Talk:Alma Heights Christian High School

Bishop Alma White's ideology and non-Catholic distinction

Two months ago I added a request for a citation for this assertion: “however the school's administration does not endorse Alma White's ideas or actions [citation needed].” No citation has been forthcoming and in fact I have begun to discover documented evidence that contradicts this assertion. In the 35 books and 10 journals that Alma White wrote or edited, no political theme rings louder than Bishop White’s fear and hatred of the Roman Catholic Church and Roman Catholic individuals. This is not my original research as it is the consensus as published by at least six academic scholars, most in peer reviewed journals (Blee, Stanley, Kandt, Neal, Green, Lindley, etc.). I have not found any scholar that has published a peer reviewed dispute to this consensus.

In 1943, Bishop Arthur Kent White, Alma’s son and the second leader of the Pillar of Fire Church, published forwards to two of Alma’s political books affirming his and the Church’s position that he and therefore the Pillar of Fire Church agreed with his mother’s position regarding Catholics and the Catholic Church.

Every truth-loving citizen should take the time and trouble to learn the facts and pledge himself to be an un-swerving, uncompromising, untiring, 100-per cent Protestant, and a faithful ‘Guardian of Liberty.’

Guardian of Liberty is a euphuism for Klansman and often substituted interchangeably in the Pillar of Fire literature which was supportive of the Klan and the Klan’s ideology. Bishop Arthur Kent White led the Pillar of Fire Church until 1981.

Why do I believe that the Pillar of Fire Church’s well-documented historical vehement and vicious promotion of anti-Catholic bigotry is relevant to Alma Heights Christian High School today and worthy of a watered-down half sentence in a wiki article? I see evidence of the tailings of this ideology today in three places in the school’s current web site.

1) The school added the word Christian to the name of the school to distinguish it from Catholic schools in the area. This declaration is currently on the schools website (Jan, 2010)

2) The school’s non-discrimination policy states they reserve the right to discriminate against, they use the word screen, applicants based on religious preference.

3) The school requires applicant students and their parents to sign a declaration that they agree with the school’s evangelical Protestant beliefs.

The half sentence I added in the historical section of the article is: “Consistent with the Pillar of Fire Church’s well-documented promotion of anti-Catholic rhetoric,” I’m open to discuss this as I understand those currently associated with the school may find my assertion quite challenging.

Buz lightning (talk) 20:34, 3 January 2010 (UTC)