It never ceases to amaze me at how unforgiving these Christian's who preach forgiveness are. Suspension, hail Mary's, dock her pay, whatever. But to take away a persons livlihood on the basis of a single indiscretion shows an intolerance and lack of forgiveness that flies in face of the very principles they "claim" to espouse.
If it's any comfort, not all Christians are as judgemental and intolerant as the Ennis' appear to be.
it would appear McWay and the Ennis' are not as prevalent Thank God!
Another pregnant teacher sacked by a "Christian" schoolFriday, June 11, 2010
By Bryan Cones. US Catholic.orgAt least it wasn't a Catholic school this time. Back in April Southland Christian School fired Jaretta Hamilton after she informed them of her pregnancy and requested a six-week leave in October, according to ABC News. When asked by the administrator when she had gotten pregnant (a question to which Hamilton should have answered, "I beg your pardon?" which is Southern for, "None of your damn business"), Hamilton answered honestly that it was just before her wedding. Because Hamilton had committed the sin of fornication, she was fired immediately--and in effect the whole school was informed of the reason.
OK, Christians, get your Bibles out and turn to John, chapter 8, verses 1 through 11, and tell me how this response at all coheres with Jesus' own example. Christians are giving the gospel a bad name by disregarding Jesus' warnings about judging and punishing others and behaving as any Pharisee portrayed in the gospel would.
And we wonder why no one goes to church anymore. It's because of rank, prurient hypocrisy like this. File it under "What would Jesus NOT do," along with the Catholic school teacher fired for checking the "atheist" box on her Facebook profile.
And, to head off this particular strand of comments, of course the school has the "right" to employ whomever they wish, but that doesn't give them a pass to behave uncharitably--as if none of the "righteous" have secret sins, which was Jesus exact point in the story of the woman caught in adultery.
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Are you kidding?
By Pro-lifer on Saturday, June 12, 2010
Judge not lest ye be judged. .
Are you kidding that it was "just" for this teacher to be terminated based on an intrusive question that could be grounds for a sex discrimination suit? Truthfully--this school acted like many employers do toward pregnant women--faced with having to pay for a sub and disability, they found a way to fire her to save their $$$. And I hope this woman sues the PANTS off of them.
I don't care WHAT type of school this is....you don't fire a woman for getting pregnant just before her wedding--SHE'S MARRIED now.
Oh wait--maybe she should have used birth control or had an abortion--and then no one would have known....and her job would be safe. Or if she was a guy, yea--no one would know....what about other employees who are having sex outside of marriage? Is this administrator going to take a poll, see who's "fornicating"? Unless that happens, there were NO grounds for firing this employee.
IF you think Jesus should punish her, that's up to Him on her final day. Not up to the school to decide that a married teacher, whose conception date was NONE of their business, to decided.
Remember--Mary was an unwed mother, too. And in the CATHOLIC Church, when we do a Novena to Mary, one of those prayers is for UNWED mothers.
One sin and you're out?
Christian school taught wrong lesson.By Rhonda Swan, Palm Beach Post Staff WriterPosted: 6:52 p.m. Thursday, June 10, 2010
Jesus would have forgiven Jarretta Hamilton.
Had Jon and Julie Ennis lived in biblical times, they might have stoned her.
Ms. Hamilton is the fourth-grade teacher whom the Ennises fired last year because she got pregnant before she got married. The Ennises run Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, near Orlando.
Ms. Hamilton filed suit against the school last week in federal court for gender and marital status discrimination and invasion of privacy. The privacy complaint is based on her allegations that administrators told other teachers and parents that she had conceived out of wedlock.
The school says that it did not discriminate against Ms. Hamilton, and claims that she was let go because of her immoral behavior, which violated school rules.
"Jarretta was asked not to return because of a moral issue that was disregarded, namely fornication, sex outside of marriage," Julie Ennis, Southland's administrator, wrote in a letter to Ms. Hamilton's attorney. "Our student handbook requires all students to sign they will refrain from immoral actions or risk expulsion, and we can expect no less from the teachers in leadership at Southland Christian School."
I might have been inclined to shout "Amen!" had Ms. Hamilton not married the father of her child three weeks after conceiving.
Southland has every right to hold its students and employees to certain standards. It is a Christian school, and is entitled to set what the school considers a Christian moral code. Ms. Hamilton, however, did do the right - supposedly Christian - thing after she did the wrong - supposedly un-Christian - thing.
Not that I'm judging her. To each his or her own libido. I use the terms "right" and "wrong" here because, based on what the Ennises believe, premarital sex is wrong. Only sex within marriage is right.
Southland Christian School could have acted as Jesus did when the scribes and Pharisees brought to him the woman who had committed adultery and asked what they should do. Moses' law, they noted, required that she be stoned. "He that is without sin among you," Jesus said, "let him first cast a stone at her." Of course, they all had sinned. So no stones were cast. And Jesus refused to condemn the woman, telling her, "Go, and sin no more."
Why, then, couldn't the Ennises be that charitable?
It's not likely that Ms. Hamilton's class of fourth-graders - or any other students, for that matter - would have known when Ms. Hamilton conceived, given how close the conception was to her wedding date. Not that her sex life is any of their business anyway.
And when Jon Ennis, Southland Christian's principal, asked Ms. Hamilton when she conceived, she told the truth when she could have lied. (I'm still trying to imagine any boss of mine asking such a personal question and getting an answer at all.)
The holier-than-thou-ness of some Christians never ceases to amaze. "We request that Jarretta withdraw her complaint," Julie Ennis wrote, "and consider the testimony of the Lord."
But would the Lord have fired a newly married, pregnant woman - leaving her with no income and no health insurance - just because she and her husband didn't save themselves for marriage?
Ms. Hamilton, by the way, is still unemployed. Her attorney, Edward R. Gay of Orlando, said she has been unable to find a job.
A popular song by gospel artist Donnie McClurklin says a "saint is just a sinner who fell down and got up."
That fits with Jesus' teachings about love and forgiveness.
When Jesus' disciple Peter asked how many times he should forgive his brother who sins against him, Jesus told him: 77.
That would have been a better lesson for Southland Christian's students than the one the school taught by firing Ms. Hamilton - one strike and you're out. Why didn't they consider that testimony of the Lord?
Rhonda Swan is an editorial writer for The Palm Beach Post.Some comments from her blog:
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Great column, Rhonda. You do a wonderful job shedding light on a variety of important issues, from this hypocritical religious group to our failed drug war. Keep up the good work!
John Q Citizen
10:37 AM, 6/11/2010
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Jon and Julie Ennis seem to be nothing more than a Christian version of the Religiously Radical Taliban. I wonder what the Ennis White Bread Duo would find if they checked their family history.
Perhaps they'd find Osama Bin Laden in their ancestoral tree of inflexible, radical and outdated religious righteousness.
God will make them pay for their insensitivity if they don't take the time to rethink this matter out.
WWJD
10:39 AM, 6/11/2010
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The teacher got married before she would have even known she was pregnant and they are firing her for it. Some Christians they are.
peanut
1:03 PM, 6/11/2010
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this is a very solid piece. Probably the best article i've read on the subject. and my only conclusion is: i hope this teacher sues this school of self-righteous christians right into the ground. This entire case shows everything thats wrong with religion in general.
alex arav
8:08 PM, 6/11/2010
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bravo, ms. swan!
cookie
10:07 PM, 6/11/2010
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Great article Rhonda. Sometimes, we Christians get so "religious" that we trample all over the salvation gospel of Christ. Who among us hasn't sinned?
Blackman
2:40 AM, 6/12/2010
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Wrong or Right decision-------the last I heard the EMPLOYER has the last word in hiring and firing. They ARE THE BOSS. Am surprised Swan doesn't get it. I though you believed in morals.
I guess the girl at the bank that dresses provocatively ,as if she's working at a night club, is excused for that too.
J Eliot
4:46 PM, 6/12/2010
so now this J Eliot is advocating a bank teller be fired for her clothing style.
Who cares what she's wearing? As long as she can count my money and handle my transactions.
What would they have her wear.... a bloody burka?!!!
Cute baby tho