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naraburns  nihil supernum  3yr ago (text post)   37886 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of March 13, 2023

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Both boys didn't make either the varsity or JV basketball teams and nobody is arguing that their presence would constitute an unfair advantage.

Not the same case; in this hypothetical the boys are included simply to make up the numbers, nobody is claiming "Billy is now really Mandy and you have to treat her like you would the other girls". And depending on the level of athleticism of the boys and what positions they play, they may or may not have an unfair advantage. If the two boys are six inches taller than the girls on either team, is that an advantage when playing basketball? If 15 year old boys are on average stronger than 15 year old girls, is that an advantage?

I think in the hypothetical case the Christian school wouldn't object on the grounds of co-ed sports; they might or might not play the other team but that would be a decision for the coach to make. So long as Other School was open about "these are boys, we're fielding boys because we don't have enough girls" that isn't violating any Christian principle that I can think of.

Suppose there was a Jewish school that forfeited a game because it was played on Saturday and they won't play on the Sabbath - do you think we'd have Letters to the Editor about "it's time this bigotry was done away with"?

I'm trying to find out what denomination, if any, this school belongs to; the following comes off their website, so they seem to be Evangelical and possibly ultimately derived from some branch of the Reformed. They are serious about Christian education, it's not just "one religion class a week" - same principles, basically, as Catholic schools. Thus the sports teams are not separated out from the practice of religion. They seem to be affiliated with the Association of Christian Schools International:

The basis of the Christian School Association are the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The standard text for the school is the New King James Version. Organizationally, the Association is not an ecclesiastical body nor is it subject to any ecclesiastical organization. The government of the Christian School is autonomous.

From the ASCI Statement of Faith:

We believe that God wonderfully foreordained and immutably created each person as either male or female in conformity with their biological sex. These two distinct yet complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26–27).

This is Mid Vermont Christian School's Philosophy of Education:

The philosophy of the Mid Vermont Christian School has at its core the belief that God is central to all knowledge and learning. The apostle Paul said, “in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).

From this foundational truth spring several distinctive features of our educational philosophy. The goal of a Christian education is to guide children into a lifelong relationship of knowledge, service, and love for God through spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social training. Using God’s Word, the Bible, as our preeminent textbook, we expose children to every facet of human knowledge and experience through this authoritative filter. Each discipline is examined through the framework of our Christian beliefs and values.

The Word of God clearly states that parents are responsible for the education of their children. Christian parents who desire to fulfill their Biblical responsibility of bringing up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4) may do so at MVCS. The school views its role as an extension of, and not a replacement for, the home.

Parents wishing to enroll their child(ren) at MVCS must affirm that at least one of the student’s parents is a born-again, Bible-believing Christian. The parents must be in full agreement with the doctrinal and philosophical positions of the school (found on the back of the application form). The family must regularly attend a Bible believing church.

Each student is privileged to learn under a born-again, Bible-believing, Christian teacher who attempts to model Christ-like behavior. As students grow and develop, each of these “models” of Christ enables them to understand the way in which the Christian life is to be lived. Whether through activity, lecture, or discovery, students learn in a context that is thoroughly Christian.

Finally, the Word of God instructs us to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17) and to “do it heartily” (Col. 3:23). Therefore, our goal is to provide academic excellence in every facet of the program. Whether it is Reading, Literature, Science, or Math, we strive for the very best instructional strategies, materials, and curriculum. This emphasis on quality extends to all areas of academic life.

The girls' basketball team started out playing in the ASCI league and later went on to the state basketball division so if they're banned or barred, I suppose they can just go back to the ASCI league (and the other sports teams of the school as well).

But it is striking how "all transgender people want is [harmless thing]" has now become "no room for dissent on this, toe the line or else!"

I brought up the analogy to highlight the specific difference between what the league is forcing them to do vs. what the league is allowing other schools to do. So to go back to your example about forcing a Jewish school to play on Saturday, I agree that that may be grounds for a valid religious freedom claim. But that isn't what's going on here; the present case is more analogous to if the Jewish school in question not only refused to play on Saturday, but refused to play another school because that school had played on Saturday. I have no doubt that Mid Vermont Christian is sincere in its religious beliefs, but the league, to my knowledge, isn't asking the school to admit transgendered students, but to simply play its schedule as it agreed to. Religious freedom doesn't mean unlimited accommodation.

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