I’m glad that Mr. Ivler’s glad that I sought to correct him. Not sure though, that my correction took.
We’ll try again. Let’s start again with your insistence on using the word God in lower-case. He stated; “If god was a proper name like Tinkerbell or Tooth Fairy then it should be capitalized.
If he is not a believer, that is fine, but by attempting to equate God with these fictional characters, you’ve purposefully taken a swipe at those who are believers, including myself. This does not appear to be a slip on your part, but an intentional act of disrespect.
“If god is a thing, like a ‘fire truck’ or a ‘lamp shade.’”
Are you kidding me? You appear to be comfortable with capitalizing Zeus and Thor, but God you have a problem with. I’ll admit, I don’t get it. God as used as the name for those who believe, like Father, or Abba, or his title, like President, demands capitalization.
Let’s continue.
The issue at hand, in which you initially responded to Dr Barke, wasn’t the “study” of the existence of God (of which I’m completely supportive of), but the inclusion of the precept that Judeo Christian values played a part in the founding and history of our great nation.
While it has been in vogue to remove all “fingerprints” of those values from the history of our country, to think that we came about without them is either naive, or intentionally misguided.
Should our school district be “teaching values”? God no! (yes, God). Our school district should be teaching the fundamentals of education, and in particular to our conversation, the factual account of the role that “all” parties played throughout our history.
I believe that our country was founded on Judeo Christian values, and that those values played an important role in the development of our great nation. You disagree. Again, that’s fine, however, the point that I believe that Dr Barke made, and that I am making, is that we appear to have intentionally scrubbed the role that Judeo Christians played throughout our history and have secularized the entirety of the educational process. This, I believe is a mistake, and an inaccurate account of our history.
You go on to speak of the teaching of secular values. What are those? Where do they begin? End? Are the same for you as your neighbor? The problem with secular values is that they can, and often do, lead to “moral relativism.”
Looking at a situation and determining if “one’s” personal needs are being met adequately, and accepting that it must be just. While this certainly occurs throughout our society, I am personally grateful that I have a set of principles to guide my daily walk. Do I veer from the path? Certainly. No one is perfect, and I certainly do not profess to be, but at the end of the day I can gauge how I performed against my “Book” of values.
What is it specifically about the idea that our country was founded on Judeo Christian values so upsets you? You’ve gone a long way, in a couple of letters to make such an emphatic case against this premise. What is the fear that our children might be exposed to the religious nature of our country’s historical leaders?
Mr. Ivler provided me a couple references in support of his case. Here’s one for you, “The 5,000 Leap,” by Cleon Skousen. A great account of our founders (and their influences) and the principles which made the United States of America, the greatest society ever conceived.
Mr Ivler asks, “What is right in relation to man’s interaction with his fellow man?” How about, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.” This one has long been a personal favorite.
Earick Ward
Seal Beach
