Propaganda in the Public Schools

The following commentary is by a well known Christian broadcaster and former board member of the Religious Broadcasters Association, Janet Parshall.  More information is available about Mrs. Parshall at http://www.janetparshallcommentary.org/

October 19-26, 2011

Propaganda in the Public School

       The Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network of New York is sponsoring a day of propaganda and sadly, most parents don’t even know it is happening.
       The event is slated for November 8th and it’s tied into legislation signed into state law in New York last year. The law required all schools – K-12 - to implement what they identify as an all inclusive code of conduct and civility curricula. The law also required that all staff members undergo diversity and human relations training.
       There will be a variety of workshops offered to staff, among them are ones entitled “Bisexuality Explored” and another called “The Damage of Reparative Therapy.” Another workshop will examine how Biblical Scripture – in their words – promotes bigotry and discrimination. Tax payer funded workshops promoting hatred toward Christianity – and most people don’t even know this is happening!
       But the story doesn’t end there. On October 1st, GLSEN lead a discussion during a Union theological Seminary Conference that was designed to address issues in Catholic high schools. The conference was entitled “Pro-Queer life: Youth suicide Crisis, Catholic Education and the souls of LGBTQ People.”
       Invitations went out to multiple parochial high schools in New York. Recipients included teachers, students at the Union Theological seminary, theologians, writers and activists. The goal of the conference was to look at challenges facing LGBT students in Catholic schools and to look for solutions.
       An education manager at GLSEN, who travels all across the country to promote conferences like one at Union Theological, wanted the attendees to discuss the issues of harassment of gay students. The presenter alleged that the majority of religious schools where gay students were harassed were Catholic.
       But things got particularly interesting when attendees were encouraged to write messages to the absent high school students on a white cloth draped over a dining room table.
       Listen to some of the messages that were left: “Gay is a gift of God!” or “Jesus is moving in and for you in exactly the places of yourself that others reject or shame.” Another one said, “Look at history to understand sometimes people. e.g. homophobes have got it all wrong.” Or this one, “when considering the voice of the ‘church’ do not forget to listen to the most important one: the voice of the Christ within.”
       Here is where the Catholic Church and the Church universal is going to have to decide how it will handle this most contentious of issues. Either we love our young people enough to tell them the loving Truth articulated in the Word of God or we do what is politically correct and ‘pretend’ that somewhere along the line God changed His mind about sin.
       God’s word is ultimately very protective. Sex outside of marriage (marriage defined by Scripture as one man and one woman) is declared by God Himself as sin – and that is something the Church should neither facilitate nor celebrate.
       That’s my opinion. I’m Janet Parshall.

                       © 2011 The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago