Jessica Ahlquist: Fight Over Prayer Mural 'Worth It' Despite Harassment Threats

Patch.com:

Jessica Ahlquist, the plaintiff in the Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union case against the Cranston School District over a prayer mural hanging in the Cranston High School West Auditorium, said she has endured harassment, threats, and lots of "flak" over her decision to fight.

Read the whole story: Patch.com

Comments

[Sylvanistar]

01:07 AM on 10/26/2012

She's a modern Martin Luther (though I do find it a little bit silly that she's making such a huge deal out of this single plaque on the wall of her highschool... If it's ACTUALLY offensive to her beliefs, then I rest my case...) And she's only a teenager... and she's FEMALE. Guys... take a look at the future leaders of our country. The children among us. Yep, they're smarter than grownups seem to think.

[Misanthropy]

03:18 PM on 09/18/2012

Why can't they just compramise and remove the words "our heavenly father" and "amen?" Then it would no longer be a prayer and simply the school creed.

[MRoM]

02:01 AM on 10/09/2012

That seems pretty reasonable. Unfortunately you have two sides that are self-righteous and easily offended, and the very concept is probably anathema to either of them.

[Gloria1]

08:24 PM on 03/09/2012

Jessica Ahlquist is a child who has a very long way to go before she is rewarded with wisdom. She also needs to learn respect and tolerance. This entire situation is not at all about "violating the constitution" but rather its all about money. This child walked away with a $50,000 scholarship along with accolades of "doing the right thing" with the help and support of her parents. It is still yet another sad story in the continuing degradation of America and our way of life.

[Sylvanistar]

12:16 AM on 10/26/2012

I myself find that she does lack some in wisdom and I often question "Why? What is she gaining? why bother?" but you have to remember that she is a student of this school who's religion is offended by this. And yes, frankly it is all about the constitution, because breaking the law is... well, ILLEGAL.

[Avsolute]

02:03 PM on 02/23/2012

All religions are ridiculous. I especially enjoy when one religion's followers ridicule another's followers as delusional fools while they continue to look upon their own religion as the only "correct" one.

The only REASONABLE conclusion is to dismiss all religion as human created, superstitious, made-up nonsense. Period.

[modernhumor]

10:50 PM on 02/22/2012

Jessica Ahlquist is my hero!! She proves that her generation is not just about walking around like sheep with i-pod headphones stuck into their heads.

[modernhumor]

10:48 PM on 02/22/2012

Right wing fundamentalists repent! You are screwing up your country.

[The Middle]

08:23 PM on 02/09/2012

Maybe someone should say a prayer for Jessica.

http://welcometothemiddle.blogspot.com/2012/02/i-am-going-to-pray-for-jessica.html

[modernhumor]

10:48 PM on 02/22/2012

OK, if it makes you feel better.

[Sylvanistar]

12:23 AM on 10/26/2012

She is just fine. She has her own views and though she's young and has a LOT to learn (I bet you do to, as well as myself), she has a great point. She was offended by this so WHATEVER? She has every right to protest. It's against the constitution! And also, why does the President get sworn in over a bible??? And WHY is there "In god we trust" on all of our American money? Not "Christian" money, not "Morman" money, not "Jewish" money, not "Muslim" money either! No, it's AMERICAN money. That means EVERYONE, meaning ALL RELIGIONS. I hate to say it, but sometimes it just seems like another scheme to divide us as human beings. Good grief.

[BillieJoParisie]

07:42 PM on 01/27/2012

Nothing wrong with prayer!! Atheist also should understand that Christian's are a very big part of the United States and, also have rights to the Constitution as well.

“The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion”,... Which means we have a right to exercise our rights to practice our CHRISTIANITY/RELIGION!

Which also means that this Jessica Ahlquist, is violating our rights to our Christianity!! Get a life Atheists!!! The United States Constitution wasn't built for only YOU!!!

[padraig e]

01:57 PM on 01/31/2012

You have every right to practice your religion, but you have no right to demand that tax dollars be spent to promote your religion or any religion. Obviously, you are not well enough informed to understand the meaning of the first amendment or the supreme court decisions which have helped to define the first amendment over the past two centuries, so let me inform you: any building paid for with my tax dollars cannot promote your religion.

[BillieJoParisie]

05:28 PM on 02/01/2012

Duh!

[Sylvanistar]

12:26 AM on 10/26/2012

More power to you... but "get a life Atheists"? that's mean

[Paul Arenas]

12:44 PM on 01/26/2012

You should repent. Moreover, you should ask God for eternal forgiveness through applying the death and resurrection of Jesus to your life of sin within the quietness of your bedroom tonight. As an unrepentant sinner myself, I made this decision around 15 years ago. This is the most important decision that you could ever make. "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."
- Romans 10:9-10

Feel free to contact me at: [e-mail]

[Tenacious B 73]

06:50 PM on 01/26/2012

Completely irrelevant to the topic at hand. Those are YOUR views. Other people have different views. Yours don't deserve special treatment by the government. What's that got to do with the removal of this prayer banner?

[Sylvanistar]

12:56 AM on 10/26/2012

In facebook language, I click like for your comment, Tenacious B 73. People seem to forget that sometimes.

[Cody Lyle]

01:06 AM on 03/30/2012

Shut the hell up and go do something useful with you life.

[Authentic US Patriot]

04:22 PM on 01/24/2012

Grant us each day the desire to do our best.
To grow mentally and morally as well as physically.
To be kind and helpful to our classmates and teachers.
To be honest with ourselves as well as with others.
Help us to be good sports and smile when we lose as well as when we win.
Teach us the value of true friendship.
Help us always to conduct ourselves so as to bring credit to Cranston High School West.

Have the reactions of those angry Christians making death threats against a 16 year old girl been consistent with the sentiment of the removed banner?

[Sylvanistar]

01:00 AM on 10/26/2012

I thought that Christian religion said that all life was precious. Isn't that why Romney's insisting that the women of America have the right to control their bodies and take care of themselves (which by the way, if the woman is unhealthy or too young to safely deliver and dies in child birth, isn't that TWO lives lost?) revoked?

[twinnie]

11:29 PM on 01/22/2012

Of all places on the face of the earth where this ugly controversy might occur, Cranston should be one of the least likely. It is the next city south of Providence and a few miles from where Roger Williams first established the community of Providence and the state of Rhode Island, whose citizens, he proclaimed, should realize the separation of church and state. He believed it's good for the church and good for the state. This was the first time this concept had been carried out in the establishment of a government. He had been banished for standing up for his beliefs (the same as Jessica's) from an intolerant and narrow-minded society, the Massachusestts Bay Colony, and he suffered a lonely wintry exile until he came upon the place where he founded a new more tolerant community. Citizens of Rhode Island should be proud of their place in the history of a free society, and the school board in Cranston should mandate that that history be taught in detail to all students and that they graduate with the knowledge that religion (or lack of religion) has its place, and that's not in the public schools or other entities supported by all taxpayers. It's appalling that it takes a student to shine a light on that simple principle, one that stretches all the way back to the founding of the state. The adults in this sorry situation should act like adults and responsible citizens of a free country.

[DaveRhodeIsland]

12:14 PM on 01/21/2012

To the outraged Christians who feel their religion has been slighted by this, I would only ask that you honestly consider how you would view this if the prayer was from the Quran, or from the Torah. Would you even care that it was deemed unconstitutional to display in a public school? I think you're putting your personal beliefs ahead of the issue.

Finally, if you want prayer in school, go to a private school that is of your religion, and stop the hate towards a young woman who is not doing anything wrong. Display some of that Christian tolerance we hear about - or is this what you mean by it?

[Vlad Roudenko]

11:37 PM on 01/22/2012

I am a Muslim and I generally agree with your stance. There is plenty of case law on this matter which prohibits any establishment/sponsorship of any given religion by the state. Public schools are an extension of state. How they deemed the banner as secular is beyond any logic and reason.

With regard to prayer, emphasis is placed on private prayer rather than public in both the Quran and the Bible.

Matthew 6:5-6

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

The Quran says essentially the same thing although I cannot find the exact ayat at the moment.

The school was essentially promoting hypocrisy... the very thing that both of the holy books warn against. It really leads to one question. Are they really Christians or hypocrites? Their subsequent actions certainly point to the latter in the way they treat this girl.

[DaveRhodeIsland]

04:02 PM on 01/24/2012

Great comment! It's nice to get a different perspective on this.

[BillieJoParisie]

09:37 PM on 01/27/2012

The banner isn't "hypocrisy" coming from the year in which it was made. In 1963, the United States, Christianity was a very big majority. Also, in those days, it was considered an honor, a priviledge and a sign of respect to our God to praise him in this manner.

In the Holy Bible, Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Rejoicing his Holy Name and, worshipping the Lord our God is right. Also, John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." John 1:1
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"... I believe that the Lord or God wants us to praise Him and Worship his Holy Name! I do agree with what you say "Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." But, God was also specific in Honoring Him and, Rejoicing, singing His praise because, also it say's to sing our praise out loud.

I also agree that it isn't very Christian like that they have made threats towards this young lady. Because it also say's.... Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,"…

I respect other religions. And, not all of us Christian's are bad!!

[MissIndependentLady]

10:12 AM on 01/18/2012

Man, I would not have the stones to do what she did. Then again, I wouldn't have made a big deal about a banner, but I still support her for what she did. The reaction she received from Christians just makes me dislike Christians even more. I know there are some decent ones out there, but for the most part, they are confused. They're all about peacefulness towards people who are just like them. If you're gay, an atheist, or God forbid all of the above, they will threaten your life. These people don't care about the Constitution as much as they say they do. They would rather have a country where everyone believes in God so they won't have to deal with people like Jessica.

[Vlad Roudenko]

11:45 PM on 01/22/2012

You are right, there are some decent Christians, but unfortunately they are in the minority. This school and community seems to be full of hypocrites. Jesus promotes private prayer but they seem to do the complete opposite. Public prayer, especially of this ostensible sort, is completely pointless as it creates a false image of piety.

"If you're gay, an atheist, or God forbid all of the above, they will threaten your life."

Well, that is true, but they are often inclined to attack other believers as well. If one is a Muslim and some of these bigots see you praying, you got one nasty surprise coming your way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgjDDs2GeqI

"They would rather have a country where everyone believes in God so they won't have to deal with people like Jessica."

It's really hard to tell what they really believe in though judging by their actions. Jesus certainly did not teach to hate.

[BillieJoParisie]

12:46 AM on 01/28/2012

Not all Christians are like that. I accept everyone who walks with God, whether they are gay, lesbians, or other religions, or what have you. Love man, but not the sin! Thats what I believe. It isn't me who is the one to judge anyone.

[padraig e]

02:00 PM on 01/31/2012

Right, you won't judge anyone but you're sure happy to tell them what God thinks of them, right?

[Sarah Venhartly]

07:19 AM on 01/18/2012

What schools really need is more classes in Civics. The Constitution is a wonderful, secular document, which has been interpreted by the courts over time as to how it applies. Precedence of past decisions are as important as the words itself. Simply put, the Constitution outlines general principles, which the courts must then interpret. In this context, the courts have remarkably consistent that public schools should not be presenting a single religious viewpoint. This includes morning prayers, religious benedictions at commencement, distribution of bibles in classrooms, and the prayer banner at Cranston.

[TexasHurricane]

10:38 PM on 01/16/2012

The only real answer to solving this problem is for all faiths to fervently post their stuff in public places until we all agree it is stupid and annoying, which it is.