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Title: High School tennis stars score religious liberty victory in Washington state
Source:
The Daily Sheeple
URL Source: https://www.thedailysheeple.com/hig ... y-victory-in-washington-state/
Published: Aug 31, 2019
Author: Sean Walton
Post Date: 2019-09-01 12:24:22 by Deckard
Keywords: None
Views: 15580
Comments: 185
Siblings Joseph & Joelle Chung Two high school tennis stars scored a religious liberty victory in Washington state after being kicked off the court for their faith. The Chung siblings, Joseph, 15, and Joelle, 17, both Seventh-day Adventists, a Protestant denomination that observes Sabbath on Saturday as recorded in the Bible, sued the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) earlier this month after Joelle was disqualified from her final state tennis postseason competition because she doesn’t play on Saturdays. The Chung family, represented by Becket, a religious liberty law firm, filed a motion to withdraw their federal suit on Tuesday after WIAA agreed to add religious observance to its reasons for missing games without being penalized. Paul Chung, Joelle’s father, told “The Ingraham Angle” earlier this month that his daughter, who was undefeated on the court, valued her commitment to God more than tennis. “She was disappointed that she couldn’t help the team but she shouldn’t have to choose between religion and playing tennis,” Chung said. Joe Davis, Becket counsel and attorney for the Chungs, told Fox News Friday “it’s an important win for religious student-athletes in Washington and sets a favorable precedent nationwide.” “It’s common sense that Sabbath observers shouldn’t be excluded from any postseason sports competition at all just because of the hypothetical possibility of a schedule conflict somewhere down the line—and after the rule change, they won’t be.” WIAA denied her family’s request for a religious accommodation last season because WIAA’s previous rules stated that if an athlete could not commit to playing in every level of the tournament, barring injury or illness, they were not allowed to participate at all and would be subject to penalty. WIAA had no exception for sincerely-held religious beliefs. “For the Chung family, keeping the Sabbath holy is a serious commitment,” Becket, a religious liberty law firm, wrote in a complaint filed Aug. 6. The Chungs, both playing for William F. West High School, had conflicts with the WIAA’s state championship schedule, which included a Saturday. While Joelle had to sit out her final postseason play, Joseph, a rising sophomore, was set to have the same fate this year before the rule change. “We’re hopeful that the WIAA will take the next step and eliminate the schedule conflicts altogether, as the law requires,” Davis added. Delivered by The Daily Sheeple
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 11.
#1. To: Deckard (#0)
She was disappointed that she couldn’t help the team I can't get behind this. If she is part of a team that is counting on her, she should fulfill her obligations. Other athletes are counting on her participation. It is not fair to them. I realize she is Seven Day Adventist, but if Sabbath worship is that important she should withdraw from the team. And...she sued the WIAA costing them money to defend themselves! I worship on Sunday. If my church has athletes that need to play on Sunday then they need to go and play. Church will still be there when they finish the season. Not to mention, I work seven days a week...and God blesses me mightily.
Big deal. Everyone engaged in animal husbandry works seven days a week. Even sabbath-keeping Jews will hire Christians to work on their sabbath. Even the heathen do the same. But what you are really saying is that sabbath-keeping is completely unimportant and completely inconsequential to you when compared to important events like voluntary sports participation related to schools (or church leagues). But the Apostle Paul certainly gave strong warning against pursuing athletics as a worthy Christian pursuit. And that is scripture. And then you need to contend with the Ten Commandments. 2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13Thou shalt not kill. 14Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15Thou shalt not steal. 16Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 17Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. The first commandment forbids worshiping false gods (other gods, monotheism and Jehovian supremacy). The second commandment forbids the worship of idols or depiction of religious events or ideas as any sort of art. And it goes on about it for three verses, to drive its point home and leave no wiggle room. The third commandment crisply forbids cursing in the name of God or by the name(s) of God. The fourth commandment is about keeping the sabbath. It also goes on at some length - through four verses total - to eliminate all the loopholes and clever dodges of this prohibition. And commandments 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 (parents, killing, adultery (but not fornication!) stealing, false witness, covetousness) are all completely unimportant if you don't bother to observe the key commandments on monotheism, idols, cursing and keeping the sabbath holy. Maybe we should just toss all these commandments, once and for all. It seems very few Christians have any interest in being inconvenienced by any of them. They are more honored in the observance than in the breach, to use a classic phrase. But didn't Jesus quote nine of the 10 commandments Himself? Including the one on keeping the sabbath? But we can't allow Jesus quoting some musty old scripture ruin the fun of some young people who want to play sporting events in some amateur league. Why, that would be more horrible than crucifying them in public for their faith! So, what we need to do is just accept that keeping any sabbath is just plain stupid and only for the gullible or for cult members or just some dusty old idea that's been hanging around since ancient times and which only serves the interest of the priests (Jewish or Catholic) who find it lucrative and a source of personal power to condition their flocks to accept the necessity of keeping the sabbath (and also to staking a claim to their followers schedule on a sabbath so they can schedule other lucrative or power-seeking over their flocks). Well, unless any of that conflicts with the scheduling of some puny local sports league. Then, heaven be damned, we can just toss out all those commandments and all that scripture as unimportant, no longer relevant, not applicable to Christians, etc. if it happens to be inconvenient to the scheduling of a T-ball game for toddlers. The sabbath isn't important really. It's downright inconvenient when you think about it. Or maybe it's just: my sabbath good, your sabbath bad or inconsequential.
#27. To: Tooconservative (#11)
My point is: at the present time I do not observe Saturday or Sunday. God seems like He's okay with it. He understands that I farm. He understands that Christians play sports on Saturday or Sunday. We are not under the Law! Nobody can keep the Law anyway. Except Christ keeps it for us! There is no Law that says: if you don't go to Church you'll be stoned to death.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latesta Protestant denomination that observes Sabbath on Saturday as recorded in the Bible, sued the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA)
#11. To: watchman, Vicomte13 (#1)
I worship on Sunday. If my church has athletes that need to play on Sunday then they need to go and play. Church will still be there when they finish the season.
Not to mention, I work seven days a week...and God blesses me mightily.
In the Bible, as here in the Ten Commandments, when you enumerate a list of rights or duties, the most important ones and the ones upon which the authorities all agree upon are listed first. Those which are more controversial or which are added centuries later, appear later in the list. BibleHub: Exodus 20 KJV 1And God spake all these words, saying, BibleGateway: Mark 2 KJV 27And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
Replies to Comment # 11. Big deal. Everyone engaged in animal husbandry works seven days a week.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 11.
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