What people are saying:

• Secular Education Association: 🔎 SOURCES & RECEIPTS:

  📍 Lighthouse Baptist Church — Official Website
  The church explicitly promotes LifeWise Academy for students at Tecumseh Elementary School in Xenia and directs families to LifeWise for enrollment and support.
  https://lbcxenia.com/children

  📍 SEA LifeWise Program Map
  Confirms the active LifeWise program at Tecumseh Elementary, serving grades 1–5, and identifies Lighthouse Baptist Church and New Community Church as affiliated churches.
  https://map.seculareducationassociation.org

• Facebook User: So you’re fine with your kids seeing horror, death, and gore on Halloween. That scare is fine…chainsaws and death are fine…just not being taught to honor their parents? Lol. If they scared the kids maybe they did Halloween right? It’s all about fear right?
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User Halloween horror is make-believe. Children know the monsters aren’t real. You’re teaching children that eternal torture IS real, and that they and their families may deserve it.

    We consider deliberately terrifying children with threats of hell and damnation a form of psychological abuse. But hey, you do you. With YOUR kids. Leave everyone else’s out of it. 💁‍♀️

  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association no if you’re out on Halloween you’re opening yourself and children up to that. Stay home if you have an issue. Or tell them it is made up 🤷‍♀️
  • Facebook User: Facebook User You must stay in with your curtains pulled shut. Most kids dress up as super heroes, video game characters and cartoons. Even when I was a kid it wasn’t about the horror so much as it was about the candy and the fun of being seen in a costume. You DO know what fun is, don’t you?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User my son and his stepsisters were plague drs this year. The plague is back so that is a bit scary to see coming up the driveway. 🤣
  • Facebook User: Facebook User it’s more the antisemitism and bigotry.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User my son was Dr Doom and went out with his best friend (Green Arrow). I was Sandy Claws(Jack Skellington dressed as Santa) and my husband was Magneto. So yes, comic and movie characters
• Facebook User: What’s wild to me is how this has turned into a “fear message” when the literal next line that conveniently wasn’t circled talks about how much God loves us! Haha anything can be a “fear” tactic when you pick and choose which parts you want.

  Either way, thanks for helping the gospel reach even more people! 🫶🏼

  • Facebook User: Facebook User tell me that last sentence again. in the big paragraph. “pick and choose which parts u want”. sounds familiar huh? 🤔🤔😒😒
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Imagine if someone said about their partner “my SO threatens me with eternal punishment and fear tactics but it’s okay because they love me so much.” Sounds like an abusive relationship to me. 😅
  • Facebook User: Facebook User it doesn’t matter which singular sentence you pick out the whole message is one of love and forgiveness

    “You will get hit and d1e” …. Sounds extremely threatening and like a fear message, however, “if you run into the street you will get hit and d1e so please stay on the sidewalk where it is safe” you see the message in its entirety is one of love and care. 

  • Facebook User: Facebook User 😂 i get what you’re trying to say… I think. But you are way off base with your correlation. God does not inflict eternal suffering, he gives us the free will to decide our own path. There is light or dark, there is no gray area so of course, if you choose to reject the light, you will be left in the dark. Again, it is our own choice … But I see what you tried to do there 
  • Facebook User: Facebook User think of it like this, we as parents tell our kids the difference between right and wrong, and we preach it to them the entire time they are growing up… But when they grow up, they choose on their own which path they are going to take… And we have to let them do that because they are their own person… It’s the same sort of idea
  • Facebook User: Facebook User God does not inflict eternal suffering but the direct quote from the tract is “if you have done these bad things, one day God, your Creator, will punish you in a terrible place called Hell.” Sounds to me like he does. Coercing kids to believe in something by scaring them into thinking they’re going to hell if they don’t is disturbing. If God’s love was so great on it’s own you wouldn’t need the threats to get people to believe.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Yes your parents teach you right and wrong but they don’t teach you that the consequence of “wrong” is eternal damnation. I understand the concepts I grew up baptist so none of this is brand new information to me lol.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I don’t disagree that the track itself could have been worded differently, if you look at the bottom of the track, it’s not even from Lighthouse Baptist Church… It is from a completely different organization.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User obey and love me, totally a choice or I’ll hurt you forever? Weird and abusive.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Your imaginary god has no place being taught to CHILDREN! Why do you people insist on targeting children? You target kids because they are easier to convince. Children do not have possess the mental acuity necessary to discern fact from fiction if told to them in a way that includes what the punishment is for not accepting your delusion as reality. Children do not possess nor understand free will until the reach the age of reason which, based on your dogged persistence to teach them about your dogma, lets most people know exactly how you people operate and cannot be trusted.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User and the second one clearly says let’s see if you are good enough to go to heaven and asks have you ever told a lie? The and to that for everyone old enough to have an actual conversation is Yes so no one is good enough for heaven by this second card. That one doesn’t even have any discussion about what to do if you say yes, I have lied. Too bad sinner burn in Hell. “Christians” like this are why the church is so distrusted by so many Americans. Why people choose to stop attending services and find their own way.
• Facebook User: To clarify, LifeWise does not ‘take’ nor ‘remove’ children. That language is misleading. We have the parents written permission to drive to a nearby church and give bible education. As Christians we are not hiding that we want to make Jesus known. There is no force, people have free will and can choose to participate or not. As far as coercion and prizes go, let’s be honest …external rewards are given across all areas in our culture…bonuses and pay increase for doing a job well done, treats to appreciate teachers, trophies to sports winners, incentives to choose one restaurant over another, military discounts for serving our nation, the list goes on. Yes, we encourage our students to invite friends because we desire for people to know the love of Jesus and God our creator. We believe that God is good and loving. The friends and parents have free will and can simply say no. And I agree with you, ” parents deserve to know exactly what the religious organizations seeking access to their children are promoting” We love to share what we are promoting in Lifewise. We are not trying to hide that we want people to know Jesus and decide for themselves if they want to believe in Him. They get to make that choice on their own. We are simply providing the bible education and parents and students choose their own beliefs. Your comment, “When adults encourage children to evangelize their peers, why is anyone surprised when those messages follow them straight back into public school classrooms?” Our children hear all kinds of messages from their peers throughout the school day based on the values of the family of origin. Some families say if someone bullies you, hit them back and defend yourself. Some families do not associate with people that have different skin color than them and influence their children to do the same. Some families have 2 married mothers and teach that love wins to their children. All of these family values are brought into the classroom every single day. This is all understood by parents who enroll their children into a public school system. Perhaps children might say to their classmates that they think their unsaved families will go to hell (since that may be what they believe)..just the same as another classmate will say to another It’s okay to change your gender (since that is what they believe) while another student says girls should only wear long skirts (since that is what they believe) Children will all talk based on their own value system. It is part of the public school culture. In closing, its clear that you do not agree with much of what we do at LifeWise and that is okay.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User more and more I’m seeing stories like this….
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Trying to justify kids going to class and telling their classmates they are going to hell is … certainly a choice. And it’s super telling that you included “some families have 2 married mothers and teach that love wins to their children” in the same place where you mention that some families teach their kids to hit back and that some families encourage racism. Are you intentionally putting the idea that parents teach “love wins” amid a list of things that can be viewed negatively? And are you familiar with the case in which a mother specifically did not want her children to attend Lifewise but the father falsely signed the permission slip saying both parents consented and Lifewise would not unenroll her children? That is certainly “taking.” I realize you’ve gotten a bunch of states to pass laws allowing children to leave during crucial class time to take Bible lessons that could be taught after school or on weekends, but not everything that is legal is good or right.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User what would your response be to a Muslim group doing exactly this or Jewish or even Satanist? If the answer is ANYTHING but you’re perfectly okay with it, you’re a hypocrite. Indoctrination of children by fear of an imaginary place is fucking insane work and being complacent about children telling other children they’re going to hell is wild. Separation of church and state exists for a reason.
• Facebook User: You’re an idiot
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User points for the right You’re! Thanks for driving the algorithm you little smartie.
• Facebook User: How about be kind, good, and helpful to others because it’s the right thing to do, not because if you don’t you’ll be damned to suffer for eternity 🤷🏼‍♀️. It’s always seemed like such flawed logic to me.
• Facebook User: 🔥I remember in the 80’s being told I was going to hell by my “best friend” because my church played instruments 🙄 my parents put a quick stop to that
• Facebook User: Praise God for those still willing to share the truth of God’s Word!
  • Facebook User: Facebook User y’all aren’t big on consent and boundaries.
• Facebook User: Sin is condemnation, Jesus is the solution. You’ve got it all backwards.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User would you be upset if your kids got candy, a tiny sage parcel, a candle and how to pray to the Goddess?

    It’s about boundaries and entitlement.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User Upset? No. Anti-biblical ideologies are in their faces everyday. It’s everywhere. I would use it as an opportunity to teach them and instruct them as to why it’s wrong and then I would move on with my life.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User as I have had to explain to my children about the bigotry and intolerance my kids regularly see from some “Christians” who don’t understand decency, boundaries and consent.
    Of course Pagans and Wiccans don’t actually recruit like Christians. We find it uncouth.
• Facebook User: What’s the issue here?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User abuse towards children being propagated by kids for rewards.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Telling people about the realities of hell isn’t abuse. In fact, not telling is the real abuse.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User if someone of another religion was telling your kids they were going to be tortured if they didn’t believe like they did, you’d probably not be happy.

    We don’t want your kids to preach at ours.
    That’s why we picked a PUBLIC EDUCATION.

• Facebook User: I am Christian, but that Lifewise academy seems like a magat inspired indoctrination, if I have ever seen one.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User whats a magat?
• Facebook User: So you are against our constitutional rights… got it.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Lifewise lawyers themselves said its not a constitutional right.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User States have passed laws, that doesn’t make it a “constitutional right.” All the constitution says is that there is no state-endorsed religion and that people are free to worship as you please. Which you can do by enrolling your child in a religious school or do on weekends.
• Facebook User: I refused to let my kid do lifewise this year bc of the allegations from the higher ups.
• Facebook User: Our local public schools just brought on this programming. I was pleasantly surprised to see the backlash on social media to their cult drivel.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User so just to be clear, you’re opposed to children being allowed to take a break away from school and practice their religious beliefs during recess?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Oh, I think they’re still coming in…but the community doesn’t seem to be completely happy with it.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I’m opposed to children being removed from school property to be taught how to indoctrinate their peers. I’m also against children being removed from school hours when they’re cracking down on absences. A kid can’t go to the doctor when they’re ill without being penalized, but they can go be brainwashed? Would you be ok with a pagan group coming in and taking kids for circle time at the park during the school day? And then those kids coming back and telling all the Christian kids they should join them next time?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I don’t know how to tell you this, but parental permission is required to go to Lifewise. They literally cannot “remove” children, they voluntarily attend during recess. Try doing research before saying stupid things ❤️
  • Facebook User: Facebook User yes, I am against a program of pedophiles taking our children off school property, washing their feet, grooming them, forgetting them off property, and then telling US we’re going to hell – instead of sending my child to recess. Yes. I have a major problem with that.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User oh wait…
  • Facebook User: Facebook User and this…
  • Facebook User: Facebook User oh and here’s a parent of a lost kid.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User They don’t attend during “recess.” Many attend during non-core classes like music, art, and gym. Some grades in some schools have so many children attending that the students who do stay behind — as they are entitled to do since we live in a free country — are missing out on educational opportunities and are stuck in study halls. Opportunities that their parents rightfully expect them to have and that our tax dollars fund.
• Facebook User:
• Facebook User:
• Facebook User: there is no freedom from religion. suck it
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User Ah yes, as Jesus famously said unto the little children of other faiths, “Suck it.” 🙏

    Pretty sure that was right after “Love thy neighbor.” 😘

  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association which does nothing to change my statement
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association there is no freedom from religion in america
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association and what of that word, “repent”?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User – the hell there isn’t!
  • Facebook User: Facebook User show me the laws, etc
  • Facebook User: Facebook User in the constitution, right? bahahahahahahaha
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User keep commenting genius.
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association that a threat?
• Facebook User: Who cares you guys are pathetic? You guys are mad because someone is handing out spiritual pamphlets. Most y’all probably need to read em and learn from em. How dare someone put something in your kids halloween basket on helping them be a decent child…
  • Facebook User: Facebook User may the Goddess bless your family.
• Facebook User: Anyone who does this deserves to be taken out and pistol whipped. In front of an audience.
• Facebook User: Thank you for misinterpreting and twisting the words of the Lord and allowing the gospel to even reach more people❤️.

  We count on people like you that are as many would say ‘whiskey bent and hellbound,’ to lead others astray.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User just like people like you keep proving to my kids on how not to be.

    They understand boundaries and consent.

• Facebook User: Y’all have no problem telling a kid there’s 100 genders but get mad when someone talks about Jesus. Make it make sense
• Facebook User: You just had to change G-od to g-od didn’t you.
• Facebook User: Oh no… kids are being taught THE truth and want to see their friends and family also know the same truth… what a terror
• Facebook User: Oh look, zero ethical or legal issues, just complaining. Because this post is a huge load of whiny crap about how you don’t get to control other people’s lives. Because you’re stupid.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User If someone did this with gay material or a different religion than you, you’d probably be upset too.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User bingo. It’s really that simple. Do unto others. 💁‍♀️
  • Facebook User: Facebook User oh look, an idiot who wants to groom kids
  • Facebook User: Facebook User How is this not an ethical issue? The adults can say it was the kids but whose idea was it? Who bought the candy? Who printed or provided the tracts? Yeah. Uncritical thinkers such as yourself may not see a problem but using children for semi-plausible deniability while they present their particular flavor of religion as something benevolent definitely IS one.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User and would you say I was justified or would you say people are allowed to distribute leaflets freely? Because you can’t be having those double standards bud
  • Facebook User: Facebook User your entire premise is flawed, genius. I ABSOLUTELY would distribute them myself and so would the people whose kids distributed them (I happen to know the fam). We have no shame in it and the kids were very excited to help, because we don’t do this with hate in our hearts (not sure you can comprehend that mindset but do try) and we take full accountability for it. Hope to see you trick or treating next year, I’ll be handing them out again 👍🏼
  • Facebook User: Facebook User either you’re completely opposed to the free distribution of literature (and subsequently the First Amendment) or you’re just projecting your own degeneracy onto other people. Either way, yikes bro 😬
  • Facebook User: Facebook User fucking ironic since y’all don’t respect others first amendment right to not believe
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I’m saying I’m guessing your standards are double. Are you okay with them passing their ideology to your kids? If so, then I have no problem with you sharing either, but it has to be both ways to be fair.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User then go ahead and pass out homosexual material to children next Halloween. Give 6 year olds leaflets asking if they feel attracted to men or women if that’s your prerogative. You are absolutely free to do so, then you may continue to accuse me of double standards 👍🏼
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Having lived amongst a similar type of religious folk it’s easy to assume that personal and ethical boundaries are a bit blurry. I’m glad you’re proud of it.