If you’re the parent of a child between the ages of 4 and 18, you’re likely very familiar with KPop Demon Hunters, the smash hit Netflix juggernaut musical. Thanks to your child, you probably also know the words of “Golden” – the film’s breakout hit song – by heart… whether you like it or not.
But not everyone is thrilled about the KPop cultural movement. In fact, one school is making headlines for explicitly banning students from singing songs from the movie. The reason?
Some Christians may be “deeply uncomfortable” with lyrics referencing demons. And for this school, that discomfort is enough to keep the soundtrack off the playground.
Is KPop Demon Hunters Anti-Christian?
It all began earlier this year, when KPop Demon Hunters became Netflix’s most viewed film ever with 325 million views. The film focuses on a female K-pop band called Huntr/x who battle a rival group of singing demons called the Saja Boys.
The songs are immensely popular with kids and adults alike, and Kpop Demon Hunters became the first movie soundtrack to have four of its songs in the Billboard Hot 100.
The songs can be heard in playgrounds and classrooms across the country – just not at Lilliput Church of England Infant School. The school in Dorset, U.K., which instructs students aged 4-7, has banned them.
In a message sent out earlier this month to parents, head teacher Lloyd Allington asked parents to tell their children "not to sing these songs at school out of respect for those who find the themes at odds with their faith", and that the songs are not keeping within the school’s “Christian ethos.”
Christians may be “deeply uncomfortable” with the references to demons, he wrote, because they "associate them with spiritual forces opposed to God and goodness." To Allington, that tension is reason enough to hit pause.
Parents Vs. Teacher
“Ridiculous” is how one parent described the ban on Kpop Demon Hunters songs. My daughter is very into K-pop and her and all of her little friends love it," the parent explained, describing it as "a bit of an imposition and probably a bit unfair and silly."
Responding to parents who say that the songs – particularly number one hit “Golden” – teach kids values like kindness and collaboration, head teacher Allington doubled down:
"While we fully respect your right to make choices about the content your child engages with at home, we also want to be mindful of the diversity of beliefs within our school community. We are not asking parents to tell their children that there is anything wrong with enjoying the film or its songs if it aligns with your own views and beliefs. Our role will simply be to help children understand that some of their peers may hold different views and to explore how we can respect and support those peers in upholding their faith."
For now, the soundtrack stays silent at school, even if it’s blasting in the minivan ride home.
Let the Kids Sing?
The Demon Hunters dust-up at Lilliput Infant School raises a bigger question that reaches far beyond one viral movie soundtrack: How should schools handle pop culture that brushes up against religious beliefs?
Is this ban a reasonable effort to respect diverse faith traditions, or an overreaction to a fictional, musical depiction of singing cartoon demons?
What do you think? Should schools regulate religious grievances like this? Or should administrators trust families – and students – to navigate such cultural moments themselves?
51 comments
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Walter J. Holbrook
OH THIS IS NEW
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Rudolph Harrision Turley
That is the school right but the issue I have is did the school help enforce gay pride and trans while ignoring Christian parents? That is the question. You can't pick and choose. It's either equal all the way or not at all. You can't go with the norm. You either got standards or you don't. You can't go one week with Christian values then the next week Muslim values. Not saying kpop demon hunters has Muslim values. Just using it as an analogy. So decide what values you want to enforce and stick with it, no matter if it goes against a certain type of norm.
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Michael Burton
Oh Pop, or poop whichever suits.
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Ronaldo
Songs with lyrics that promote harm to a people or group, such as those promoting violence against women, police, a religion, or a race, should be banned from elementary schools. Songs with lyrics for or against mythological or religious entities, such as religious songs or "Puff, the Magic Dragon", should be permitted. If you are offended by a song that is for or against something in which you don't believe, that is on you, not the singer or the song. If the song attacks something in which you do believe, then that is on the singer or player, but they still have the right to free speech and expression.
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Religion as a Weapon is Wrong
I was a ghost, I was alone (hah) 어두워진 앞길 속에 (hah) Given the throne, I didn't know how to believe I was the queen that I'm meant to be I lived two lives, tried to play both sides But I couldn't find my own place Called a problem child 'cause I got too wild But now that's how I'm getting paid 끝없이 on stage I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin' like I'm born to be We dreamin' hard, we came so far, now I believe We're goin' up, up, up, it's our moment You know together we're glowin' Gonna be, gonna be golden Oh-oh-oh, up, up, up with our voices 영원히 깨질 수 없는 Gonna be, gonna be golden Oh-oh-oh, I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin' like I'm born to be Oh, our time, no fears, no lies That's who we're born to be Waited so long to break these walls down To wake up and feel like me Put these patterns all in the past now And finally live like the girl they all see No more hiding, I'll be shinin' like I'm born to be 'Cause we are hunters, voices strong, and I know I believe We're goin' up, up, up, it's our moment You know together we're glowin' Gonna be, gonna be golden Oh-oh-oh, up, up, up with our voices 영원히 깨질 수 없는 Gonna be, gonna be golden Oh-oh-oh, I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin' like I'm born to be Oh, our time, no fears, no lies That's who we're born to be You know we're gonna be, gonna be golden We're gonna be, gonna be Born to be, born to be glowin' 밝게 빛나는 우린 You know that it's our time, no fears, no lies That's who we're born to be
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Steven Ferrell
Since schools don’t or would not allow Christians to sing Christian songs, they should not allow satanic songs either.
If they are going to block Christian music, block all religious music including satan, muslin, etc.
it seems only Christians get blocked from everything, but all others are allowed.-
Travis A. Lee
There are no laws regarding kids singing religious songs in school. ONLY if they go Against the School By-Laws. THERE is a thing called Separation of Church and State in the U.S. I do NOT know the laws in the U.K. where this person and school is. So that person may be within their rights to Demand this. BUT here in the U.S. Your comment is mostly inane and has no bearing on the subject matter at all. And really? The songs in K-Pop Demon Hunters are NOT "Satanic" as you put it. The movie itself has a message as does the music in it. But Christian Self persecution has been going on for a long while.
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Pastor George Day
Travis A. Lee
In the United Kingdom, Protestant churches hold established status.
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Ahmed Abduljabar Al-Hujazi
Where are you seeing this? What type of school? In many private schools, Christian "ethos" is the only one tolerated. There are of course private schools for Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu students, where they don't sing Christian songs, which is understandable.
Now, if you're talking about public schools, the state does not discourage the kids from sings what they want in school. The state does discourage having the school sponsor such singing events, in order to avoid the look of favoritism or endorsement of such singing events; although, most schools I ever heard of put on some kind of Christmas show or pageant. This has been my experience at least.
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Roy S. Thorpe
Fear does drive religion! Fear of going to hell mostly! So fear of worldly things leading to SIN scare some weak in faith people! Good religious teaching at an early age( not fear but love) will help any child or parent enjoy fantasy for what it is! Fantasy!!!
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Tami Tabone
I don't see the song lyrics being a bad thing. And I have been watching scary movies since I was a toddler. Used to watch Scooby Doo and Monster Movie Matinee and the Munsters, etc. So I think banning things causes the opposite effect. I say let kids be kids. Let them sing and dance to what they love. Eventually they will move on to different things. But we have a responsibility as the grown ups to guide them and instill their moral compass. Teach them kindness and compassion. We are the ones who can be the examples. And by the way, I think Golden, is a fun song. I sing it with my grandsons and they get so into it. One of the ways we connect is through music expression. The more we adults have an open mind about art and music, the more we can connect with the younger folks.
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David Buck
Why is it that every religion EXCEPT Christianity must be respected? We are expected to behave in a manner which does not annoy or poke fun at Muslim, or Hindu, or indigenous beliefs, but suggest, no matter how mildly, that Christianity deserves to be respected and suddenly you are being too 'sensitive'. Either every religion deserves respect for their values and beliefs, or none do.
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Rev Elle
I've seen the movie. The music is catchy. And there can be MANY metaphors drawn from it. A demon is a metaphor for things we have to face from our past. A demon is a metaphor for things we're facing now. A demon is a metaphor for issues our friends are up against. It doesn't have to be a Satanic demon. And the movie never talks about religion or the afterlife.
It seems the demons that Christians are facing is that they have fear about something that really holds no power over them, except they have decided that it does. (eye roll)
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Patricia Ann Gross
Does the UK have a rating system for lyrics like the US does? Would this song (I'm not familiar with it) have a rating that is not age appropriate for this age group? If so, it is appropriate to keep it out of the school. SInce this is a parochial school, and the content does not appear to be consistent with the school's mission or policy, they should have the right to designate what is appropriate there and what is not. Parents are paying to have their kids go there, so if they don't like it they can pull them out and move them to a different school. The tuition money speaks louder than anything else at this point.
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Rev. Mike Eggleston
Although it's called a Church of England school, it's not actually a private school. Children of all faiths or none can be enrolled there. Parents also have the absolute right to remove theor children from any religious activities such as the compulsory "broadly christian" religious assembly and religious education lessons.
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Travis A. Lee
The songs by the HuntrX are mostly uplifting. As at least one song by the "Demon" boy band. The other songs, a bit on the naughty side. BUT the movie and songs give an very good message. Someone posted the words to "Golden" on here. The other song is "Your Idol". Which in a roundabout way speaks of possession. BUT countered by "What It Sounds Like". All the songs are as expected banging. lol K-Pop. :D Not sure WHAT song got that persons panties all riled up though.
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James Riggle-Johnson
OMG… I Googled this movie and actually watched the top five songs from it. That’s ten minutes of my life I won’t get back — though, I’ll admit, a couple of them are catchy. That being said, doesn’t Christianity teach that we’re supposed to fight evil? I didn’t even hear the word “demon” in the opening song "Golden" or the closing song "What It Sounds Like." So… what exactly are we protecting kids from here? Rhythm? Choreography? Fun?
Why would it offend Christian children to hear about fighting demons? Are they worried the kids might root for the wrong side? I can only imagine the outrage if students were ever assigned The Exorcist for a book report. And yet, some of these same folks are pushing to add the Bible to history class. Make it make sense.
At this rate, we’re one moral panic away from bringing back the 1950s—quick, somebody warn them about that dangerous new music called Rock and Roll.
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Travis A. Lee
You omitted "Soda Pop" the most catchy of the Saja Boys. And the song "Your Idol". lol. To me, they WARN against idols, but when alleged "Christians" will not open to their minds, then anything that is NOT "Christian" is evil and demonic. BUT, they themselves have NO idea what Evil or Demonic is. Most do not even Realize that they are oppressed and on the way to true Possession by the Demons of Religion.
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Rev. Mike Eggleston
Although it's called a Church odf England school, it's not a private school, so has pupils of all faiths or none. Parents of pupils there still have the right to remove their children from the "broadly christian" religious assembly and from RE lessons. The school's demand are another example of of christians trying to force their beliefs onto everyone. Perhaps other schools should ban hymns to avoid offending non-christians.
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Geoffrey C. Olive
Christianity is the bane of humanity!👎💩
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Cyndi McReynolds
My question is why are Christians receiving special treatment? Wiccans should have the same rights, shouldn't they? If Christians are so disturbed by the idea of Witchy Wednesday, why do so many of them send their kids out trick-or-treating and decorate their homes for Halloween?
I wonder what would happen if a Wiccan complained that Christmas music or decorations made them uncomfortable? Do you think the school would ban all things Christmas related?
What happened to the days when freedom of religion was a thing and freedom of expression was actually encouraged?
Perhaps the students can arrange tolerance training in place of whatever Christmas festivities the school has planned.
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obere mchugh
As a Witch, and a folkloric traditionalist witch, from the ozark region of the united states, personally and as was taught trained and practice and teach, while christmas and the like are not religious to me personally but a secular ideal. i enjoy the season. and do not hold any opinion to the religous nature to it as it's not something important to me and mine. while i can understand those whom do if people were less inclined to be offended and just let things be the world would be better.
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Christian
Remember ALL "secular" schools are a brutal hate crime against Children's Souls.
Why would anyone deny the Truth of more than 8,000 YEARS of human spiritual history to young souls newly arrived to planet Earth ? We SEE their lost souls committing suicide at ever increasing rates of hopelessness.
Secular schools are responsible for the death of hundreds of millions of children worldwide, countless wars, poverty, & crime.
All those living souls were otherwise invited to be brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ in Elohim's Holy Family, equals with Our Father in Heaven.
All "Fiction" is rooted in the LIE. Who is the author of all lies ? SATAN, who he himself was deceived by delusion & illusion. Secular nonsense is the poison that infests and infects our culture like a cancer of demonic insanity.
Remove all children from the godless hands of the thrice damned godless apostates and infidels.
Home School or Church School as you see the Almighty leading you...
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Rev. BH
8000 YEARS ? Wow. End of the Ice Age.
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Christian
Correct - moving forward in time from 11,600 B.C. after the end of the Younger Dryas cooling period. Many other ancient sources of human culture are even older, however when speaking of Biblical Times ( B.C. / A.D. ) the last 8,000 years are most significant. It is difficult to measure what human culture existed before the Hiawatha Impact in Northwestern Greenland, or how the Ice Ages RESET and erased the Earth & caused mass extinctions of Earth Life.
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Rev. BH
Christian, was that Tolkien, Heinlein, or Wells? I forget.
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Reverend Paula Copp
Wow! Your ideas are contrary to everything Jesus taught. Remember, the christian messiah was meant to bring a message of love and peace. Anyone who has read the CHRISTIAN bible (the New Testament) understands this…
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Christian
Incorrect. Christ Messiah Does the Will of of Our Father, YHVH. Yahshua returns to Slaughter all life on Earth, explode the Sun & destroy the planets. 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, 7 Bowls of YHVH's WRATH poured out over all the Earth. Keep in mind your Solar System already stands condemned by Almighty God.
Only The Chosen Ones are Saved. Their rightous names enscribed in The Book Of Life before the dawn of Time. ALL Others not written in the Book of Life are destroyed.-
obere mchugh
As somoe one who was never raised in a christian house hold, or community, our bond's of fellowship are/where rooted in family community the laws of hospitality deeply rooted and ingrained in family and community. shared and give freely. we lived and worked the land self suffient and shared with our neighbors and community at large. not because of some jewish prophet and church in rome. our's goes back to pre-christian europe and our ideals will always be how about people stop claiming that there jewish massiah is everyone's and let people be how they are yours is not the one and only maybe for your self but not the rest of the world. which is why im opposed to missionaries and proselitizing keep out of others community and stay in your own lane
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Religion as a Weapon is Wrong
When I see "&" I think "copy and paste."
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Douglas Robert Spindler
Christians have always been selling fear. Just look at all of the things God told Christians to fear. Gun, dancing, coffee, soft drinks with caffeine, comic books, rock and roll music, heavy metal music, divorce, contraceptives, pre-material sex getting tattooed, working on Sundays and now it's KPop Demon Hunters.
Christians are always trying to stirring up trouble and scare people. It's not working with the younger generation which is why so many have turned against religion. They think what the Christians do is just silly.
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ServantOfJudgement
Ok man, it's gotta be a typo.
Christians aren't supposed to fear Gun. I'll buy if that was an autocorrect that switched God to Gun. But if that's a legit capital g gun?, then no, we're not supposed to be afraid of those or that.
We are definitely supposed to fear the creator in obvious unanimity, save the fool.
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Najah P Tamargo
Najah Tamargo-USA
Sooooo....we're censoring the news, and late night hosts, and no music??? Isn't that covered under the 1st Amendment?? And I agree with Rev. BH. We have bigger issues to worry about! Including bills, where our next meal is coming from, will my great grandchildren be able to get proper vaccines? Why are"Christians" not worried about things like that?
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ServantOfJudgement
Najah,
Were told not to worry over things like that. Granted it is hard to do when the bank is appraising your house a month before they repossess it but were specifically told not worry. If you can pull it off, it makes for a peaceful life. I can testify to that.
I denied the vaccine schedule for my children and waited until they were much older before I had them fully vaccinated. Of course no COVID vaccinations for any of us, I'm waiting untill you all complete their mandatory ten year study on the heart attack friendly jab. It's odd that none of us ever got the engineered bug.
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Patricia Ann Gross
SOJ,
If you ever had COVID-19, measels, mumps, flu or rubella, you would have everyone in your family vaccinated for it according to the schedul suggested by the CDC. Why? I have had them all (MMR wasn't available yet when I was a kid), and some of them were the sickest I've ever been in my life. I was a kid during the polio outbreak, so my mother got us vaccinated as soon as it came out, along with small pox. I missed nearly six weeks of school in second grade with an ongoing surge of different varieties of measels (including rubella) and mumps. I raised a kid with severe asthma, who a flu shot every year kept him out of the hospital (he was hospitalized with pneumonia from severe attacks every year before we started that, so I KNOW they save lives. I got the COVID-19 vaccine when I was first eligible, and have gotten it religiously every year since, but unfortunately due to a health care worker who came to work sick, I caught it just last month before my shot had time to kick in, and it was the sickest I have been in 30 years.
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ServantOfJudgement
Patricia,
I've read your whole post and don't find any fault in anything you do with your body or your kids. I get it. I am not antivax. I'm a 'whoa boys, these are babies so slow down on the needles' guy. I got my kids vaccinated with all the big hitters. On my time table, not on the county or whatever. We won't get the mumps or measles. I know the reality of not vaccinating. We should be wise about it. Spend time not speed through. They're babies.
God gave us foods to boost our immune system, you could consider a dietary book for that sort of thing on top of vaccination. I coud testify that diet has a huge impact on our health, especially when we're under the weather.
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Patricia Ann Gross
What did you mean when you said "we won't get the mumps or measles?" Herd immunity hasn't kicked in for it as evidenced by outbreaks in Texas and New Mexico where there are large pockets of "anti-vaxers." Thank you for not being among them.
As for diet, I agree that eating well is the best way to boost your immune system, and as one with a compromised immune system due to leukopenia, I do my best, but in the words of my hemotologist, "you have enough to keep you from getting sick, but if something sneaks in and takes over, you need to tell your doctors/specialists that you have to treat it aggressively," meaning I have to take the most potent and powerful antibiotics, which isn't good either, as it also kills all the "good bacteria" in your body as well. Therefore, despite having to stop other meds I was taking and other warnings, I took Paxlovid when I tested positive for COVID-19. Not everything works the same way for everybody, so I also appreciate your supporting my own choices when it comes to taking care of my body.
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Rev. Miche'al Yosef Dixon
Okay I'm in America and this is in Lilliput Church of England Infant School a school in Dorset, U.K. and England doesn't have the same Constitutional protection we fight about a some of us Bleed and Died to protect. That said; going on what I just read If it is a "Christian" school it sounds like they are contradicting themselves banning songs promoting fighting demons which the Bible supports. I'm feeling a flashbacks to the 19890s Satanic Panic when I was a teenager and the adults gathering rock albums and burning them in piles. (I got many my albums {AC/DC, Ozzy, Cinderella,ect.} swiped off those piles) I wrote down the lyrics to "Bark At The Moon" and got my hard core Methodist Grandmother to read it, she thought it was an old Christian hymn. So, don't judge untill you find out what it is all about.
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Patricia Ann Gross
In America, there is also a rating system for lyrics with sexual, drug use, or violent content. For five-year-olds who probably mis-speak the lyrics but like a catchy tune, it's one thing. When my daughter was that age and in a cheerleader event for pee-wee football, there was an issue with some of the squads of five-year-olds dancing to the Barbie song, which included the lyrics, "you can brush my hair, undress me anywhere." I think the issue here is age-appropriateness, and whether or not the kids have the capacity to understand what they are singing and dancing to.
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Rev. BH
Why are "Christians" so fearful of everything? Toys, songs, fantasy worlds, dolls, video games, on and on.
I've got far more real life, day to day stuff to worry about. War, poverty, disease, disasters, thugs, oh yeah and bills.
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Rev Ned
God gave us 🌈 s and some “Christians” are scared 💩 less of em on stuff like beer cans etc.. 🎼Things that make you go hmmmmm!
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ServantOfJudgement
Naw, it's not fear of a rainbow ned it's disgust with how it's been corrupted to represent a form of sex that the bible tells Christians not to do.
The Budweiser dolts lost me when they were caught watering down an already flavorless beer. The dude in lipstick had no effect on me.
For a fun mental exercise, imagine all the people such as yourself, drinking a can of puke friendly bud light that had a picture of President Trump on every can. Make America Great Again plastered all over the case and cans.
We all know what would happen don't we? Their factory would burn and the ceo shot with applause and praise.
That definitely makes me go hmmmm.
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obere mchugh
do you enjoy having a negative opinion about every single post and every single topic that comes up really?you do realise that christianity and the conservative view points of america are not the only one's in the world. why not let people just be and be the way they are as is intended as such not everyone is the same. you just seem to be hateful and want to impose your world view on all others. im glad that i was brought up in a matriarchal family dynamic and not one of the patriarchal non since that seems to pervase all your commentary and bigoted male dominated fear based christian world view.
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ServantOfJudgement
Not all post I lay down are negative Obere. You could be looking for those and missing positive messages. Odds are, that's what's happening.
I get called hateful because I speak my mind or I may correct people about what the Bible literally says and people don't like that too awful much.
There's people on both sides of the aisle that call names and such here. I avoid calling people names or at least I think I do. Descriptions aren't names by the way. Some are super polite and some are politely rude, the rest I suppose are just rude.
If my posts seem offensive, they're only meant to be that way about half the time. The other half are just accidents. I could explain the accident angle but it's complicated.
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Rev. BH
Hey, SoJ. We finally agree on something! Bud sucks. And Bud Light is suckier.
But if they put Trump's face on 'em, they'd sell a ton! MAGA doomsday preppers would stock up in their bunkers.
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ServantOfJudgement
Lol, looking back I bet you're right. The maga kids would flip flop and swear by the stuff
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Bishop William Dusenberry, DD
If all public school students received an adequate understanding of science (and the scientific method) there’d be no need to prove that “demons don’t exist” — nor does anything else, that’s categorized as supernatural. Science is to demonology, what learning how to read, was (and, still is) to all claims of supernaturalism.
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Rev. Miche'al Yosef Dixon
"Supernatural" remember "Natural" is the root word. The "Super" is added because most scientists can't explain it (yet) and if they can't explain it it doesn't exist to them. "Science that can't be explained is magic to the ignorant." Other scientists will tell you. Even Charles Darwin acknowledged that God exists and gave Him created for creation yet allowed for us to evolve and adapt to our environment. People should actually read his words before criticism of him. It was Huxley not Darwin that said we evolved from ape creatures.
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ServantOfJudgement
Ahhh, hardly true William. The supernatural is all around us. Today is your lucky day, today is the day you're eyes are opened to the reality of the supernatural.
What tree did you pick your electronic device from? Surely if it's of nature and natural you must have hatched it from an egg or found it in a giant clam.
The device that can't be found anywhere in nature was brought into existence from a mind that exists beyond nature places that can't be found by science.
The human mind, your mind, is supernatural for we do things nature simple cant fathom.
Now don't you dare squeeze your eyes shut again.
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Ronaldo
If the students understand science and the scientific principles, then they would know that you cannot prove a negative. While we have no physical evidence that demons, angels, or gods exist, we also have no evidence that dark matter or dark energy exist, but many theoretical astronomers still believe in them. Without evidence, you cannot prove or disprove the existence of anything.
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Easy solution. The kids whose parents have an issue. Sit the song out. But 9/10 you'll see the kids singing along in the audience. As a Kpop mommy I checked too. It's for kids. I think the parent teacher meeting to listen to the song choices would have been better. That way they could have input that doesn't cause conflict in kid to kid relationships