; his class is not a forum for discussion of religion. There are teachers in sociology courses who have criticized for mentioning religion, so what made him think it was appropriate for a math course?
This is the exact sort of thing the ACLU and other groups want to prevent... you have a captive audience of impressionable minds, and you should not be able to ramble about just any little thing. What if he had given a lecture about condom use, or the best tasting beer, or how sex works? It would have been obvious that he was not acting in a professional behavior, because the content is beyond the scope of the course he teaches. I myself think this teacher is a moron for not recognizing that matters of faith are a hot topic in education, and that the least he could have done was realize that bringing it up would cause trouble.
As a Christian, I am asking the rest of you to think with your minds and not your hearts. This knee jerk reaction only solidifies every criticism of the church and confirms every perceived weakness in our ranks. We are not a body of people just waiting for something to rally around to fight for... we should be also socially responsible and act as professionals. When we are appointed to certain roles in society, we have to work within the framework and rules of that role. Just as being asked to babysit in no way allows you the right to allow a kid to watch a rated R movie (because it is what you would allow as a parent), being a teacher does not allow you to educate children about any topic you desire. Math is a lot of things, and while Einstein and Hawking both alluded to the fact that mathematical sciences can help us see "the mind of God," it has no relationship to religious issues such as morality, salvation, and ultimate fates.
As for the Christians who got worked up over this, shame on you. This is more than a guy being attacked because he wore a cross necklace. This is more than a teacher being asked to not include Christian songs in the Christmas musical. This is even more than a teacher being criticized for talking about creationism in science class (which still makes me feel icky). Those things all have a legitimate defensive debate. What this teacher did was turn of his brain, and let his heart take over. And most of us are wise enough to know that the heart is a bad pilot; it can lead you into some very bad territory. Christianity, if it to be accepted as truth, should be a merger of heart and mind. You should understand it, have a logical foundation for it, and feel it deep within you as a passion. All passion and no logic is like all faith and no works. It doesn't help anyone in the Kingdom.
In a country where people do not want science teachers to talk about evolution, but are quite happy for a math teacher to discuss religion, it is no wonder the Church has trouble making any real progress in changing the hearts and minds of Americans. We are seen as ignorant and superstitious. And the people coming out of the woodwork to complain about this case only affirm this perception. If you want your teachers to spout God-talk despite the course material, then you need to send your children to a Christian school, or keep them home and home school them (two options you will NEVER see me take). If you choose to send your children to public school, then you have to be prepared for the climate there; and this includes the "walking on eggshells" approach that school systems have about the topic of faith.
This means "don't expect your child to learn about sanctification and subtraction from the same man."
Horns up!
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