Video of BT Daily: 5 Reasons NOT to Celebrate Valentine's Day
Here's five tongue-in-cheek reasons not to celebrate Valentine's Day. But can you find another?
Transcript
[Steve Myers] Here’s a little tongue-in-cheek discussion on 5 reasons not to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Number one: Flowers make you sneeze and they don’t last very long.
Number two: Pink does not make you look thinner.
In fact, number three: Pink’s a girly color that makes men feel wimpy.
Number four: Chocolate makes you fat.
Number five: Valentine’s Day is just commercialism by the greeting card companies to make millions of dollars.
Are those any reasons that you shouldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day?
There is a more important reason, but it comes back to realizing what is
life all about. What is romance after all because Valentine’s Day is
supposed to focus on romance? And we often think of the flowers and the
candy and the meals out and all those kinds of things.
But you know what? Romance is sometimes vacuuming the house.
Romance is sometimes, yeah, cleaning the toilet or maybe changing a
diaper or two or maybe making his favorite dessert. That’s what real
romance comes down to so much of the time, real life. And sometimes we
get fooled by taking one day and trying to make something huge out of it
when in reality love is a daily thing. It’s something that we show
every single day of our life.
Christ Himself said that whatever we want men to do to us, we should
do to them. And it should be something that’s on going, not just a
onetime thing.
It reminded me of a passage that’s over in Ecclesiastes in Ecclesiastes 9:9. Ecclesiastes 9:9
says, "Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your
vain life, which He’s given you under the sun." So it’s all our days not
just one day.
And so you could probably come up with a longer list of reasons not
to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but you know they’re not all humorous.
There is another reason.
You know that many of the world’s holidays are focused and come from
roots of paganism. That’s where they’re rooted. Valentine’s Day is no
different, named after a Catholic saint. It’s rooted in paganism. Maybe
that’s a question you could ask yourself. What does God think about Valentine’s Day?
Check it out a little bit. Look at what Deuteronomy 12 has to say about it . Check it out. Do a little bit of research . You may be very surprised what you find. In fact, you’ll probably add one more big reason not to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
That’s BT Daily . We’ll see you next time.
Beyond Today Presenter, United Church of God Pastor
Steve grew up as the middle child in a close knit musical family from
the Midwest. His father was a big band leader and mother loved to sing.
She encouraged him often by saying "you can do anything you want with
God's help". His enjoyment of music increased as he earned a degree in
music education. He not only performed around the country but also
served with the USO around the world.
As in Paris, the perpetrators are usually Muslim immigrants.
The scale and the intensity of the rioting has caused some observers to
question the common belief that Sweden has treated immigrants much
better than most other European countries.
Turkey has also experienced major riots in a number of cities,
although immigration is not necessarily a major causal factor.
Apparently there is widespread dissatisfaction with the government in
power and the prime minister in particular. It's hard to be both a
Western-style democracy and an Islamist state at the same time. The two
don't fit together well.
Most nations have their share of disaffected immigrants, including the United States. The drophead of a London Times article by BBC Radio 4 presenter Justin Webb states, “Immigration will change the US
in ways its politicians are only just beginning to grasp” (June 4). The
article is titled, “America's Future Is Latino, Asian and Liberal.”
Future North American demographics are slated to lean much more toward
Central and South America.
The Anglo-Saxon vote is no longer expected to be a deciding factor in future U.S.
presidential elections. Immigrants who have or will obtain citizenship
and voting rights may well impact future elections in a big way. If and
when the funds run out and the government can no longer print money
legally (see “In danger: the status of the U.S.
dollar”), we could possibly see massive rioting in major American
cities on a scale and intensity that will shock the world and perhaps
bring the nation to its knees. (Source: The Times [London].)
Valentine's Day it is definitely not a holiday with true Christian values.
Valentine’s Day is all about showing “love,” giving a card or flowers or chocolates to a loved one. All of that’s good, right? Wrong.
Valentine’s Day is big business. According to the National Retail
Foundation, Valentine’s Day for 2012 added around $17.6 billion to the U.S. economy—making retail spending for this day the second-largest behind Christmas.
It does matter to God how we worship Him.
For a lot of people it’s the holiday to express your love
to someone special. According to Kemberly King, a business instructor
at South University, young adults ages 25 to 34 spend the most on
Valentine’s Day gifts. Interestingly, men will outspend women—almost 2
to 1—with the biggest categories for all spending being restaurants,
candy, romantic getaways and flowers.
A quick Web search for the origins of Valentine’s Day will give you
the basics of the accepted history of the day. A deeper search will
acknowledge its pagan origins. The Good News has published a variety of articles on both of these aspects of the holiday.
While Valentine’s Day is the most promoted holiday after Christmas
and Easter even among traditional Christian churches, it is definitely
not a holiday with true Christian values.
How can “love” be wrong?
There’s nothing wrong in showing love to others—after all, isn’t
that the most valued Christian characteristic? But what’s been lost in
how we go about it, and how we worship God for that matter, is whether
we are actually following what God teaches in the Bible.
It’s like an automobile manufacturer telling you to put only
gasoline in the fuel tank, but then you decide that diesel fuel is just
as good! It just won’t work.
Here’s a quick review of the background of Valentine’s Day—before exploring a deeper point about this holiday.
By most accepted historians, Valentine’s Day was an adaptation by
the Catholic Church of the ancient pagan Roman celebration of
Lupercalia, a fertility festival. The Catholic Church updated and
connected it to a “Saint” Valentine sometime late in the third century A.D.(though
there is some confusion as to who this person actually was). It really
took off commercially as a holiday in the late 1800s, promoted as a day
to show your “love” to others—especially romantic love to your
special someone.
So what’s wrong with that? Here’s the problem: Lupercalia was an
immoral fertility festival also featuring gluttony and drunkenness. At
the end of the festivities young men would draw the name of a young lady
from a box, and the two were considered a pair (sexually and otherwise)
for the coming year.
As a festival, Lupercalia was dedicated to the Roman god Pan,
recognized as the god of fields, groves and wooded glens—and pictured as
having the hindquarters, legs and horns of a goat. This pagan deity was
connected to fertility and the season of spring. None of what is
connected to the feast of Lupercalia is worthy of a
Christian’s observance.
But what’s wrong with a little paganism?
What about showing love on Valentine’s Day if I’m not doing it for
pagan reasons? Isn’t that okay? No, because the expression of that kind
of “love” is still rooted in a former pagan holiday. True
Christians must not adopt pagan festivals as holidays, for they are to
strive to please God in everything they do.
Even when you think you’re innocently observing a holiday like this,
you’re still advancing the origins and meanings of the day—especially
from God’s perspective, as He certainly knows where it came from. God
said not to do this. He told the Israelites entering the pagan land
of Canaan:
“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which
you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land,
take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after
they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after
their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise . ‘ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:29-31, emphasis added).
When we merge pagan teachings with what God instructs through the Bible, we weaken the truth and violate God’s clear command.
God’s way is true love
Showing love as God instructs is not wrong—romantic love
included. It’s a good thing to express your love toward others through a
card, flowers, dinner out or any number of other ways. But don’t do it
under the trappings of a pagan holiday like Valentine’s Day! If someone
is special to you, then do those things throughout the year rather than
waiting until February 14th.
Our worship of God must first and foremost be according to His truth (John 4:24). Carryovers from pagan worship don’t honor Him!
God is personified by the characteristic of love (1 John 4:8).
Godly love is genuine outgoing concern for others as God would love
them—not as a selfish love. Divine love is reflected in keeping God’s
commandments (1 John 5:3), including the Ten Commandments and instruction like that in Deuteronomy cited above.
True Christians should desire to faithfully observe God’s own Holy
Days found in the Bible (see Leviticus 23 for a list of them).
Celebrating holidays like Valentine’s Day in opposition to God’s
instruction does not honor or obey Him—no matter how well intentioned or
innocent we believe it to be.
It does matter to God how we worship Him. He expects us
to understand the difference between what He has declared holy and the
profane teachings, customs and traditions masquerading as godly worship (Ezekiel 22:26).
The
Bible does teach the importance of fasting and self-examination, but it
does not teach a 40-day period called Lent or an Ash Wednesday of
putting ashes on the forehead.
The Bible does not mention Ash Wednesday or Lent, and the early
New Testament Church did not observe these days. Here is how the BBC Religion page describes Ash Wednesday and Lent: “Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian
churches. It’s a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent
fast. “Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other churches hold special
services at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death
and sorrow for sin… “The Christian churches that observe Lent in the 21st century
(and not all do significantly) use it as a time for prayer and penance.
Only a small number of people today fast for the whole of Lent, although
some maintain the practice on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. It is more
common these days for believers to surrender a particular vice such as
favourite foods or smoking” (BBC ).
Lent is counted differently by those of the Western Catholic tradition and those of the Eastern Orthodox tradition. “
The western church excludes Sundays (which is celebrated as the day of
Christ’s resurrection) whereas the eastern church includes them. The
churches also start Lent on different days. Western churches start Lent
on the 7th Wednesday before Easter Day (called Ash Wednesday). Eastern
churches start Lent on the Monday of the 7th week before Easter and end
it on the Friday 9 days before Easter. Eastern churches call this period
the ‘Great Lent ‘” (BBC ).
Various biblical events and customs are referred to by those who
celebrate these days. The Bible mentions people mourning in sackcloth
and ashes. The Bible also talks about repentance and fasting, and the
number 40 is prominent in various biblical events.
“The justification for the Lenten 40-day preparation for Easter is
traditionally based on Jesus’ 40-day wilderness fast before His
temptation by Satan ( Harper’s Bible Dictionary, ‘Lent’; Matthew 4:1-2; Mark 1:13).
The problem with this explanation is that this incident is not
connected in any way with Jesus’ supposed observance of Easter. The
40-day pre-Easter practice of fasting and penance did not originate in
the Bible” (The Good Friday—Easter Sunday Question ).
Some have suggested that Lent may be connected to earlier, pagan holidays. In Ezekiel 8:14,
the prophet in vision saw women weeping for the pagan god Tammuz. “It
has been suggested by some scholars that the practice of ‘weeping for
Tammuz’ was the actual origin of Lent, the Roman Catholic 40-day period
of abstinence prior to Easter (starting after Mardi Gras, ‘Fat Tuesday,’
on Ash Wednesday). Consider that the name Easter itself is derived from Ishtar, the ancient Babylonian fertility goddess and Tammuz’s mother”. (See the Bible commentary on Ezekiel 8 for details. )
The Bible does teach the importance of fasting and self-examination,
but it does not teach a 40-day period called Lent or an Ash Wednesday
of putting ashes on the forehead. These customs appear to have pagan
origins, and are not practiced by the United Church of God. We seek to
follow the customs and practices of the early New Testament Church as
described in the Bible. For more on the biblical religious festivals,
such as the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the spring,
see God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind .
Football's Super Bowl game is the world's most-watched annual sports
event. But the Super Bowl is much more than a football game.
It's also the crème de la crème of TV
commercials. This year they sold for $3 million for a 30-second spot!
Two ads—one rejected, the other accepted by this year's hosting network (NBC)—are
examples of the controversial social perspectives that exist in our
society and the turmoil that arises from those differing perceptions
of morality.
The website www.catholicvote.org
features a 30-second ad that openly gives the pro-life
religious-social viewpoint. To promote that viewpoint its supporters
were able to raise sufficient funds to air the same ad during the Super
Bowl. But NBC turned it down on the grounds that their network refuses to run ads involving “political advocacy or issues .”
Now consider the second example—the ad the network was willing to accept.
AshleyMadison.com is a matchmaking service for married men and women
who want to have an extramarital affair. The website openly advertises:
“Life is short. Have an affair.”
When Ashley-Madison sought to buy an ad spot on stations throughout the U.S. and Canada to air during the Super Bowl, NBC
first agreed but finally backed away from trying to blanket all markets
with the ad because of the outrage that arose over its blatant
promotion of what is still commonly regarded as immorality.
The initial publicity started in Canada when CTV, which broadcasts the Super Bowl game in Canada, notified NBC of its refusal to run the ad. As it turned out, only one NBC affiliate station in the U.S. chose to air the ad.
As an ABC radio newscast put it on the Monday
after the Super Bowl, it was the only station that “dared” to run the
ad. Public objections to it had grown to that extent.
That today's society is deeply divided over moral issues is common
knowledge. And the trend seems to be shifting toward the “do as you
feel” point of view regarding personal conduct.
For those whose sense of morality is still rooted in biblical
principles, these are disturbing times. They raise the question: Are we
approaching the time described as the “last days” in the Scriptures?
The apostle Paul describes much of humanity in the “last days” as “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1,
4). The prophet Isaiah gave this warning to those who disregard the
teaching of God: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).
In the Scriptures there is no compromise between good and evil
behaviors. If you profess a loyalty to the God of the Bible, you need a
clear roadmap to what is or is not moral behavior. That roadmap is based
on the godly principles of conduct and thought that are encapsulated in
the Ten Commandments .
Understanding those principles and grasping the underlying reasons why
all human relationships benefit when they are consistently applied is
one of the greatest needs in our world today. So don't assume what you
may have heard about morality is all you need to know! Take the time to
learn the foundational keys that produce the happiness all
humans desire.
For a full and meaningful explanation of those godly values and
principles that distinguish good from evil and protect our
relationships, simply request or download our free booklet: The Ten Commandments .
In
places like New Orleans, the period of merrymaking with fancy balls and
parades goes on for weeks leading up to Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday).
The idea behind Mardi Gras or carnival celebrations is that
people overindulge before giving up something for Lent, which begins the
following day with Ash Wednesday. (Lent is the 40 weekdays from Ash
Wednesday to Easter observed by the Roman Catholic, Eastern and some
Protestant churches as a period of penitence and fasting.)
The idea of partying before repenting seems to be
to get as much revelry and additional sin out of the way before you
decide to do anything about it. But that attitude doesn’t show a belief
that God’s way is really right and that sin is really wrong.
Note the following encyclopedia article excerpt: “Some scholars have noted similarities between modern Mardi Gras
celebrations and Lupercalia, a fertility festival held each February in
ancient Rome. However, modern Carnival traditions developed in Europe
during the Middle Ages (5th century to the 15th century) as part of the
ritual calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. “Today pre-Lenten Carnivals are celebrated predominantly in
Roman Catholic communities in Europe and the Americas. Cities famous for
their celebrations include Nice, France; Cologne, Germany; and Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil. New Orleans, Louisiana, holds the most famous Mardi
Gras celebration in the United States. Residents of New Orleans have
been celebrating Mardi Gras since the 18th century” (“Mardi Gras,”
Encarta).
Mardi Gras “ is a lively, colorful [not to mention bawdy and debased] celebration held on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Lent begins ,” says the World Book Encyclopedia. It “ goes back to an ancient Roman custom of merrymaking before a period of fast.
” In places like New Orleans, the period of merrymaking with fancy
balls and parades goes on for weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday itself.
It has been suggested by some scholars that the pagan practice of “weeping for Tammuz” that Ezekiel decried (Ezekiel 8:14)
was the actual origin of Lent. Tammuz was a pagan god associated with
death and rebirth in nature and the husband of the goddess Ishtar (See the Bible commentary on Ezekiel 8 for details. )
The idea of partying before repenting seems to be to get as much
revelry and additional sin out of the way before you decide to do
anything about it. But that attitude doesn’t show a belief that God’s
way is really right and that sin is really wrong, harmful and something
to be avoided because it wars against us (1 Peter 2:11) and is contrary to God’s instruction (Romans 13:13-14). It doesn’t show the 100 percent commitment that God wants (Romans 12:1-2).
God says we should always live holy lives and obey His laws because they are good for us (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). Satan is the one who wants us to think that doing wrong things is fun, and his deception has been quite successful (Revelation 12:9; 1 John 2:16).
Neither Mardi Gras nor Lent are commanded in the Bible but come from
pre-Christian, pagan customs. What does God think about such
pagan customs?
“When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which
you go to dispossess…do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did
these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not
worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord
which He hates they have done to their gods… Whatever I command you, be
careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Deuteronomy 12:29-32).
The New Testament continues this theme. The apostle Paul addressed
the issue of whether outside religious customs and practices had any
place among Christians:
“What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what
communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with
Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what
agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of
the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among
them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’
“Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a
Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord
Almighty.’ Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 6:14–18; 2 Corinthians 7:1).
Instead of renaming some of the pagan customs as Christian or
allowing the new converts to retain some of their former practices, Paul
commanded them to leave behind all of these forms of worship.
Mardi Gras celebrations have nothing to do with God’s commanded Holy
Days. On the contrary, they are part of the system from which God’s
people should separate themselves.
For more information, please read our booklet “Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? “
1. Looking with lust is mental adultery.
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell" (Matthew 5:27-29).
Jesus used hyperbole here to make a strong point: if the only way to avoid lust were to pluck out an eye, that would be better than eternal death. Thankfully that's not the only way! 2. Like all sins, the best way to avoid pornography is to avoid the source. Block such sites on your computer, etc.
"Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body" (1 Corinthians 6:18). 3. God's Spirit can give us help to avoid giving in to lust.
"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
For more on avoiding pornography, see Pornography: Definitely Not for Adults.
What does the biblical statute about a woman not wearing anything that pertains to a man mean today?
Answer:Deuteronomy:22:5The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God. says: "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God." Like many of the statutes, this law had to do with pagan customs of the time, and as we will see, does not refer to women wearing pants. The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary explains:
"Disguises were assumed at certain times in pagan temples. Maimonides...mentions that a man attired in a coloured female dress, in honour of Venus, Ashtaroth, or Astarte, and a woman equipped in armour, worshipped at the shrine of the statue of Mars...
"Asiatics, when they engaged in the worship of Ashtaroth, were accustomed, according to Philocorus, quoted by Townley (in his edition of Maimonides, note 33), to exchange the male and female dresses. In fact, all idolators confounded the sexes of their deities—representing them sometimes as male, at other times as female; and hence, their worshippers, male and female, fell gradually into the custom, which became extensively prevalent, of changing their attire in adaptation to the sex of a particular divinity."
God's command to Israel forbade the people from incorporating pagan religious rites into true worship. In spite of this instruction, today's Christianity commonly mixes paganism in with the worship of Christ.
Does Deuteronomy:22:5The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God. forbid women from wearing pants? No, it doesn't. In fact, even men in the Middle East through the history of the Old and New Testaments did not wear pants; they wore a robelike garment. However, there is an underlying principle that applies today. Men should dress in an appropriately masculine manner and women should dress in an appropriately feminine manner. Clothing manufacturers make pants designed for men and pants designed for women.
For more insight, please read our article The Modesty Question: How Far is Too Far?
Fox News radio commentator Todd Starnes observes in his new book God Less America that those in "the militant gay rights community . . . not only expect you to accept their lifestyle, but they also want you to affirm it. They want your children exposed to it in their public school classrooms. They want private business owners to endorse their court-sanctioned 'marriages.' And woe be to any person who dares object" (2014, p. 64).
In 2007 a Massachusetts federal judge ruled that the gay agenda must be taught in public school, "ordering that it is reasonable, indeed there is an obligation, for public schools to teach young children to accept and endorse homosexuality" (Bob Unruh, "Judge Orders 'Gay' Agenda Taught to Christian Children," WND.com, Feb. 24, 2007).
And it's happening: "An elementary school in Oakland, California, topped off its school year with a 'Pride Day' celebrating all types of families, including those in which the parents consider themselves to be lesbian, 'gay' bisexual, transgender or queer," complete with indoctrinating lectures, videos and a sing-along (Leo Hohmann, "5-Year Olds Taught to Celebrate 'Queer Pride," WND, June 16, 2014).
Again, it's not only in America. LifeSiteNews reports on Scotland: "While Scottish government draft guidelines currently allow teachers with moral objections to opt-out of certain aspects of the country's new sex-ed curriculum [such as teaching about gay marriage], several National Health Service boards have objected to the opt-out clause. They are also objecting to provisions allowing parents to opt their children out of the classes . . .
"Another NHS board warned against allowing parents too much influence over children, saying that the decision about whether to attend the classes should be left up to the students, even if their parents object" (Hilary White, "Teachers Cannot Opt Out of Teaching Gay 'Marriage' in School Sex-Ed Classes: Scottish NHS," May 15, 2014, emphasis added throughout).
It's truly disturbing to read a recent report from the pro-family organization MassResistance titled "'GLBT' Teachers Conference in Boston Reveals Latest Plans to Push Homosexuality Even Further Into Schools. Well Organized, Fueled With Taxpayer Dollars" (May 13, 2014).
The report states: "GLSEN (Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network) is the nation's largest homosexual and transgender activist organization working inside schools in all 50 states. It has set up 'gay straight alliance' student clubs (GSAs) inside thousands of high schools (and even some middle schools) across the country.
"GLSEN pushes a wide range of psychologically penetrating homosexual and transgender programs and activities into the schools . . . It also directly organizes and trains teachers to integrate their techniques throughout the curriculum . . .
"In 2000, the Boston-area GLSEN Conference gained national outrage when MassResistance (then known as Parents' Rights Coalition) exposed the sickening . . . workshop which involved adults teaching young kids explicit sex acts."
In this workshop students as young as 12 were given graphic instruction in homosexual sex acts by state employees. The Massachusetts Legislature, along with several U.S. corporations, continues to support the organization.
Some of the 2014 conference workshops for training teachers, administrators and activist students included how to start a "gay-straight alliance" in middle schools (for students aged 10-14!) and "Queering the Classroom" to provide "a safe environment for GLBTQ youth" and "a more comfortable, creative environment for all students."
For those concerned about their children, it's highly disturbing to see a picture of a sign behind conference speakers that proudly proclaims, "GLSEN: Making a Difference in K-12 Schools."
No doubt this has had an effect—along with all the other forces pushing young people to accept and embrace homosexuality. "As evidence of a major cultural shift . . . [one family advocate] pointed to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center indicating a full 70 percent of Millennials (born in 1981 or later) support same-sex marriage.
"By contrast, 49 percent of those in Generation X [born between the early 1960s and 1980], 38 percent of Baby Boomers [born between 1946 and the early 1960s] and just 21 percent from the Silent Generation [born between late 1920s and 1945] support homosexual marriage" (Chelsea Schilling, "Claim: Christians Sin By Putting Kids in Public School," WND, May 17, 2014).
In the Fort Worth, Texas, area, when discussion in a ninth-grade German class shifted to religion and homosexuality, as it often did, 14-year-old Dakota Ary turned to a friend and said "that he was a Christian and that 'being a homosexual is wrong' . . . [whereupon] Dakota was sentenced to one day of in-school suspension and two days of full suspension" (Starnes, p. 122).
This was in a classroom where the teacher's "world wall" had a picture of two men kissing that offended some students. "He told the students this is happening all over the world and you need to accept the fact that homosexuality is just part of our culture now," said Liberty Counsel attorney Matt Krause (Starnes, p. 123).
The superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools sought to evict a Baptist church renting space in one of their buildings because the congregation opposed homosexuality, stating that renting to those who hold such views "appears to be contrary to school board policy as well as the basic principles of humanity" and calling the eviction a "rejection of prejudice and intolerance" (quoted by Starnes, p. 81).
Students across Massachusetts were warned by a Department of Education directive to affirm transgender classmates. "And if little girls took issue with sharing a bathroom with a transgender boy [a boy claiming to be a girl], the state said those little girls could be punished" (p. 119).
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