"or pseudo science groups that teach we evolved from apes."

Umm Runner, not pseudo science groups, but science groups.

Fact is, like it or not, you share around 99% of your dna
with chimps and bonobos. So you are more closely related
to them, then mice are to rats.

Name me a part of your brain that you have, which they don't have.

The haemoglobin in your veins, is virtually identical,
your bone structure is not far off.

Bonobos even have sex in the missionary position, so
thats perhaps where the missionaries learnt all about it :)

When you die, the worms will chew up your carcass, just like
theirs.

You are scientifically classed as a primate, just like them!

Do you want me to continue ? lol

Subedootwo,
Religion, especially Roman Catholicism and the fundamentalists are the major cause of suicide, by undermining young people's self confidence and telling them they are worthless if they do not follow dogma.
Spider: Choice, you say? In Queensland where chaplains have been pushing their fundamentalist barrows in state schools for some years now, every child is forced to attend in school time unless they can persuade their parents to either write a letter explaining why they don't want their child to attend, or come in and face an angry principal. Children who opt out are frequently targeted for abuse by teachers and pupils, and instead of being given useful school work to do are made to waste time doing nothing or chores.
There is no choice! This is religion, we're talking about here, not something nice and kind and caring!

Yabby

With the number of assunptions you make to believe in evolution you seem to have more faith than many do in Christ. You are right that when I die the worms will eat my flesh but my soul/spirit will go to my Maker.

Most negative posters here need to get a grip I think......

As far as I understand it, the presense of chaplains is not so they be inserted to insert Christian dogma into Students heads in a formal educational manner.

I believe they are their to OFFER spiritual guidance should it be DESIRED.....

The issues of demoninational affiliation are really quite simple, as most kids have either a Catholic or Protestant background of some kind.

There are maybe small numbers who come from the 'wild and wonderful' pagan religions, and they are WELCOME to tell their children "Don't go near the mean and nasty chaplain who will fill your head with all manner of detestable stuff and most likely MOLEST you as well"... if they want to.

But the fact remains.. many children DO repeat DO wish to avail themselves of help to sort out the abysmal mental, social, and spiritual confusion heaped on them by an atheistic education system... which reminds me.... its WE fundy Bible bashers who are usually claiming the Ed system has been infiltrated with marxists and socialists.. my my..what a turn around.. 'fundies' in Education ...shock horror...

Gee they might even say vile things like:

"Jesus taught that the most important thing in life is to Love God with all our hearts, and to love our neighbours as ourselves".

I mean..can you actually fathom the depths of depravity we would sink to if we started loving our neighbours ? I don't think we would last 5 minutes if our anti Chaplain mob here represented the real picture.

People of all faiths are "neigbours" yet politicans of christian persuasion consistently do not demonstrate love for their fellow man! particularly when is they are of the Islamic faith. Even though he may live next door to you and be of good character and a model example to society.
We do not need religious people "persuading" our children to a christian way of thinking at the expense of any other faith. Nor do we need the additional expense of religious education, in terms of limited time periods in an already crowded curriculum.

Mary Walsh
www.yourchoiceindying.co

As I said in another thread on the same topic, this just nonsense. Sure, stick some money into proper professional counselling, but why on earth would a government want to instigate a religiously oriented alternative to professional counselling? Except of course if such a government were engaged in an ideological campaign to reassert the primacy of Christianity in Australian moral culture.

Further - as we're often painfully aware in this forum - a VOCAL minority thinks this is a VERY GOOD THING.

Fortunately, there has been more good sense than nonsense posted in this thread thus far. I hope that everybody remembers this ill-considered (and hopefully ill-fated) initiative next year, and add it to the burgeoning list of reasons why the Howard government should be be voted out.