Christian intolerance in the United States hasn’t reached Chinese levels, yet, but there is a rudimentary “social credit” system — as is found in China — and being an obvious Christian doesn’t help your score.
Our first example is in Utah. William McLeod, Fox News tells us, is a fourth grader at Valley View Elementary. Wednesday was an exciting day for him because on the way to school, he stopped off at his Catholic Church where a priest used ashes to place a mark in the shape of a cross on his forehead.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season for Catholics and the ceremony and the ashes mark a time of reflection and self-denial. William then went to school where his friends, naturally, asked him what was on his forehead?
“A lot of students asked me what it is. I said, ‘I’m Catholic. It’s the first day of Lent. It's Ash Wednesday,’” William said.
That explanation wasn’t good enough for his teacher. William explained, “She took me aside, and she said, ‘You have to take it off’ She gave me a disinfection wipe — whatever they are called — and she made me wipe it off.”
Let’s stop here. Is this teacher so ignorant that she doesn’t know what Ash Wednesday is? And, if so, what is she doing in a classroom? And if not, does she dislike Christians so much she takes it upon herself to ruin this young man’s day? Or is she some type of self-appointed secular vigilante who takes it upon herself to separate church and state?
We think it’s a combination. Because when William’s irate grandmother called the school and demanded to talk to the teacher. The conversation went thusly, “I asked her if she read the Constitution with the First Amendment, and she said, ‘No.’”
The teacher is currently out of the classroom while the school district “investigates.”
In our second item, a teacher bears the brunt of anti-Christian animus. Again Fox News reports that Cynthia Newman has resigned as Dean of the School of Business at Rider University in New Jersey. Rider is evidently run by leftists who support democracy absolutely, until the vote doesn’t go their way.
Students at the university “voted to bring Chick-fil-A, one of the most popular fast food restaurants in the nation, to their New Jersey campus, but the private university nixed the proposal because of the chain's perceived 'opposition to the LGBTQ+ community.'”
When Newman heard of the election nullification it struck her hard, “I felt like I had been punched in the stomach when I read that statement," Newman told Campus Reform. "I'm a very committed Christian and Chick-fil-A's values — their corporate purpose statement is to glorify God and to be faithful stewards of all that's entrusted to them and to have a positive influence on everyone who comes into contact with them — and I would say that that mirrors my personal beliefs perfectly. And so I really felt it very personally.”
Then she took the biblically-approved approach to settling a dispute. She contacted university officials privately “asking if they would issue an apology for the offense made in their initial email.”
So much for the Christian approach. The school’s anti-Christian educats blasted out another campus-wide email denouncing Chick-fil-A.
That did it for Newman. According to Fox, “She couldn't get behind the university ‘in good conscience’ because of her Christian faith and values, and their ban indicated that people who adhere to values similar to Chick-fil-A’s are not responsible citizens.”
Newman resigned as Dean because she could not be part of an administration that attacked Christians.
She took a principled stand rather than remain silent. Her witness cost her professionally and personally, but it’s an example more believers should follow.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker’s bureau. Read more reports from Michael Reagan — Go Here Now.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian’s Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)." Read more of Michael Shannon's reports — Go Here Now.