I take your point boaz, about it being more of a mentoring service, but in response to that, I can't help but feel a social worker or something similar would be more suitable.

As a secular student, I would have had doubts about visiting a chaplain. It just isn't something I would do and I suspect most students, especially those already with a chip on their shoulder and a desire to avoid institutions such as the church, would be more comfortable visiting a social worker.

Would visiting a social worker instead of a chaplain be an unpleasant prospect for a christian? Surely this kind of mentoring can be accessed through the church any way?

BD inhabits a very small but steep-sided hill. Every way he looks there's a slippery slope.

It's a pale, distant hope, but maybe one day he will learn that the way to defend his hill is to get along with all the people around, rather than hurling down excrement upon them.

If parents want their children to be under the influence of the church at school, send them to a Christian school. Simple as that.

There is a lot bad behaviour by many Christian zealots. Something that should not be brought into the classroom. Read this; http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2436968,00.html

Spider was lucky the brothers hated him - some of those who taught me took to "loving" my class mates - I was lucky they just beat the crap out of me - but that is old news.

We would do just as well putting more teachers in the schools than "chaplain" - I have nothing against them or their roles in schools that are of a religious bent -

However as a disicpline they are surplus to requirments - they cant help - even with the best of intentions - to counsell or support kids outside of their religious framework; What if an essentially atheistic kid needed counselling when she fell (thump!) pregnant/ or wanted advice about when to have sex or any other moral laden activity - highly likely the counsellor would not be sought out or if they were who knows what value laden guilt they would lay on the kid -

Silly idea by silly politicians trying to counter the impact of their own socially divisive policies

Yabby,

"... nobody can prove a negative, just like you cannot prove that Santa or the tooth fairy don't exist..."

Such a statement is "common wisdom", I know. Always accepted as a statement of "truth" without further question being asked.

I do suspect this may be correct.

But still a doubt lingers in my mind... Is such a statement logically true?

What if I say it is possible to prove that tooth fairy does not exist in my lolly jar?

Does this not prove that the above statement is logically false? Have I erred in logic?

This is purely an academic exercise. I thought my mind needs some clarity on this.

GZ, its common wisdom, but less common knowledge then you think.

Plenty of religionists will put forward the argument that one
should prove that God isn't true.

Regarding the tooth fairy in your lolly jar, the one you
have there is actually invisible without the magic formula,
so no wonder you can't see her :)