Rob
Sherman Advocacy
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Rob
Sherman Advocacy
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"Fighting injustice, one victory at a time."
If there is any doubt in your mind about whether or not student-initiated prayer at public schools is a good idea, today's message should eliminate the confusion.
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The words, "student-initiated prayer," is a code phrase of Christian conservatives for coerced, captive audience prayer. Atheists like me are all for religious freedom, but in order for there to be true religious freedom, the audience must have the same option to not listen as the speaker has to speak.
When Christian conservatives talk about student-initiated prayer, what they are really talking about is timing their praying to occur when a captive audience is present. By targeting captive audiences, the real purpose of student-initiated prayer is engaging in proselytizing, not exercising a First Amendment right. They already can exercise their First Amendment right any time they want. What they really want to do with student-initiated prayer legislation is to create a mechanism under which they can force their beliefs down the throats of non-Christians by coercing us non-Christians to listen to their prayers against our will.
What this demonstrates is that student-initiated prayer is really one of the most unethical scams that anyone can engage in. It says that Christians are the most unethical people in America because they are willing to violate the religious freedom of non-Christians in their futile attempt to sell us on their superstition.
(Technical note: "Prayer1" will appear above the picture in both the "invocation" and "benediction" videos below. The engineer who prepared the video files forget to change the title, but the two videos are different.)
Often, student-initiated prayer consists of condemning those in the audience who do not subscribe to the Christ myth, as took place during the invocation at the graduation ceremony, two years ago, at Midwestern State University, a public school in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Sometimes, student-initiated prayer gets really out of hand, as took place during the benediction at that same graduation ceremony. You won't believe this video.
If Christians really believed in the free exercise of religion, they wouldn't seek to force Jesus down the throats of members of a captive audience.
This month, the Illinois Senate may consider House Bill 4117, which is a student-initiated prayer bill. Consideration of this bill has been postponed from last month. When the bill does get a hearing before the Illinois Senate Education Committee, I will be there to testify in opposition to the bill.
I was there last month, but consideration of the bill was postponed at literally the last minute. Perhaps the bill sponsor thought that opposition was too great, and was hoping we would all go away and not come back due to the inconvenience and expense of traveling to the capitol from the Chicago area. Not a chance. I will be there, whenever the bill gets called.
If you'd like to help offset the expense of the 450-mile round-trip from the office in Buffalo Grove to the capitol in Springfield, Illinois so that I can continue to do these types of things in your behalf, please make this the time that you choose to become a financial supporter of Rob Sherman Advocacy. Thanks, in advance.
Thanks, also, to Wichita Falls' best-known atheist, Dan Lewandowski, for providing Liberal News & Commentary with the two videos contained in this message.
Rob Sherman P. O. Box
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A post office box is used
because
the street address uses a curb mail box,
which is not secure.
Telephone: (847) 870-0700
Fax: (847) 870-1156
E-mail: rob followed by the at symbol followed by robsherman dot com