Today the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund released results from a statewide survey of what Texans think about the intersection of politics and religion with public schools. We released results from two questions back in May. One showed overwhelming support for putting teachers and scholars, instead of politicians on the State Board of Education, in charge of writing curriculum and textbook requirements. Another revealed that nearly 7 in 10 Texans agree that separation of church and state is a key principle of the Constitution.
Today we released the full results of the public survey. You can read highlights of the report in the press release below and read the full report here. But this is the key point: Texans are fed up with politicians dragging our children public schools into unnecessary and divisive culture war battles that promote personal and political agendas of state board members. They want the state board and our public schools to just educate Texas students and prepare them to succeed in college and their future careers. You can help reform the state board and protect the education of Texas schoolchildren by joining our Just Educate campaign today.
Below is the press release we sent out today.
A new statewide survey shows Texans overwhelmingly support reforming the way the state sets requirements for curriculum and textbooks in public schools and reject key “culture war” positions the right has taken regarding public education.
“The future of education in Texas stands at a crossroads,” said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, which commissioned the survey. “Texans want a cease-fire in the divisive ‘culture war’ battles that have dominated education issues in our state and think what our schoolchildren learn should be based on the knowledge and expertise of teachers and scholars, not the personal agendas of politicians on the State Board of Education.”
The May survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research reveals attitudes of likely voters in Texas on key issues involving what public schools should teach students:
- 72 percent of likely Texas voters want teachers and scholars, not politicians, to be responsible for writing curriculum requirements for public schools.
- The overwhelming support for putting experts in charge of writing curriculum standards is bipartisan (84 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Independents) and evident in all of the state’s major urban regions.
- Texas voters have complex views regarding the intersection of religion and education, with 68 percent saying separation of church and state is a key constitutional principle but 49 percent saying religion should have more influence in public schools.
- Support for more religion in public schools, however, should not suggest that Texas voters also back the positions of social conservatives on hot-button “culture war” issues.
– 80 percent of likely Texas voters agree that high school classes on sex education should teach “about contraception, such as condoms and other birth control, along with abstinence.”
– 88 percent of likely Texas voters think public schools should be required “to protect all children from bullying, harassment, and discrimination in school, including the children of gay and lesbian parents or teenagers who are gay.”
– 55 percent of likely Texas voters oppose using publicly funded vouchers that allow some students to attend private and religious schools.The survey data suggest that Texas voters take a common-sense approach to issues involving education, said Anna Greenberg of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.“Texas voters – regardless of political affiliation or ideological views – agree that politics has no place in developing public school curricula,” Greenberg said. “Voters show strong support for ensuring that teachers and scholars can determine curriculum standards for public schools that provide a high quality education and prepare students for the future, without interference from partisan state board members.”
The May 4-12 survey came as the State Board of Education neared a final decision in its controversial debate over new social studies curriculum standards. The social studies debate followed similarly divisive battles over curriculum standards for science and language arts.
The survey of 972 likely voters in Texas has a margin of error of +/- 4 percent. The survey included an oversample of likely voters aged 18-29 and those living in the seven fastest-growing counties: Collin, Comal, Fort Bend, Hays, Montgomery, Rockwall and Williamson). The full survey report is available here.
This fight is a national disaster
Can someone supply me with the actual survey form and the exact wording of the questions that were asked? I would like to see for myself whether the questions read something like:
“Which would you rather have in charge of your child’s public school curriculum, professional subject matter experts and professional teachers or lying scumbag, low-life, fruitcake-baking politicians?
Just as I was feeling totally discouraged, heartbroken, and terrified, I read this. This is the ONLY news I’ve heard in ages with a shred of optimism in it.
Would that I could believe it.
That 49% who want more religion in schools: disturbing that virtually half of Texans want this. Disturbs me, yes. But surprise me? No. Not at all.
No Charles. You are confusing this survey with those usually promoted by the right wing conservatives.
Well, Cytocop. It might not be as bad as you think. I bet many of those who were interviewed did not have Bob Jones in mind as your kid’s gym teacher. Many folks would just like some more teaching about religion in American history, a comparative survey of world religions, and maybe a course on the First Amendment and what it really means. Goodness knows we could use some real education on that last one.
I know you are oriented a bit on the gloomy side. However, as the old saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. Princeton University economist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman is now predicting failure of the current weak and jobless economic recovery, a double-dip recession, and a descent into another Great Depression. He predicted the Obama economic stimulus was much too small to pull us into a solid recovery, and I think history will show that the far right Republicans and their fruitcake friends were the main reason it was not any larger than it was. Where is the silver lining in that, you say? There are a couple of things:
1) We could think carefully and make sure our money is in the safest possible place when the sky starts falling.
2) The far right Republicans and their Religious Right toadies (Modern Quakers: The Fruitcake Friends) will be swept into control of doggone near everything in the November election. Then the real fun begins. The economy plunges into the abyss, 70,000,000 people are out of work, and the newly elected Fruitcake Friends will be telling everyone that “we just cannot afford to help the unemployed with extended unemployment insurance benefits.” Can you say, “Pitchfork, Torch, and Bastille?” As everyone knows, we have a $13 trillion dollar national debt, and the fruitcake answer to fixing it is to cut taxes. Think about that for a minute. You are deeply in debt there at your house, and the answer to getting out of it is to have your paycheck cut in half.
Now, the fruitcakes have opened up their King James Bibles and decided that the only legitimate functions of government are to: (1) ignore the suffering of its own people, (2) protect the nation from foreign enemies, and (3) punish evildoers at home. A corollary belief is that the free enterprise economy is sacred, so sacred that it must be allowed to operate with an unregulated, free-wheeling, hands-off approach. Remember the Superman I movie. “It is forbidden to interfere with human history!!!” See Enron. See Wall Street investment banks and Bernie Madoff. See British Petroleum oil spill. They want to create an environment that will encourage more of that to happen.
So, if your economy is going south on a rocket and you are not allowed to touch the sacred economy, what can you do? Well, you could sit on your hands—or try the age-old American answer to a poor economy. Yep, borrow trillions more dollars from China; skyrocket the budget deficit; and declare war on Iran, North Korea, and China. Pretty slick, huh—almost like Iran-Contra—make the Chinese pay for a war waged against them. What’s a few million young lives here and there—a mere drop in the far right fruitcake bucket. What about those trillions more borrowed dollars to wage the wars just to bring us out of a bad economy. Might we have just avoided all the death and used all those dollars to stimulate the economy in some peaceful way. No siree—not in the Fruitcake Manual.
Come November, we are pretty much doomed as a country simply because of the Christmas desserts who will be taking over everything. It will be a real comedy to watch—until raw reality starts to seep into our heads. The fruitcakes who set us on this road between 2000 and 2008 will be there once again to see us the rest of the way down the long path to total ruin. The “personal responsibility set” will refuse responsibility for their own folly and blame the ruination on the usual set of strawman villains (liberals, women, poor people, minorities, sick people, immigrants, children with unmet needs, etc. Oh yes, I forgot—gay people. Our ruination will be punishment for their sins—-or will it?
Consider this. It has been 6 months since the Earthquake in Haiti. Millions of people, who were already among the poorest people on Earth, are living in tents and makeshift crate-wood shacks. Their children are still dying for lack of antibiotics that cost only pennies to make. Food is stll scarce. No clean-up or rebuilding is occurring. Everything is frozen in some limbo from Hell. Why is that? As it turns out, nations and people around the world pledged $5 billion dollars (that’s 5000 million dollars) for Haiti relief and recovery. Only $100 million dollars has shown up, and it is not clear that any of the rest of it is ever going to show up. Only four nations have met their pledge obligations, and the United States is not one of them. Estonia and Norway made good on their full pledges.
I suppose it is possible that our nation might be brought to its knees because we allow gay marriage in some states. However, when I consider fruitcake political ideology, theology, and Haiti, I am inclined to think that our coming punishment in November is a direct result of millions of Christians who have sold out to Religious Right charlatans, crooked politicians, and a new theology that blesses the worst in human nature, calls evil good and good evil, and rubber stamps it with “Jesus-Approved.” When November comes and the suffering begins, think on these:
Genesis 41:19 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness:
Exodus 22:25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.
Exodus 23:3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
Exodus 23:6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
Exodus 23:11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
Exodus 30:15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.
Leviticus 14:21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil;
Leviticus 19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Leviticus 23:22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 25:25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.
Leviticus 25:35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
Leviticus 25:39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:
Leviticus 25:47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family:
Leviticus 27:8 But if he be poorer than thy estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him.
Deuteronomy 15:4 Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the LORD shall greatly bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it:
Deuteronomy 15:7 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
Deuteronomy 15:9 Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.
Deuteronomy 15:11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
Deuteronomy 24:12 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:
Deuteronomy 24:14 Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
Deuteronomy 24:15 At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
Judges 6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
Ruth 3:10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
1 Samuel 2:7 The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up.
1 Samuel 2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.
1 Samuel 18:23 And Saul’s servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king’s son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
2 Samuel 12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2 Samuel 12:3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
2 Samuel 12:4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
2 Kings 24:14 And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land.
2 Kings 25:12 But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
Esther 9:22 As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.
Job 5:15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
Job 5:16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
Job 20:10 His children shall seek to please the poor, and his hands shall restore their goods.
Job 20:19 Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not;
Job 24:4 They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.
Job 24:9 They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor.
Job 24:14 The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
Job 29:12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him.
Job 29:16 I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out.
Job 30:25 Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?
Job 31:16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;
Job 31:19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;
Job 34:19 How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.
Job 34:28 So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
Job 36:6 He preserveth not the life of the wicked: but giveth right to the poor.
Job 36:15 He delivereth the poor in his affliction, and openeth their ears in oppression.
Psalms 9:18 For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
Psalms 10:2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
Psalms 10:8 He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
Psalms 10:9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
Psalms 10:10 He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
Psalms 10:14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
Psalms 12:5 For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
Psalms 14:6 Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the LORD is his refuge.
Psalms 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
Psalms 35:10 All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?
Psalms 37:14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Psalms 40:17 But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.
Psalms 41:1 Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
Psalms 49:2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
Psalms 68:10 Thy congregation hath dwelt therein: thou, O God, hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
Psalms 69:29 But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
Psalms 69:33 For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
Psalms 70:5 But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.
Psalms 72:2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
Psalms 72:4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
Psalms 72:12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
Psalms 72:13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
Psalms 74:19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
Psalms 74:21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
Psalms 82:3 Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Psalms 82:4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
Psalms 86:1 Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.
Psalms 107:41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
Psalms 109:16 Because that he remembered not to shew mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart.
Psalms 109:22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
Psalms 109:31 For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul.
Psalms 112:9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
Psalms 113:7 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill;
Psalms 132:15 I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.
Psalms 140:12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor.
Proverbs 10:4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
Proverbs 10:15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.
Proverbs 13:7 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
Proverbs 13:8 The ransom of a man’s life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.
Proverbs 13:23 Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.
Proverbs 14:20 The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.
Proverbs 14:21 He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.
Proverbs 14:31 He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
Proverbs 17:5 Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
Proverbs 18:23 The poor useth intreaties; but the rich answereth roughly.
Proverbs 19:1 Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
Proverbs 19:4 Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
Proverbs 19:7 All the brethren of the poor do hate him: how much more do his friends go far from him? he pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
Proverbs 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Proverbs 19:22 The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar.
Proverbs 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
Proverbs 21:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.
Proverbs 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.
Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
Proverbs 22:9 He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
Proverbs 22:16 He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
Proverbs 22:22 Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
Proverbs 28:3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
Proverbs 28:6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
Proverbs 28:8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.
Proverbs 28:11 The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.
Proverbs 28:15 As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.
Proverbs 28:27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.
Proverbs 29:7 The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.
Proverbs 29:13 The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the LORD lighteneth both their eyes.
Proverbs 29:14 The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.
Proverbs 30:9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
Proverbs 30:14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
Proverbs 31:9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
Ecclesiastes 4:13 Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished.
Ecclesiastes 4:14 For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor.
Ecclesiastes 5:8 If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.
Ecclesiastes 6:8 For what hath the wise more than the fool? what hath the poor, that knoweth to walk before the living?
Ecclesiastes 9:15 Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.
Ecclesiastes 9:16 Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Isaiah 3:14 The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
Isaiah 3:15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
Isaiah 10:2 To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
Isaiah 10:30 Lift up thy voice, O daughter of Gallim: cause it to be heard unto Laish, O poor Anathoth.
Isaiah 11:4 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isaiah 14:30 And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety: and I will kill thy root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant.
Isaiah 14:32 What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the LORD hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it.
Isaiah 25:4 For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
Isaiah 26:6 The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.
Isaiah 29:19 The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 32:7 The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.
Isaiah 41:17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
Isaiah 58:7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Isaiah 66:2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Jeremiah 2:34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
Jeremiah 5:4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.
Jeremiah 20:13 Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
Jeremiah 22:16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 39:10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
Jeremiah 40:7 Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon;
Jeremiah 52:15 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.
Jeremiah 52:16 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for husbandmen.
Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
Ezekiel 18:12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
Ezekiel 18:17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
Ezekiel 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
Daniel 4:27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.
Amos 2:6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
Amos 2:7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
Amos 4:1 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
Amos 5:11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
Amos 5:12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
Amos 8:4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
Amos 8:6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
Habakkuk 3:14 Thou didst strike through with his staves the head of his villages: they came out as a whirlwind to scatter me: their rejoicing was as to devour the poor secretly.
Zephaniah 3:12 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.
Zechariah 7:10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.
Zechariah 11:7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed the flock.
Zechariah 11:11 And it was broken in that day: and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was the word of the LORD.
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 11:5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
Matthew 26:9 For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.
Matthew 26:11 For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.
Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mark 12:42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
Mark 12:43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
Mark 14:5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
Mark 14:7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luke 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
Luke 7:22 Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
Luke 14:13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:
Luke 14:21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.
Luke 18:22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
Luke 19:8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.
Luke 21:2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.
Luke 21:3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all:
John 12:5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
John 12:6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.
John 12:8 For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.
John 13:29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.
Romans 15:26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
1 Corinthians 13:3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
2 Corinthians 6:10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
2 Corinthians 9:9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
Galatians 2:10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
James 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
James 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
James 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
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Charles: If you’d really taken a look at the summary information provided by TFN above, you’d have noticed there’s a link to the full report. Download that, and the actual survey questions are there. I guess it’s just easier to snipe and assume than it is to READ. I would look forward to your response once you’ve REVIEWED the survey questions.
Charles,
You lost everyone when you got up on your high and mighty soapbox to preach. That too is part of the problem. So keep your superstitious religious beliefs to yourself. Hopefully, the moderator will delete your stupid five pages long jeezus spam.
Just let me know when you’re ready to start building those guillotines. I’m all in.
It amazes me that so many people follow a work of fiction to run their lives and to dictate the lives of others. On this earth alone we have had, by the time the person Jesus was said to be the son of God, at least 12 others who made the same claim. And that is just on this world. Did God send a son to every planet in this universe that had humanoids as well as the infinite number of universes we have now and had in the past as well as future universes. It is ironic that the countries of this world where religion play little in the lives of its people, have the happiest citizens. Where does America rank. Last in those countries we called developed countries. Our founding fathers made one mistake when they wrote the bill of rights. instead of writing freedom of religion, they should have written freedom FROM religion. People, as Ann Landers use to say. MYOB
Obviously, no one undertstands simple sarcasm or the other side of the coin when they see it. Oh, well. If you will look, my long message was written specifically to my Jewish friend and associate Cytocop, who is one of our beloved regulars here and a doggone smart one too.
I was trying to make the point that the members of the Religious Right just assume that the next disaster will be because, to cite a famous quote, “I don’t smoke, and I don’t chew, and I don’t go out with girls like you.” This sort of thing is the shifting sands foundation on which modern, so-called Bible-believing legalism is founded. Cytocop and I both know that Old Testament scripture covers a much wider range of concerns than this sort of shallow stuff. So yes, America might be destroyed in a single flash tomorrow if one more Ellen show runs on the boob tube. However, it would be a mistake to just assume that. It might be a wider range of other issues—or none at all. Sometimes bad things just happen—even to good people.
A discussion of politics is simply an inappropriate venue for Biblical quotes. Let’s all agree to stick with the relevant documents, such as the US Constitution, in the future.
Speaking of the Constitution in her AU column today Sandhya Bathija quoted Cynthia Dunbar as saying “I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it.”
Cynthia is either misinformed or a liar, or perhaps a misinformed liar. At any rate the Bill or Rights came into being because “the American people” demanded it. When the delegates to the Constitutional Convention went back home to sell the Constitution to the farmers, merchants, lawyers, and doctors, all land owning colonists eligible to vote, the Bill of Rights was demanded by “the people” because of their distrust of a federal government. So the delegates went back to Philly and Madison penned the Bill of Rights. And or course the very first of the 10 amendments in the Bill starts by clearly stating that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
In 1776 Americans were very skeptical if not downright hostile toward religion. They’d been jerked around for a decade by King George and most (save the Loyalists) hated England, hated King George and hated the Anglican church. Perhaps it was a case of tossing out the baby with the bath water but at the time just 17% of Americans attended church services on a regular basis. Dumbar’s assertion is absolutely absurd.
It serves us well, this myth called Christ.
Pope Gregory VI
“A discussion of politics is simply an inappropriate venue for Biblical quotes. Let’s all agree to stick with the relevant documents, such as the US Constitution, in the future.”
Let’s not. The Religious Right’s soft underbelly is its ignorance of the Bible and the Christian faith as a whole. You stick to politics alone. I will stick to religion and exposing their soft underbelly.
Why does every American w/ any sensibility & wit despise Texas? Is it merely a joke, a national gag? Not @ all — there are good & sufficient reasons for this serious & widespread attitude. Why pick on Texas? Because it typifies, concentrates & exaggerates everything that is rotten in America: it’s vulgar — not only cultureless but anti-cultural; it’s rich in a brazen, vulgar, graceless way; it combines the bigotry & sheer animal ignorance of the Old South w/ aggressive ruthless, bustling, dollar-crazy brutality of the Yankee East & then attempts to hide it’s ugliness under a facade of mock-western play clothes stolen from a way of life that was crushed by Texanism over a half century ago. The trouble w/ Texas: it’s ugly, noisy, mean-spirited, mediocre & false.
(Confusion of quantity & quality)
You meaan like this Chuck:
“When Lyndon Johnson, recuperating from gall bladder surgery, raised his shirt to show his scar to assembled reporters, he was just trying to show he was all right, according to authors Irwin Unger and Debi Unger, who, however, say the gesture backfired. Indeed, a letter to the New York Times about the resulting picture stated, “god forbid he should have a hemorrhoidectomy!” Johnson was a gross man, given to earthy language and deeds. He regularly received junior staff and reporters while sitting on the toilet. He had a monumental ego and while he was known in the Congress as a conciliator and compromiser, his ego sometimes got in the way. He was also given to violent mood swings; one might even say he was manic-depressive. He had an inferiority complex about the Harvard and eastern liberal establishment. ”
From Amazon.com book review
# “separation of church and state is a key constitutional principle but 49 percent saying religion should have more influence in public schools.”
# “Support for more religion in public schools.”
I wonder if TFN had asked, ” is “separation between Religion and Government,” James Madison, “Father of the Constitution,” W&MQ 3:555, a key constitutional principle, would the response have been for “more religion in public schools”?
Obviously, if TFN does not understand the words of the Constitution, how can it constitutionally word and ask the proper question?
Why did TFN not ask, “are the words ‘church and state’ in the Constitution”?
As long as average citizens keep getting drilled that the Constitution is talking about”church and state,” as in a “state” church, they will never comprehend it is the whole subject of “religion” which shall not be established by law of government. When Americans understand the words of the Constitution, they will understand no “religion” shall be established in public schools or government at any level. Obviously, that constitutional principle of “no … religion” (Art. 6., and the First Amendment, has not been learned in the public schools.
The real question is has TFN learned anything? Here is a start: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb7SbUWw9dM