A Bountiful elementary school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after telling a student to remove the ash cross from his forehead on Ash Wednesday.
“When the teacher saw it, she’s like, ‘It’s inappropriate in our school,'” said William McLeod, a fourth-grader at Valley View Elementary School.
The ash placed on the forehead represents the passage, “For dust you are and to dust you shall return,” from the book of Genesis in the Bible.
For William’s grandmother, Karen Fisher, Ash Wednesday is “the start of a very holy season for us. … We grow deeper into prayer to try to come closer to God.”
When she learned what had happened to William at school, “I was almost speechless because I didn’t know what to say,” she said.
The incident also caused distress for the boy.
“When I went to the office, I was crying because I felt like I was in trouble,” William recalled.
Should have worn a hijab…
It would be interesting to find out the teacher’s religion and politics.
What? She couldn’t have let the boy be for one single solitary day?
Mormon?
Atheist?
Stuff like this is why the Catholic churches around here tattoo their Ash Wednesday crosses on. We live in a tough neighborhood.
When I was in junior high school, exactly the same thing happened. My older female teacher had a boy go to the restroom to remove the ash from his forehead believing it was a smudge of dirt. While he was gone another student explained to her what the ash was for, because she did not know, not being Catholic. She immediately became remorseful and deeply apologized to the boy when he returned to class. This incident apparently was not a malicious act and should not have been overtly publicized as such to obtain angry attention via social media. Was no compassionate understanding, or forgiving even attempted? If the ash cross was supposed to be symbolic of Christ’s love, death, and resurrection, it loses its meaning in advocating anger against someone for ignorance of the symbol. The mother should at least know that as a Catholic Christian.
The teacher seems remorseful. It was foolish of her but she shouldn’t lose her job
“The district knows and recognizes Ash Wednesday as one of the holiest days of the year in the Catholic faith and that it marks the beginning of Lent.”
Ash Wednesday is a deeply holy day for all of Christendom, though many forego the palm ash ritual. I agree that the teacher’s mistake shouldn’t result in her firing, but it was wrong of her to say that it was “inappropriate.” She would not have said that to a Somali refugee wearing a hijab. She would probably devote a considerable amount of class time to praising the inclusiveness of world religions and have her students recite the koran prayer of conversion.
Hate crime.
If she said it was inappropriate, then she knew it wasn’t dirt from playing football (are boys still allowed to play football at recess?). That shows she knew what it was and deemed it wrong. My guess is Mormon; an atheist likely wouldn’t be quite as contrite or polite as she’s now reported to be.
I’m against the practice, as I am against all Catholic and almost all Prot rituals, so I’m not defending it…but the district came very close to having to cough up on this one. By the Left’s own playbook, this would fall under flat out discrimination.
“Ash Wednesday is a deeply holy day for all of Christendom.”
Not true, respectfully.
The first amendment protects the free exercise of religion. An ash cross on your forehead affects no one and the boy should have been left alone.
The teacher is an idiot, she shouldn’t be a teacher.
I defend the rights of Catholics to do such symbolic gestures.
There is no Biblical basis for most of what they do, but it is their right too do so.
Some of the FNC anchors are quite visible, including Bret Baer and Laura Ingraham.
What really is ridiculous is to see Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, or Jojn Kerry with the smudge on the forehead while supporting abortion.
Pelosi needs 3 6s burnt into her face. That would mark her for what she really is.
I am kind of with grool on this, if she knew what it was, she’s discriminating against the boy. Then she should GTFO because of her discrimination.
If she didn’t know, she’s only an idiot and should fail upward through the system and maybe go into politics.
Hmmm…
There is a computer in the classroom with internet access….
She probably has a smart phone with internet access….
Why didn’t she consider his reason for the cross being there and look it up?
I bet even the girl sitting next to him with the dot on her forehead new what it was about.
The teacher probably is Mormon. The LDS church is antagonistic to the symbol of the cross. They will tell you, every time, that the name of our church is “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We believe in Jesus, see?” However, take a close look at any Mormon church or temple. You will not find a cross anywhere, inside or out.
@Anonymous
“There is no Biblical basis for most of what they (Catholics) do…” Now that’s funny in a funny sort of way.
@ Buster Brown
1 Corinthians 1:18:
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
NASU
new?
knew!
I hate autocorrect.
My money is on the teacher just being an idiot. Lot of them in the profession these days. I guess in this era of Satan, we can just be glad she didn’t give the kid a blow job in front of the entire class.
” But he says his teacher has now sent him an apology message.
“William, I am so sorry about what happened today. I hope we can move forward from this,” the teacher’s message said.
“I accept her apology because she’s actually a really nice teacher,” William said.”
The article further goes on to say that Catholics are 10% of the population.
My question is, whether she knew about the Catholic thing on not, why didn’t she ASK him if he knew he had something on his face first? That’s normally how people behave.
And then the kid should have spoken up and said NO and stated his reason.
I’m gonna be bitchy (Sorry, woke up that way today) and say they’re both in some kind of wrong here.
Also, this was nice:
“A Catholic deacon who happens to be a member of the school board came to the school to reapply the ashes, according to Williams.”
Don’t schools usually LOVE to pester the staff and parents with thousands of flyers for this and that every freaking week??? You’d think they’d have done a BOLO on Ash Wednesday traditions.
Buster Brown, I would not automatically assign malice to the teacher, nor bash someone else’s religion.
If she knew what it was and acted out her bias, she’s a dickweed.
But sometimes people can make mistakes.
If the kid can let it go, and take her at her word, so can I
“I am so sorry about what happened today. I hope we can move forward from this”
Notate that and keep it for next year and see what happens.
Sounds a little too Move On-ish to me!
“Ash Wednesday is a deeply holy day for all of Christendom.”
“Not true, respectfully.”
Grool, I’m not talking about Catholics or any other Christian sect — but about the body of Christ, in general. Yes, Christendom does celebrate the season of Lent before the most high holy observation of Easter, including Ash Wednesday.
It’s always been a fascination to me that some Christians eschew any ritual to tout their piety, while others embrace a whole host of rituals to tout theirs. It’s the old faith/works problem, I think. If it causes someone to ask me about my faith, I wear the ashes. That way I kill two birds with one stone — draw nearer to God and (prayerfully) draw others to Him, too.
Something that is overlooked in this story and our discussion of it, I think, is that this young man has created an opportunity to talk about Christianity and that’s a good thing. Maybe this is the beginning of that teacher’s walk.
The teacher seems to have had a knee jerk reaction for cover, in case later she’s reprimanded for not limiting the religious liberties of students who support Christianity – too scared (paronoid), biased and hypocritical to leave the poor kid alone.
Meanwhile, students who belonging to Hindi, Muslim, Satanic and other nihilistic religions are never harassed for their religious rituals physically expressed.
I agree with grool,“Ash Wednesday is a deeply holy day for all of Christendom.”
“Not true, respectfully.” Just no scriptural bases for this. Personally, I don’t celebrate Ash Wednesday, and I’m a Christian.
As a Christian the only ritual I honor is Communion – which Christ himself mandated.
If you’re a Christian and you’re hedging your bets, thinking participating in rituals has an effect on a relationship with Christ you’re in error – it is futile and not a good thing. Sounds like something a Pharisees would do. Christ alone should be gloified – rituals can become idolatry.
‘I bet even the girl sitting next to him with the dot on her forehead knew what it was about.’
Did this teacher ever what to know who assaulted her for that bindi?
Do you people want a return to the Auto-da-fé?
Because this is how you get a return to the Auto-da-fé.
I know this town pretty well. It’s probably 90% Mormon, including the teachers. My catholic neighbor said she was ostracized by the mormon students when she was going to school in the 80s. Another friend of mine, whose dad was a baptist minister, never got to play on sports teams although he was better than most of the mormon kids. Nothing against mormons who as a whole are fine people but they have their predjudices. I deal with it but it’s a small price to pay for living in a relatively sane crime-free, liberal-free, gay-free, transgender-free, low-tax environment.
Dear Abigail,
You wrote,
“It’s always been a fascination to me that some Christians eschew any ritual to tout their piety, while others embrace a whole host of rituals to tout theirs.”
Pardon that I’ve said this before and say it again now, but only as background to what follows: I am the type of believer (Bible Only) who Rome’s Council of Trent, which is still canon law, repeatedly condemned to Hell as a heretic. I couldn’t care less about that because I know what I know and I know Rome has zero power regarding myself before God, but I mention it in the hope that this makes sense to you:
Here’s what I go by on this (caps added for emphasis):
“One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded IN HIS OWN MIND. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth NOT the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.” (Romans ch. 14)
“Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years…” (Galatians ch. 4, wherein Paul rebukes the Galatians)
“Let NO MAN therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days…” (Colossians ch. 2).
These three passages are vital to the topic of Lent (since it’s come up) and to many others.
The context of these passages is the old Jewish holy days from the Law of Moses. Paul reminds these Gentile believers that they were never, and were not then, under that Law, so those days were meaningless and did nothing for them before God. Rather, the substance and reality they SHOULD have focused on was their identity in Christ Himself, as members of His Body (read all of Colossians for the bottom line on this).
Now I said all that to say this:
If Paul, an ex-pharisee of the pharisees, expert on the Law, tells these believers that Law holy days — which had been instituted by God Himself! — now mean nothing because of the finished work of Christ…
…then what must God think of other holy days invented by the various Gentile churches of Christendom?
Then they must mean LESS than nothing before God and can do absolutely nothing for the soul. That means Lent, for just one example, can have no more spiritual weight than, say, Labor Day. It’s a pointless exercise that people THINK does something, but God’s word says does not.
Paul actually says such ritualism is a sign of spiritual feebleness and immaturity, as with his example of one who’s defiled conscience has forced him into avoiding meat for allegedly spiritual reasons even though God has said that no food, in itself, is now unclean.
That’s why I disagree with you (though, still, with respect for you). And because I’m not to condemn you for participating, rest assured that I do not. Each of us will stand on our own, alone, before God.
Grool: As long as the main things of Christianity remain the main things and are treated as the main things, I try not to judge other Christians for doing whatever it takes for them to draw nearer to God. If any Christian wants to observe Ash Wednesday — and I and many others do, though not Catholic — I don’t see the harm in it at all and I am always careful about being a stumbling block to others in their seeking. In fact sometimes I don’t think there is enough ritual in our glorification of Christ. As Barnhardt repeatedly points out, it seems like the Super Fun Rock Band church is throwing a party mostly for its own members every Sunday. Most people don’t even dress for church anymore.
I wasn’t raised Catholic or have a lot of Catholic friends growing up, so I know very little about their faith practice. But I just linked something the other day about cynicism and scriptural references that forbid Christians from biting each other all the time over nits.
As 99th points out, religious ritual can become idolatry and I’d be fearful of that if someone went around all year with an ash cross on their forehead, but that’s not what we’re contemplating here, right?
Should cut the teacher’s tongue out.
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3445/militant-muslims-cutting-out-tongues
Then he’d appreciate Christianity.
Abigail,
The ultimate question always is, WHY does someone do this or that religious activity? What purpose does the adherent believe it serves, if they’re being 100% honest? And how do they know?
Tell me if you think the following is in error:
“Many sincere people, Protestants and Roman Catholics alike, are conscientiously engaged in ‘keeping Lent.’ The observance of this forty-day period prior to Easter Sunday is generally marked by various kinds of self-denial. By ‘giving up’ a habit or favorite indulgence, some hope to earn favor with God. Others actually expect to secure forgiveness of sins by their self-styled sacrifices.
“The celebration of Lent dates back to the early part of the 4th century and is based solely on church history and the traditions of men. [But] Designating this period as ‘holy days’ finds no support in the word of God.
“Under the Old Testament economy [the Law], God’s chosen people, Israel, were commanded to celebrate certain feast days. Strict observance of these ‘days’ was required as an indispensable factor in their salvation.
“However, we are told in Colossians 2:17 that these celebrations were only ‘shadows of things to come.’ These shadows gave way to reality ‘when the fullness of time was come’ and ‘God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law’ (Galatians 4:4,5).
“The Lord Jesus Christ — by His death, burial, and resurrection — dispelled ‘the shadows’ and now ‘we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace’ (Ephesians 1:7). The sinless Son of God was ‘made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him’ (II Corinthians 5:21).
“The intent of Lent is but another endeavor on the part of man to take care of his own sin and establish his own righteousness. All such efforts are in vain ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith and that NOT of yourselves; it [salvation] is the gift of God, NOT OF WORKS lest any man should boast’ (Ephesians 2:8,9).”
——————————————–
The apostle to the Gentiles (that’s us) says about the finished work of Christ, when received and believed simply by faith, that it does the following:
•Forgiveness of all sins (and all means ALL)
•Justification (one is permanently justified from all things)
•Sanctification (one is declared a saint — holy and sanctified — by receiving the perfect righteousness of Christ)
•Declared by God as forever dead in Christ to the condemning Law (meaning all of the above are secure forever in Christ)
•Declared by God as raised to newness of eternal life in Christ
What could any religious observance — no matter how sincere and well-meant — add to what God says He’s already made available to all in Christ?
Answer:
Nothing.
But most people doing Lent don’t believe that. That’s why they do it; they’re convinced it’s necessary works that God will honor. It’s not picking nits to point that out, it’s very necessary.
And from the article…
“For William’s grandmother, Karen Fisher, Ash Wednesday is ‘the start of a very holy season for us. … We grow deeper into prayer TO TRY TO COME CLOSER TO GOD.’ ”
She proves my point. She admits that earning God’s approval by works, to get closer to Him, is the purpose of Lent.
But the Bible says those in Christ are even now hid in God, adopted as His children, and indwelt by His Spirit. Can’t get any closer than that, and it’s a free gift by the work that Christ did, not anything any of us could ever do.
So either the motivation behind Lent is correct, or what the Bible says is correct. They contradict so it can’t be both.
“it seems like the Super Fun Rock Band church is throwing a party mostly for its own members every Sunday.”
I have nothing but disdain for such churches because the wife and I attended one in college, before we knew better. Is Barnhart saying there’s Catholic churches the same way?
He was they only other person in that school that day with ashes??
@grool: “…She proves my point. She admits that earning God’s approval by works, to get closer to Him, is the purpose of Lent.”
I don’t know if the ‘purpose of Lent’ can be so generalized, but I would not be the one to attempt it.
Perhaps a purpose of the practice of abstinence during Lent (there being the potential for many) is to not necessarily gain approval or ‘closeness,’ but rather an effort to remove that which might maintain a distance that would prevent closeness.
Toby,
I go only by what the lady said of her own family’s view. And your distinction still does not harmonize with Scripture. If one is in Christ, there IS NO separation between him/her and God anymore:
“And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.” (1 Cor 3:23)
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3)
So if someone happens to be saved, observing Lent to be closer to God is, at least, unnecessary and at worst a denial (if in ignorance) of Christ’s accomplished work for them.
And if they’re not saved, then no amount of Lent or anything similar will do them any good, because they’re still in their sins and still under the pending wrath of God…and nothing any of us can do of ourselves can put away our own sins.
Either way, religious rituals intended to please God do nothing except temporarily modify behavior to let people feel better.
Grool — I think most Christians are sincere in observing any rituals that celebrate God and reinforces their faith. I don’t get too uptight about how my brothers and sisters practice their faith unless they are in error on major areas of doctrine — salvation through works would be a big error. But it disappoints me when we pick on each other for minor differences that amount to a simple preference that harms no one. Do you think that all Christians should also stop wearing a cross on a necklace, no matter how small it might be?
grool: I guess we differ, and that is fine with me.
And if someone observes Lenten practices, including Ash Wednesday, I will not fault them for that. In my interpretation of things, if it removes an obstacle along the path to God, perhaps they may proceed more easily on that path. I just can’t see the practice of Ash Wednesday as a ‘denial.’ An acknowledgement, perhaps, but not a denial.
And, not wishing to be burned as a possible heretic, I’ll refrain from further comment on this topic.
But the damn teacher should have been tossed out of the classroom window.
grool has done an excellent job in outlining how rituals, not supported by the Word of God, after the completed sacrifice of Christ are more problematic than simple practices of faith.
They are in essence a distraction and misleading. The scriptures plainly illustrate that and grool has presented scripture that has been very specific concerning how a little action of “harmless” ritual, takes our focus off of Christ, no matter how sincere.
As a person who doesn’t know Christ, it really doesn’t matter what ritual you follow because you’re separated from God.
However, if you’re a Christian even the little things we do are significant, because we carry the task of sharing the Gospel. The world needs to know we’re not compromised in any way.
The confusion comes in when the world sees Christians following rituals, not supported by Christ, the One we confess to have faith in.
Sure, Christians follow rituals that are self-imposed based on personal preference, yet that very choice has no effect on how close a relationship a person has to Christ – which religious, not relationsip oriented people think it does. Come on, let’s do what Christ wants rather than what we think He wants.
Take a tip from Germany 1933.
Don’t wear your religion on your sleeve.
Or on your forehead.
Sadly, this is not America 1955 any more.
🙁
Dear Abigail, good morning,
“Grool — I think most Christians are sincere in observing any rituals that celebrate God and reinforces their faith”
Sincerity is not the issue. Sincerity does not determine truth, only the word of God can do that. One can be 100% sincere yet sincerely deceived. Either we hold to the word of God (which He has given us for exactly that purpose, because it IS truth because He cannot lie0) or we will be subjected to the variable traditions and opinions of mere men.
Just one more example:
Titus 3:5-6, Paul is speaking to the saved:
“NOT by works of righteousness which WE have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour”
Question:
If Paul, God’s chosen apostle to the Gentiles (that’s us), says God now counts good works as having nothing to do with getting or staying saved (good works as the RESULT of being saved is a different matter), why is that the Catholic church, the Orthodox, pretty much every Protestant denomination, plus various sects, splinters and cults — fully 98% of Christendom — ALL INSIST on some degree of religious works before they’ll tell you that you’re on your way to Heaven?
That they don’t even agree on WHICH works to perform proves the point above about varying opinions and traditions…the point is, they contradict what Paul wrote in Titus. Why do you think that is?
Put another way…why do they set standards on the eternal destiny of people’s souls, standards which God Himself does not require, according to Titus ch. 3?
There’s only one answer.
Hint: who is, for now, called “the god of this world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4?
That is why I do not consider discussions like this to be picking nits. Hell is real, and real, sincere people go there EVERY SINGLE DAY. Going to Hell will be bad enough. Having it be a surprise (“But my priest/pastor/minister said I did enough to go to Heaven!”) will be far worse.
Everyone who preaches or believes a false gospel (one in contradiction to what was revealed through Paul), no matter how sincere, is lost. Those who preach such are under God’s curse (Galatians 1:8-9).
This is dead serious.
99th,
I have to point out that it’s not the rituals that’s the real problem. They’re just one result.
The problem is, more than one good news is found in the Bible; there are two primary ones in the N.T.
1. The Gospel of the Kingdom (Israel’s messianic hope)
2. The Gospel of the grace of God (what Paul called “my gospel”)
The second one God revealed through Paul as a secret that had been previously kept since the beginning of the world (Eph 3:8-9). Paul’s gospel is most concisely stated in 1 Cor 15:3-4.
The Kingdom gospel centered on national Israel, excluded Gentiles, and did indeed require various works.
Paul’s gospel requires none.
But guess which gospel – Kingdom or Grace — almost all of Christendom has gone to for the past 2,000 years?
Yep, the Kingdom gospel, which is no longer even in force since Israel stumbled in unbelief and rejected her Messiah (Romans chapters 9 through 11 explains it).
So today, most professing Christians don’t know Paul’s good news or they reject it, even though it alone is “the power of God unto salvation.”
THAT is why Christendom has looked the way it’s looked since the beginning. THAT is why Christendom fragmented in thousands of different directions and is suffused with myriad rituals, rites, requirements…”the traditions of men.”
Christ died for every person’s complete forgiveness and eternal justification. No matter what we’ve done, it was covered at the Cross. All God wants us to do is simply believe it by trusting His word on it.
But if you ask most people in any church, most will immediately start listing off good works as the way to Heaven because they’ve never heard the true Good News. They’ve believed false gospels. They’re usually very nice folks, very sincere, but lost, “dead while they liveth.”
grool, thanks for the elaboration, but the only thing we part ways on is having different gospels . Only one Gospel exists through Christ. What you described looks like different aspects of the same gospel, which is not a problem. Otherwise, we are in agreement.
99,
You’ll note in Galatians 2 that there’s identified a gospel to the circumcision (the Kingdom gospel) and a gospel to the uncircumcision (the grace gospel, 1 Cor 15:3-4). The apostles parted ways amicably on that issue, once they learned from Paul what God revealed to him. That’s why Peter, James and John gradually fade out of Acts and are not seen again, as Luke’s account comes to focus entirely upon the ministry of Paul, wherein there is no longer any Jew/Gentile distinction in God’s eyes (all being equally lost before Him, per Romans 1 and 2).