From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!eagle!mhuxt!mhuxj!mhuxa!mhb5b!smb
Newsgroups: net.religion
Title: Re: Religion in Public School, etc.
Article-I.D.: mhb5b.337
Posted: Thu May 12 22:00:20 1983
Received: Thu May 19 03:45:28 1983
References: <1617@hplabsb.UUCP>

Regardless of the merit of school prayer, or of making school facilities
available to religious groups, the one thing the government absolutely
should not do is make such decisions based on whether or not some group
is a "cult".  Who's to judge?  To the rabbis of 2000 years ago, the followers
of Jesus were practicing a heretical brand of Judaism.  After all, they
were ignoring explictly prescribed rituals (such as the ban on eating pork,
or the holidays ordained in the Bible itself).  And they were claiming to
have had mystical spiritual experiences.  Maybe they should have been
banned....

Who was right, the early Christians or the rabbis of the time?  Outside
of any personal conviction that you are party to revealed truth (Christian
or Jewish), is there any way to tell?  I think not -- and that's why such
decisions have to be made on a basis other than alleged brainwashing -- which
to a believer is nothing more than a sudden deep-seated religious faith,
akin to being "born again".