America isn't the only country that has a problem with Christian Dominionists. In Australia, thousands of kids have to sing a Christianized version of the national anthem. The entire second verse is replaced and instead of "Beneath our radiant Southern Cross; We'll toil with hearts and hands" it starts "With Christ our head and cornerstone, we'll build our nation's might."
So apparently kids are being taught that Christ is the true head of state and under him Australians will make the nation powerful. Whatever happened to the meek? Do Dominionists in Australia really want to pick a fight with Dominionists in America over whose land is really God's "special" nation? Also troubling is that many Christians believe that this Christian verse was in the original and was just left out, but that's a falsehood that some Christians are spreading.
The contentious version was penned 23 years ago by Sri Lankan immigrant Ruth Ponniah, 75, who now lives in Sydney, as part of her local church's bicentennial celebrations and is now sung in schools including the Penrith Christian School, St George Christian School, Westmead Christian Grammar School and Bethel Christian School in Mt Druitt.
Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett has admonished the unauthorised words, saying that under national protocols the anthem should not be modified and that the alternative verse had no place in the state's educational institutions - regardless of their religious affiliations.
"Alternative words should not be used and schools should be teaching students to sing the two authorised verses," he said.
But the Australian Parents Council, representing the parents of independent school students, wants Mr Garrett to go further and ban Ms Ponniah's lyrics.
"If you're singing the national anthem, it should be the national anthem you are singing," said executive director Ian Dalton. "There are many opportunities to express pride in your faith, but the national anthem is not one of them. It shouldn't be tampered with."
Source: News.com
Technically students at private Christiaan schools can sing anything they want, but they can't be taught that something is the national anthem when it's not. That's just lying to them. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has said that Christians don't have the right to change the anthem then pass it off as genuine.
If they are going to sing the Australian anthem then they have to sing the real anthem. If they want to sing their own Christian creation, they can do that but they have to inform kids that it's not the national anthem. Hmmm... insisting that religious institutions teach facts, not wishful thinking and fantasy... what are the chances of that really happening?
Stephen O'Doherty, chief executive officer of Christian Schools Australia, doesn't seem to care very much about such things. He's quoted as saying that "Our schools sing it with gusto and I...find it inspiring to hear young voices singing those words. We encourage schools to sing this Christian response and to sing it loudly." It sounds like all that matters is that it's "inspiring," not that it's a fake.
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