In Canada, a Christian school is told by the public school board to stop teaching scriptures that indict homosexuality as sin.
The Battle River School Division first asked Cornerstone Christian Academy, not far from the Alberta capital of Edmonton, to remove a scripture passage from the school’s statement of faith. They also asked that the word “quality” be redacted from the mission statement that the school offers “quality educational programming.”
The offending passage is from 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, which states: “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
CCA agreed to the demands. School Board chairwoman Laurie Skori then said that wouldn’t be enough. The school would have to cease from even teaching the scripture, saying that “any scripture that could be considered offensive to particular individuals should not be read or studied in school.” She said exactly what she meant in a subsequent piece of correspondence that read: “For example: any teachings that denigrate or vilify someone’s sexual orientation.”
CCA has a working relationship with the public school district and also with the Association of Christian Schools International.
That was too much for the school. CCA chairwoman Deanna Margel said the school has a right to teach what the Bible says.
She told the National Post, “You can’t just pick and choose those scriptures. We need every single word there to challenge us, to call us to greater understanding. We’re talking about freedom of religion, but we’re (also) talking about freedom of expression.”.