Sabine Grant

It is never a waste of time...no matter how " utter bullshit" you may evaluate it to be. It again teaches kids to use critical thinking. Understand that some of those kids have no stimulation at home whatsoever to use critical thinking. The school is where they have a chance to learn to use it.
Whether those children are growing in a religiously fundamental home where the parents trip off anytime the word " evolution" comes up at school or they are kids coming from dysfunctional homes where they do not benefit of parental nurturing and education, the school becomes their boot camp which prepares them to be communicating adults.

Yellum Notnef

And how is a teacher supposed to moderate a discussion of "creation science" in the classroom? What can a teacher tell the kids that won't lead to some kids angry parent coming to school the next day?

Sabine Grant

The teachers is not telling the kids how to think. The teacher as a moderator insures they they learn positive communication skills. Which many of us as adults could benefit of........ You need to give more credibility to teachers. Low salary yet dedicated . Often caught between the hammer and the nail as so many parents will not contribute to the teacher's work by offering to be a resource in the class. Some parents are very good at complaining but will not offer a positive input thru alternatives. They will just bang a fist on the teacher's desk.

My children have benefited of teachers who brought the best out of my children. But I always tried to work on the same team as the teachers. Did not give in to considering them as adversaries out to coherce my children's minds. Times I had to bring up a disagreement to a teacher, I gave the teacher the opportunity to explain his or her side of the story. Then would I blow my pipes if necessary. Usualy I would invite them for dinner and we would so much enjoy socializing and getting to know one another.
You are going to have angry parents no matter what...

livius drusus

The issue of school prayer and religion is the classroom is not germane to the discussion of atheist reaction to evangelical zeal. If you'd like to continue the discussion, please start a new thread. If you'd like, I would be more than glad to split the topic off from this thread to allow the conversation to continue virtually uninterrupted.

Either way is fine with me, as long as this thread gets back on topic.

Thank you,
livius drusus
Moderator - GRD

Sabine Grant

Bonjour Livius... no problems. It is partly my fault we derailed from the issue of oppressed prayer a theist presented earlier to where my last post is. I believe he wanted to present an example where he as a theist felt he recieved a negative response to his religious practice. ( which was far from being zealous evangelism).

So we will stay on track and back to what the Op offered as food for thoughts.

Opera Nut

The Christians I have known, their so called "Help" consisted of telling me I was a worthless sinful piece of shit, when I asked them to help me find a job since I was unemployed. Or alternatively, for the church to pay us for the work we did for them (my BF mixed and mastered an entire gospel concert to CD for them). We never got paid --the CD is hiding in his file cabinet.

Their alleged "Help" only made me suicidal and unemployed.

Goddamn hypocrites.
:banghead:

southernhybrid

Sabine please go back and carefully read my post. I never advocated treating anyone poorly. You're not making any sense here. Be careful before you start lecturing the wrong person. The quote that you referenced was made by me but it doesn't advocate treating anyone poorly. I've never advocated that and probably never will to the day I die. I think you owe me an apology for jumping to that conclusion.

Sabine Grant

Hello southernhybrid.....well I would apologize if your final statement did not indicate " but the ones that do DESERVE to be TREATED POORLY". It implies some degree of approval on your part as to what kind of response people who behave in the way " the ones that do" deserve to recieve. I then presented to you an alternative to what you express in that statement.

Since the topic is lack of civilities when discussing religion, I pointed to how we are to be as aware in demonstrating civility thru our response to other individuals no matter what we feel they " deserve".

I am sorry you are so offended by what I suggest as what I believe to be a more constructive response than " treating poorly".

Ronin

I think all is fair when discussing the ludicrous nature of religious belief.

As I've said before, just because someone belches their theistic nonsense with a hemlock smile does not endear me to their position.

Should anyone be influenced by fancy dress over the point by point substance of the debate, then they are not truly examining the argument for substance and significance.

It has been my experience that there is very little an atheist is going to say to the addle-brained theist that won't come across as aggressive and/or rude.

~ quote pending.

Muffinstuffer

Really. And Phelps is about the only one who agrees with you on this one today, I'm sure.