Teacher Fired for Disagreeing With Literal Interpretation of Bible

He should have been more tactful. I am not a Biblical literalist, but if someone told me that..say...the Virgin Birth was a fairytale, I'd sue them too.Keyword: RESPECT Edited by Phat, : added

Why?

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

Well, you wouldn't get any R-E-S-P-E-C-T in court.To most people in the world, the virgin birth IS a fairy tale. You can't gain respect by attacking them when they say so.

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well, this is also only a community college. it's not as big an operation as a full university, and probably doesn't have the same sort of crack legal team. so i dunno.i guess we'll see.

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It's becoming less and less of a fairy tale nowadays. Read this article.

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Disclaimer:

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Occasionally, owing to the deficiency of the English language, I have used he/him/his meaning he or she/him or her/his or her in order to avoid awkwardness of style.

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He, him, and his are not intended as exclusively masculine pronouns. They may refer to either sex or to both sexes!

Oh, sure--the Virgin Mary was a hammerhead shark.That'll calm everybody down.

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quote:

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But students in the class, which was transmitted to a classroom in Osceola over the state fiber-optic network, say Bitterman also told them to question their religious beliefs and at one point in the heated debate told one of the Osceola students, Kristen Fry, to "pop a Prozac."

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Fry said she left class in tears.

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Bitterman said the Prozac comment was a joke meant to disarm a student who "was screeching at me."

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"Sometimes you say something outrageous just to see if you can provoke some discussion. ... I can be a little acerbic at times, I don't deny that," he said. "I certainly take students' viewpoints seriously in the sense that I encourage them to express it, and then I will challenge that viewpoint, regardless of what it is, to see how well they can back it up with reason and critical thought.

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"Often, these students are essentially right out of high school and they take things so personally," Bitterman said. "They really can't distinguish between a critical assessment of their argument and an attack upon them personally."

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Casey Overton, 19, who also was in the Osceola classroom, said Bitterman spoke "very crudely and made us feel like crap."

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Bitterman said that when he was fired over the phone, he was told it was for teaching religion instead of history, and no mention was made of how he treated students.

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She declined to comment on what procedures are in place for student complaints or for professors to explain themselves, but said that in this case, the employee is part-time.

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Some part-time community college professors in other parts of the state said the Southwestern situation does not surprise them. One referred to their lives as "adjunct hell."

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James Ralston, a math instructor at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, said he has been fired twice for political reasons or false accusations from students.

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"All adjunct teachers are under the same pressure that they cannot teach, because if they offend, no matter how crazy the students are, they are going to be fired," he said. "It's a huge problem."

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The Des Moines Register

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I hear ya man. When I was a little immature kid, I'd probably've sought legal action against anyone who tried to tell me Santa Clause wasn't real. Of course... I don't think of myself as much of a little kid anymore Jon

lol not the first nor the last virgin X
a komodo dragon reproduced asexually in england in 2006, and plenty of lizards can reproduce without the presance of sperm.the links are around here somewhere, but i dont think its a point large enough to be disputed....and i cant help but grimance in the general direction of Phat. You would sue someone because, what, they have opposing viewpoints to yours? Slightly naive and as low as it gets. Of course that you plan on fixing this by taking their money for your own makes it all better.Edit: Gah i dont mean to flame. But i dont think that respect includes other people keeping their mouthes shut so to not offend the delicate sensibilites of others.Edited by Damouse, : No reason given.

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This statement is false.

Isn't it premature to use past tense?

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Disclaimer:

​

Occasionally, owing to the deficiency of the English language, I have used he/him/his meaning he or she/him or her/his or her in order to avoid awkwardness of style.

​

He, him, and his are not intended as exclusively masculine pronouns. They may refer to either sex or to both sexes!

Virgin birth is a fairytaleso is:The tower of babel
Noah's flood
Adam & Evealsothe Illiad
the Quran
Rig Veda
Zend Avesta etc.But before you have a birdThese are my opinions not facts.Everyone has opinions and they should be respectedIf one's saying that the Adam & Eve story is a fairytale the so be it.If one has to go overboard to such a statement, to me, it would seem that the offended one's faith isn't very strong to begin with.

Well no, opinions shouldn't be respected! The right of an individual to have an opinion is what should be respected.

Er ... which Bitterman broke, surely?He should have used more neutral language, maybe something beginning with: "All the evidence available to historians ..."But if he just says "Genesis is a fairy tale", then isn't that the state treading on the toes of the churches?

Exactly. Somehow, having the right to have your own beliefs and opinions has transformed into some perceived right to never have those beliefs and opinions questioned or criticized by others. That right doesn't exist.What's further annoying is that some religions (ie, Christianity) are held as sacred cows where it is horrible and offensive to criticize their beliefs, and other religions (ie, Scientology) are commonly viewed as open to ridicule. No belief or opinion should ever, EVER be treated as immune to criticism.

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Every time a fundy breaks the laws of thermodynamics, Schroedinger probably kills his cat.

On a personal level, what's wrong with that? Pastors and reverends regularly tell their livestocks that those of us that have been and are in academia are dumbasses.On a professional level, what's the difference between saying genesis is a fairy tale and cinderella is a fairy tale? Remember that equal treatment stuff? I would hate to not be able to refer to the little red riding hood as a fairy tale.

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Disclaimer:

​

Occasionally, owing to the deficiency of the English language, I have used he/him/his meaning he or she/him or her/his or her in order to avoid awkwardness of style.

​

He, him, and his are not intended as exclusively masculine pronouns. They may refer to either sex or to both sexes!