The Good News Club, which distributed fliers last month to elementary school students in Skowhegan, promises Bible-centered character and moral education, but what it teaches children about morals is to tell them they are sinful, will go to hell and the only way out is to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.

This version of morality is not something most Christians believe in today. Teaching young children to be preoccupied with fear, sin, retribution and salvation will destroy their innocent childhood and turn them into adults who lack critical thinking skills.

The club’s goal is not to simply teach morality from its point of view, but, according to its website (www.cefonline.com), “As with all CEF (Child Evangelical Fellowship) ministries, the purpose of Good News Club is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living.”

The CEF also will help a community establish an evangelical, fundamentalist Christian church.

If this is not what people want for their children and for their community, there are steps they can take.

A group of concerned parents can make an appointment to talk with the school district superintendent. They can ask the superintendent to set a facility use policy, applicable to all groups, that only lets school-sponsored groups use the school. They also can ask for a flier distribution policy that only allows school fliers to be distributed.

For more information, log in to Freedom From Religion Foundation Maine forum, ffrfmaine.org, or visit ffrf.org website of the FFRF, a national separation of church and state violation watchdog organization.

Tom Waddell, Maine chairman

Freedom From Religion Foundation

Litchfield