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A 5th grade teacher not only told a student to close his Bible, but called him up in front of the class to place a call to the student's father, even though the 5th grader had been reading it during a designated "free reading time."
What about the First Amendment?
Liberty Institute has addressed the school's infringement on the student's First Amendment rights.
However, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is warning the American people that the senate will be voting on Senate Joint Resolution 19 which will amend the First Amendment and significantly undermine freedom of speech and religious liberty.
Cruz says 41 Democratic Senators are co-sponsoring the amendment, adding these are "perilous, perilous times."
Bob Kellog recently reported a situation in the classroom that has unfortunately become all too common.
This time a teacher is calling down a 5th grader who is reading his Bible during a designated "free reading period."
The child asked if he could call his father, so the teacher brought the kid to the front and told him to dial his father's number on the classroom phone---in front of all his classmates.
That's bullying.
The teacher then proceeded to leave a voicemail telling the father that his son was "not allowed to read religious books in her classroom."
Attorney Jeremy Dys with Liberty Institute was contacted. He immediately looked into the matter, asking Broward County Schools to apologize to the 5th grader.
That was 2 weeks ago.
The voicemail left for the father was made public.
Millions of people have now heard the teacher's message. Liberty Institute says "it awoke millions of Americans to the crises of religious discrimination in America's classrooms."
People heard a teacher tell a 5th grader to "put [the Bible] on my desk" and tell the child's dad "those books"---meaning Christian books---are not allowed in "my classroom."
People were both awakened and outraged.
And many contacted the school.
The school has now surrendered and is saying they "will" allow kids to bring Bibles to school to read during designated free reading time.
Liberty is closely monitoring the school. It may be next year before they can discover if the school is indeed doing what it promised.
How many of these incidences have we heard about? Maybe hundreds during the school year?
How many have gone unknown to the public---sometimes even to the parents?
Even the US Department of Education has conceded that kids can read the Bible in designated free reading times. But the war rages on in the classroom.
To say the First Amendment of the Constitution is under attack would be an under statement.
This week's attack is not in a classroom, but in the halls of Congress. People we elected to represent us in our government are scheming to undermine the very freedom they have been charged to defend.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is warning people---Christians and conservatives in particular, that the First Amendment is under a new attack.
He says, "This year, the United States Senate is going to be voting on a constitutional amendment to repeal the First Amendment."
Cruz calls these times "perilous, perilous times" and says "Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has announced the Senate Democrats are scheduling a vote on a constitutional amendment to give Congress the authority to regulate political speech, because elected officials have decided they don't like it when the citizenry has the temerity to criticize what they've done."
He said, "They don't like it when pastors in their communities stand up and speak the truth."
Cruz says 41 Democratic senators have already become co-sponsors. The bill is Senate Joint Resolution 19.
The bill will limit free speech---it will give politicians "unlimited constitutional authority to muzzle each and every one if you're saying things the government finds inconvenient."
The way the bill is written and the way in which it will be administered protects the free speech of entities such as the New York Times and others, but does not protect free speech itself.
Cruz says the wording does not protect religious liberty in the same way.
And too many Americans put their sleepy finger on the snooze button and say "what can I do about it?" Or, I'm called to live for the Lord, I don't care about "politics."
It's time to care.
History gives amble examples of people---Christians, who didn't care, were uninformed, or were simply intimidated and paralyzed by fear.
What will it take to awaken us to the peril of our times?
I'm talking more about this in the context of Europe and Germany in the days leading to World War II on the radio this morning.
You can join me live at 9 AM PDT or on rebroadcast at 7:30 PM PDT from anywhere in the world. Here's how.
Be informed. Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Bold. Be Prayerful. Be Blessed.