Those of you who are interested in the History teacher preaches in class thread <http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=36004>, might find this interesting as well.
According to the "Wall of Separation" blog site,
http://blog.au.org/2004/10/reading_writing.html
I wish I could have found this in a news source online, rather than this more "partisan" source. If someone knows of a newspaper article, etc., on this, I'll like to read it. Thanks.
Class project -- foot washing
Discussion in '2008 Archive' started by rlvaughn, Dec 22, 2006.
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Can't find anything so far.
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Actually what they refer to as "biblically based foot-washing ritual" was common in the first century (and not just among Christians/Jews). Footwashing was a job usually reserved for slaves (thus Peter's shock when the Lord offers to wash his feet). So that website has some basic history problems.
I suppose footwashing could be done in a religious format/way and I would agree that such should not be done in public schools. Keep in mind that we Baptists (Roger Williams, John LeLand, etc) were early supporters of the valid seperation of church and state. I don't want public school teachers trying to be Sunday School teachers or preachers. Why not? There is no way to control what they are teaching without establishing a religion. I would not want my child to be sitting in a classroom while the teacher presented the views of the Jesus Seminar as fact. Would you? I doubt it.
If we, Christians, want our children taught in a Christian environment then we need to send them to Christian schools. -
Or homeschool.
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Uh-oh! Foot washing involves touching! Teacher touching students - big Trouble....
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Was it done in the context of history, or in teaching the bible?
It is a good lesson for students in humility toward one another.
Still, it all depends on the context in which it was taught. -
The original source, The Valley Mirror, is not available online, so the opinion piece appears to be all we can go by.
It's hard to discern whether the teacher conceived of it as a religious ritual (he said it was to teach leadership) but it appears he thought of it as such. I would no more want a teacher washing feet than baptizing folks in class. (As Daisy mentioned, there is also a little bit of a problem with an adult teacher washing the feet of pubescent students and vice versa.)
On the teacher's side - only in theory, IMO - is the fact that the practice of foot washing also has a secular existence, as exhibited at:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/21/INGJ75M4SO1.DTL -
I would have liked to have more information, but never found any online. Thanks to those who commented.
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Ain't that close to where they had the pukebucket about the lessons in Islam, and students choosing a muzlim name and such? Is the outrage equal and from the same sources? the opposite? or inbetween?