Interfaith Group
Related: About this forumPastor Robert Jeffress calls freedom from religion a ‘perverted idea’
He could not be more wrong.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/27/pastor-robert-jeffress-calls-freedom-from-religion-a-perverted-idea/
By Eric W. Dolan
Wednesday, March 27, 2013 23:15 EDT
Megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress on Wednesday night claimed the First Amendment did not protect non-religious Americans in the same way it protected religious Americans.
The pastor of the First Baptist Church in Dallas appeared on The OReilly Factor to discuss a school in Arkansas that canceled an Easter Egg hunt due to religious concerns.
I think the reason people arent standing up and fighting back many Christians think it is un-Christian to stand up and fight for your rights, Jeffress said. Ive reminded thousands of pastors this last year that the Apostle Paul spent two years fighting against the Roman legal system to preserve his right to speak freely. We need to do the same thing as well.
The other problem is a lot of Christians have bought into this perverted idea of the First Amendment, he continued. They dont understand the First Amendment simply says Congress cant establish a state religion, it has nothing to say about Easter Egg hunts. I mean, the Easter Egg hunt is not a state religion.
more at link
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Schools might have better things to do with limited funding than conduct such things as he is grieving over.
Is he concerned churches won't celebrate Isthar's big day so he wants public schools to do it?
How about educatingfor a change about more than this?
Idiocracy...
cbayer
(146,218 posts)sense to remove the religion from holidays that are widely celebrated in a non-religious way.
Of all of them, Easter seems the most obvious.
wryter2000
(47,476 posts)Easter is a holiday you can more or less ignore if you're not Christian. It's not possible to ignore Christmas. (Believe me, I've tried. Christmas has become more ingrained in the society, and lots of non-Christians celebrate Christmas.
To me, the non-Christian symbols of holidays (fir trees, wrapped packages, dyed eggs, bunnies) are less "religious," and I feel more comfortable decorating with them than creches and crucifixes. I don't feel horrible about using them at work, where we have a very diverse group of people.
All that's a long-winded way of saying I don't see anything awful about an Easter egg hunt.
As to the OP, that man is either stupid, ignorant, or lying. Or all three.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)it as just another weekend. With Christmas sometimes falling mid-week, it can be really disruptive to one's schedule.
I have managed to ignore christmas, though. Other than playing the Messiah in the morning and having the phone calls to family, it's just another day around here. But I am far from the rest of the world, and it's just easier for me to not see it.
Agree with you - an easter egg hunt can be great and it can be easily done without religious symbolism.
The man (Jeffress) is probably not stupid or ignorant. I think he lies to create faux outrage and advance his own person.
okasha
(11,573 posts)when I saw megachurch, Baptist and Dallas all lumped together.
I wonder what he would make of us here on the Border,with tables set up practically every other corner along major thoroughfares selling Easter bunny pinatas and huge bags of cascarones (confettii eggs.)
cbayer
(146,218 posts)I spent one christmas season in Santa Fe, NM, and absolutely fell in love with the traditions of the spanish/catholic culture during the season. It was completely new to me.
LeftInTX
(30,002 posts)In San Antonio families begin staking out camping sites early in the week. They get various family members to take turns babysitting a campsite. Its not quite Woodstock, but its very different from Easter in other locales.
We BBQ fajitas, chicken and sausage. When the kids were young we had bunny pinatas. We always do cascarones. Fortunately, we don't do the crowded camp ground thing.
okasha
(11,573 posts)have all been claimed since last Sunday. I'm a birder, and every year we see orioles' nests with Easter basket «grass» woven into them.
My senior year at UT, I exercised my privilege of living in non-supervised housing. That same year, the PTB decided there would be no Easter vacation. This precipitated a number of crises, including my attempt to explain to the Anglo guy in Rylander's meat department what fajitas are. We finally resorted to one of those cuts of beef charts and understanding ensued. Decent Mexican restaurants in Austin were still years away at that point.