Ohio Christian school tells student to skip prom

[bennychico11]

FINDLAY, Ohio – A student at a fundamentalist Baptist school that forbids dancing, rock music, hand-holding and kissing will be suspended if he takes his girlfriend to her public high school prom, his principal said.

 

Despite the warning, 17-year-old Tyler Frost, who has never been to a dance before, said he plans to attend Findlay High School's prom Saturday.

 

Frost, a senior at Heritage Christian School in northwest Ohio, agreed to the school's rules when he signed a statement of cooperation at the beginning of the year, principal Tim England said.

 

The teen, who is scheduled to receive his diploma May 24, would be suspended from classes and receive an "incomplete" on remaining assignments, England said. Frost also would not be permitted to attend graduation but would get a diploma once he completes final exams. If Frost is involved with alcohol or sex at the prom, he will be expelled, England said.

 

Frost's stepfather Stephan Johnson said the school's rules should not apply outside the classroom.

 

"He deserves to wear that cap and gown," Johnson said.

 

Frost said he thought he had handled the situation properly. Findlay requires students from other schools attending the prom to get a signature from their principal, which Frost did.

 

"I expected a short lecture about making the right decisions and not doing something stupid," Frost said. "I thought I would get his signature and that would be the end."

 

England acknowledged signing the form but warned Frost there would be consequences if he attended the dance. England then took the issue to a school committee made up of church members, who decided to threaten Frost with suspension.

 

"In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other," England said.

 

The handbook for the 84-student Christian school says rock music "is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people's hearts and minds."

 

England said Frost's family should not be surprised by the school's position.

 

"For the parents to claim any injustice regarding this issue is at best forgetful and at worst disingenuous," he said. "It is our hope that the student and his parents will abide by the policies they have already agreed to."

 

The principal at Findlay High School, whose graduates include Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, said he respects, but does not agree with, Heritage Christian School's view of prom.

 

"I don't see (dancing and rock music) as immoral acts," Craig Kupferberg said.

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090508/ap_on_...hool_dance_flap

[bennychico11]

oh religion...where shall I start?

 

my favorite quote of the whole thing is:

The handbook for the 84-student Christian school says rock music "is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people's hearts and minds."

 

 

seeds of rebellion? seeds of rebellion are not only what the country is founded upon but also what Christianity is founded upon!

I also never understood the baptists' point of view towards dancing. I have attended Baptist services and find it almost on the very extreme of the Christian denominations.

[GSG]

oh religion...where shall I start?

 

my favorite quote of the whole thing is:

The handbook for the 84-student Christian school says rock music "is part of the counterculture which seeks to implant seeds of rebellion in young people's hearts and minds."

 

 

seeds of rebellion? seeds of rebellion are not only what the country is founded upon but also what Christianity is founded upon!

I also never understood the baptists' point of view towards dancing. I have attended Baptist services and find it almost on the very extreme of the Christian denominations.

 

I once went to a Baptist church and the whole thing was like a rock concert. I'm Episcopalian, which is borderline Catholic, but I had never seen anything like this Baptist deal. There was a live band and we sat in auditorium seats. People stood up and and "swayed" with the music and sang. There were drums and *gasp* guitars of the electric variety. Religions can be soooo confusing. By best friend is a Zoroastrian. Good people are good people, MY book.

[huzkerbob]

In life, we constantly make decisions whether we are going to please self or please God. (Frost) chose one path, and the school committee chose the other," England said.

 

Absolutely ridiculous!!! This kind of self serving statement is disrespectful to the young man, and for a religous man to say borders on blasphemy! To act as though man can somehow determine what gods judgment of this boy is makes me sick! “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Matthew 7:12).” Don't these people read their own bible!?!

 

I Don't care if this kid signed an agreement or not. These administrators need to get their head out of their ass, and realize that this kids graduation is more important than justifying their own narrow minded, and (as the above post shows) hypocritical interpretations of morality.

[Husker_x]

Just for the sake of anyone who isn't aware, most of Christianity finds this fundamentalist wing to be just as ridiculous as everyone else. There are a lot of strange aspects to religious belief, and in America the Young Earth Creationist, no smoking, drinking, dancing, kissing, etc. sect of Christianity certainly qualifies. Unfortunately this is a tamer aspect of that. Sometimes the extremism is downright scary. Watch the movie Jesus Camp if you're interested.

 

Still, this by no means represents the mainstream, or makes any statement whatever about Christianity.

[bennychico11]

Watch the movie Jesus Camp if you're interested.

 

I have. Scary movie (watch Hell House if you get a chance too, also). However, it's based off of the Pentecostal...not baptists. Still, in some regions the two can be pretty intertwined. Deep Southern baptists are pretty different than the more midwestern/northern kind. Some of my family are baptist and fall in the middle of the two.

 

Although I'd like to agree with you and say that the Baptists don't represent mainstream...but they do. Take this poll of the religions represented in the House of Representitives...from I think 2005:

http://www.willisms.com/archives/religionushouse.gif

Second only to the Catholics is the Baptists.

 

 

http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/baptist.gif

[Husker_x]

Watch the movie Jesus Camp if you're interested.

 

I have. Scary movie (watch Hell House if you get a chance too, also). However, it's based off of the Pentecostal...not baptists. Still, in some regions the two can be pretty intertwined. Deep Southern baptists are pretty different than the more midwestern/northern kind. Some of my family are baptist and fall in the middle of the two.

 

Although I'd like to agree with you and say that the Baptists don't represent mainstream...but they do. Take this poll of the religions represented in the House of Representitives...from I think 2005:

http://www.willisms.com/archives/religionushouse.gif

Second only to the Catholics is the Baptists.

 

 

http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/baptist.gif

 

I'm well aware that the Baptist denomination holds a lot of sway in the south, but statistics like this essentially ignore the diversity of belief and practice held among all of them. As you mentioned, northern Baptists don't hold church in the same way that Southern Baptists might. And all Southern Baptists don't swerve into Pentacostalism as much as others do. To claim a 'majority' based off a diverse denomination and then attribute the worst portions of the denomination to the whole is disingenuous.

 

And this, of course, says nothing whatever about the church's actual influence on the attendee's daily life. For many people church is something simply done for the sake of doing it, or having always done it. Whether any of the fundamentalist ideals rub off on them is extremely questionable, and citing case studies as evidence in this scenario offers nothing definitive as a description of the fundamentalist influence on society. People underestimate the human brain's ability to compartmentalize things. It's the same reason why Sam Harris's "Christians believe in the imminent rapture and therefore should not have any say in determining public policy" argument is flawed. It assumes that holding a belief and following it to its conclusions is a given.

 

I'll try to check out that movie one of these days.

[redout22]

This is harsh.

[sarge87]

Watch the movie Jesus Camp if you're interested.

 

I have. Scary movie (watch Hell House if you get a chance too, also). However, it's based off of the Pentecostal...not baptists. Still, in some regions the two can be pretty intertwined. Deep Southern baptists are pretty different than the more midwestern/northern kind. Some of my family are baptist and fall in the middle of the two.

 

Although I'd like to agree with you and say that the Baptists don't represent mainstream...but they do. Take this poll of the religions represented in the House of Representitives...from I think 2005:

http://www.willisms.com/archives/religionushouse.gif

Second only to the Catholics is the Baptists.

 

 

http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/pics/geo200/religion/baptist.gif

 

I'm well aware that the Baptist denomination holds a lot of sway in the south, but statistics like this essentially ignore the diversity of belief and practice held among all of them. As you mentioned, northern Baptists don't hold church in the same way that Southern Baptists might. And all Southern Baptists don't swerve into Pentacostalism as much as others do. To claim a 'majority' based off a diverse denomination and then attribute the worst portions of the denomination to the whole is disingenuous.

 

And this, of course, says nothing whatever about the church's actual influence on the attendee's daily life. For many people church is something simply done for the sake of doing it, or having always done it. Whether any of the fundamentalist ideals rub off on them is extremely questionable, and citing case studies as evidence in this scenario offers nothing definitive as a description of the fundamentalist influence on society. People underestimate the human brain's ability to compartmentalize things. It's the same reason why Sam Harris's "Christians believe in the imminent rapture and therefore should not have any say in determining public policy" argument is flawed. It assumes that holding a belief and following it to its conclusions is a given.

 

I'll try to check out that movie one of these days.

You are quite right about diversity of beliefs between the sects. Also there is diversity amongst the Southern Baptists sects, because one of the major tenants of belief is individual autonomy. It is not structured like Catholicism where there is a hierarchy involved.

[huskertim]

You know, if we're going to live in a society that allows and even promotes the free expression and practice of ideals (admittedly within the confines of "do no harm"), we have to accept these more extreme sects even if we don't agree with them. This kid and his parents surely knew who they were dealing with when he attended this school. I think the kid should stand his ground and suffer accordingly. I think I saw a jewish carpenter's son do that once, hope this kid fares better.

[Husker_x]

You know, if we're going to live in a society that allows and even promotes the free expression and practice of ideals (admittedly within the confines of "do no harm"), we have to accept these more extreme sects even if we don't agree with them. This kid and his parents surely knew who they were dealing with when he attended this school. I think the kid should stand his ground and suffer accordingly. I think I saw a jewish carpenter's son do that once, hope this kid fares better.

 

You saw him?!?!?!?!

 

What was he like!

[huskertim]

Nice guy, kind of a long hair hippie type, but real very personable.

[strigori]

Damned close to the plot of Footloose lol.

 

What I am amazed at is how many people are defending the school. I also have not see very many Christians coming out and condemning the school. And they wonder why there is animosity...

[sarge87]

Damned close to the plot of Footloose lol.

 

What I am amazed at is how many people are defending the school. I also have not see very many Christians coming out and condemning the school. And they wonder why there is animosity...

Do you really want an answer to this?

[huskertim]

I'm a Christian, I hereby condemn the school, all better.

 

No doubt in my mind the school is being idiotic but I still think if you lie down in the mud you wake up with swine. Translation; I guess I'm assuming that this school didn't suddenly become a bunch of zealots overnight and as the parents had to seek out and pay for this education, don't they have some degree of personal responsibility in the matter.

I hope this kids sticks to his guns, battles it out, and prevails. Remember, character is forged but adversity.