Ten Commandments – Blue Cereal Education

“Have To” History: Stone v. Graham (1980)

Blue Cereal — Sun, 05 Apr 2020 00:09:25 +0000

The Supreme Court’s decision in Stone v. Graham was announced on November 17th, 1980. Less than two weeks earlier, Ronald Reagan had been elected President of the United States, initiating what would later be called the “Reagan Revolution” – a resurgence of conservative values and policies anchored in an idealized past. The events leading to Stone began years earlier, but its outcome sent a message to the faithful in the 1980s similar to that of Engel v. Vitale and Abington v. Schempp two decades before: American’s fundamental values (meaning public promotion of Christianity) were under attack by intellectual elitists… aka “liberals.” And some of them wore robes.

Wall of Separation (Supreme Court Cases & Such) – Updated

Blue Cereal — Sat, 14 Jan 2017 21:34:05 +0000

A few months ago, I started blogging about Supreme Court cases delineating the relationships between religion and public schooling. In order to use some of the case summaries in class, I started editing and reformatting them afterwards. Then I figured since the work was already being done, and this effort at providing classroom resources in PDF format was already underway... why not just post them as I go?

A Wall of Separation – The Ten Commandments (Part Two)

Blue Cereal — Sat, 05 Nov 2016 02:21:37 +0000

In a few days, Oklahoma will vote on whether or not to repeal the ‘Blaine Amendment’ in our state constitution by passing SQ 790. The proclaimed goal of the change is to allow the posting of the Ten Commandments on public grounds. Is it constitutional for government to make this happen? What if they merely … Continue reading

A Wall of Separation – The Ten Commandments (Part One)

Blue Cereal — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 10:46:58 +0000

In about a week, Oklahoma will vote on whether or not to repeal the ‘Blaine Amendment’ in our state constitution by passing SQ 790. According to proponents, the primary impetus behind this change is the re-installment of a ginormous graven image of the Ten Commandments on Capitol grounds. In practice, passage would open up a … Continue reading

Open Letter to Legislators: Should You Legislate the Bible?

Blue Cereal — Tue, 24 May 2016 11:29:35 +0000

Should you legislate the Bible? I ask because it seems every time we read about something controversial being pushed through the legislature, the story is accompanied by a quote from the bill’s sponsor blaming God. We’ve been told that Jesus is against handgun registration, that the Bible frowns on people of different genders using neighboring bathroom stalls, and that while God doesn’t want young ladies to know where babies COME from, He DOES insist they know how magical and special the little critters are up until they’re born, at which point He loses complete interest in them. Jesus never did like children, as I recall.