“Modern society is in the middle of formulating an anti-Christian creed, and if one opposes it, one is being punished by society with excommunication.”
Pope Emeritus Benedict
A creed is a brief summary of the religious beliefs of a certain group. The term comes from the Latin word credo, which literally means “I believe.” As far as I can tell, it probably originated in the Catholic church, which has been saying the Nicene Creed and Apostle’s Creed, “I believe in God the father…”, every day since at least the year 325 AD.
In my middle school, a new creed is now hanging above the doors of our gymnasium. But this time, instead of using the first-person singular I the creed takes on a more totalitarian tone with the plural “we believe,” as if everyone who enters into the gym must believe the same thing. Here’s what the creed says:
“In this classroom, we believe Black Lives Matter, women’s rights are human rights, no human is illegal, science is real, water is life, in religious freedom, love is love, kindness is everything.”
While I’m sure the intention is good, the fact remains that the poster constitutes a creed, “a formal statement of religious belief; a confession of faith.” Perhaps this is the new creed and new religion that Pope Benedict was talking about in the quote above. At the risk of being excommunicated (or cancelled in the new religion) by my fellow teachers and administrators, I am now opposing it.
Why am I opposed to this creed? It’s not what the creed says. It’s largely what it doesn’t say, the oversimplifications that make this creed so offensive. The creed says just enough to mislead people and to make it seem like anyone who opposes its banal platitudes is either racist, homophobic, unscientific, unkind, or all of these. In fact, it is possible to disagree with this creed and be NONE of these.
For example, by saying “science is real,” it is implied that there are people (namely Christians and conservatives) who do not believe in science? Catholic Christians invented the scientific method, founded the field of genetics and came up with the Big Bang Theory, to name a few.
By saying “No human is illegal,” it is implied that a nation should have open borders. Naturally, humans are not illegal, but humans do illegal things.
By saying “Black lives matter,” it is implied that the BLM organization, whose founders are trained Marxists and whose stated goal is to bring about the end of the nuclear family, is untouchable and sacred. One should be able to agree that black lives matter, without agreeing with Black Lives Matter.
By saying kindness is everything, it is implied that one must be kind under all circumstances and that in the event kindness is at odds with truth, one must default to kindness at the expense of truth. Truth hurts. Kindness is NOT everything. In fact, it is only one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit: charity (or love), joy, peace, patience, benignity (or kindness), goodness, longanimity (or long-suffering), mildness (or gentleness), faith, modesty, continency (or self-control), and chastity.
There seems to be very little acknowledgement that the signs are a subtle antagonism — a microagression, if you will, against today’s marginalized critical thinker.
Cheryl Cory https://cherylcory.medium.com/your-yard-sign-isnt-helping-350616615440
I do hope that the creed will come down, but if not, perhaps it’s time for me to hang up the Apostle’s creed outside my classroom. That may be the better compromise. If the acolytes of the new religion can be so vocal and open about their faith, why can’t the followers of Christ?
Sectarian Influence
Article IX of the Washington State constitution says that children are entitled to an education “free from sectarian control or influence.” If one does not buy the argument that this is a religious creed, there is a strong argument that there is a sect that is intent on pushing this philosophy.
According to New Advent, “In the classical Latin tongue secta signified the mode of thought, the manner of life and, in a more specific sense, designated the political party to which one had sworn allegiance, or the philosophical school whose tenets he had embraced.”
It is quite clear that the people who espouse the new creed have a certain mode of thought and manner of life. In addition, the creed is almost exclusively associated with members of the democrat party. It is highly unlikely that any Constitutionalist Republican would have this creed hanging on his or her wall.
Since the creed is clearly a summation of sectarian philosophy, it has not place hanging on the walls of our schools.
RL Martin 