As the pulpit for the church of the perpetually aggrieved Christian, Fox never wastes an opportunity to spread the gospel of Christian victimization. This morning, Ainsley Earhardt did her Christian duty in proclaiming the latest example of yet another outrage towards Jesus' BFF's.
As is usual with these Fox stories of Christian persecution, this latest example began with a Fox News.com article by Fox's perpetually aggrieved Christian, Todd Starnes. The story (hot, hot, hot in the Christian whine-o-sphere) involves a boy who was told, by school officials, to stop sharing bible verses during the school lunch. The school, concerned about church/state issues, told the boy to take his bible verse sharing to the public sidewalk outside the school. According to the parents, a sheriff's deputy visited the family and warned the boy to stop sharing the verses. And that's when Liberty Counsel, a firm specializing in persecuted Christians stepped in.
This morning, in doing her part to take this story national, Jesus' BFF Ainsley Earhardt, interviewed the boy, his mother, and his Liberty Counsel lawyer during a patented Fox & Friends "Trouble With Schools" segment. She immediately framed the issue as the requisite "outrage" by reporting that the action of the school has "sparked outrage." The banner proclaimed the VERY IMPORTANT FOX MESSAGE: "Bible Backlash, School Bans Boy for Sharing Bible Verses at Lunch."
Despite the fact that, the Sheriff's office told the World Net Daily that they knew nothing of this alleged visit, Earhardt stated, as FOX FACT, that the sheriff's deputy hassled the kid for "get this" handing out bible verses. After showing one of the bible verses, she repeated the allegation that "the sheriff's deputy showed up at the boy's house" to tell the boy "to stop because someone might get offended." (Right, the usual godless loner who ruins it for all the good Christians - a popular Fox theme!)
Christina Zavala told the story of her son's shared bible verses which, she claimed, are very popular among the students. She explained why the school told the boy to do his sharing outside of the school. The banner continued the outrage: "Banning the Bible." Her son, Caleb, said that this action made him "sad." Eahardt validated his sadness: "You were just trying to do the right thing, right, you cared about, you care about your friends at school and you're just trying to share bible verses with them, right?" The banner reinforced the godless loner theme, along with the seeming lie about the sheriff: "Someone Might Get Offended, Sheriff's Office Sent to Family's Home."
The Liberty Counsel lawyer explained his role in this situation which "reflects ignorance of the law" and, wait for it, "hostility towards Christianity." Despite the fact that the sheriff visit is only alleged, he claimed "a gross abuse of police power." The banner reinforced, as FOX FACT, the allegation about the sheriff's visit: 1st Amendment Fight, Sheriff Called After Bible Verses Shared." (Interestingly, Earhardt didn't ask Ms. Zavala about the cop's alleged visit.)
I don't know if the school violated the boy's rights. (The ACLU states that students have the right to distribute religious material to their fellow students.) What I do know is that if a Muslim child were distributing Koranic verses, Ainsley Earhardt wouldn't be so supportive of the child. Ya think?
A Muslim student or any practitioner of any other religion has the same right.
I am an atheist and personally I think the kid has been hoodwinked but honestly I am more concerned with 1st Amendment rights and I am willing to be offended by this claptrap being spread in accordance with the law in order to protect my children’s right to call this individual self deluded.
Bible verse in private school? I’m all for it. Don’t like it then don’t send your kid there.
Bible verses in public school? Sorry, cute little kid. Not appropriate. (Unless you are okay with verses from the Quran before meals as well, right…?) All or none in public school religion. Period.