Mexican religious cult bars teachers from walled community

Adherents of a religious sect in western Mexico are physically blocking school teachers from entering their walled community, setting up one of the most high-profile confrontations between religious and civil authorities in Mexico since the 1930s.

Local officials in the western state of Michoacan said Wednesday it may be time to call in a large-scale police operation to enforce the right to schooling in a community that has largely ruled itself according to what it considers biblical guidelines for almost 40 years. The New Jerusalem community prohibits formal schooling, television, radio, modern music, dress and fashion.

“I think the next step is to go in and enforce the rule of law,” said Efrain Barrera, spokesman for the township of Turicato, where the sect’s walled-off compound is.

Under Mexican law, grade school education is compulsory, and Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission and the Roman Catholic Church said Tuesday that the refusal to allow classes in New Jerusalem is a violation of children’s human rights.

They called on the government to break the town’s blockade, which has been limited to fistfights but could escalate. Members of the sect recently attacked and destroyed school buildings.

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answerforeverything

Forced education is not a 'human rights' issue. It is any peoples right to educate their children as they see fit without the forced education of the state.
- Wordman
  
  I'm with you on this. And we very well may not be getting the whole story. They might be educating thier children just fine, but don't want STATE education. Who can blame them.
relsie30

It is amazing the Mexican government can take on the cult but can't the drug cartel.
- onerightstand
  
  All depends on what they "WANT" to do!
- SeaDragon
  
  Not so amazing… I would bet a lot that the cult is not as big as a cartel, not as well armed and supplied as a cartel, nor as violently crazy as the cartel's enforcers. Pick your battles.
John Adams

Don't be surprised when this happens in the not too distant future in the US, especially when it comes to homeschooling.
- http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
  
  It will if Obama is re-elected. Better reconsider your decision to not vote for Mitt or you will be playing right into his hand.
  - John Adams
    
    No, I believe that we are playing into the Devil's hand if we don't vote for someone who honors God, His Holy Word and lives in obedience to His commands.
    - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
      
      You are playing into the Devil's hand if you waste your vote on someone who is not even on the ballot and allow Obama to win another 4 years.
      - John Adams
        
        I believe we are playing into the Devil's hand when we vote for someone who does not honor God, His Holy Word and lives in obedience to His commands.
      - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
        
        The cards have already been dealt. If God had wanted someone other than Romney or Obama on the ballot, you can take it to the bank that their name would be there. God has now laid out the choices before us, and placed those two men on the ballot, so now it's our responsibility to make the wisest decision among those choices, not waste our vote on someone who is not even on the ballot and will not win. Obama must be stopped, and God has given us a way to do just that–by voting for Romney.
      - John Adams
        
        You seem to have forgotten that Satan is active in the world today. I believe that both major party candidates are Satan's men. I also believe that God may have allowed them to be put there to see how many of those who say they are Christians will blindly follow Satan, and how many will not go down the broad road to destruction but trust God and obey His commands.
        I don't believe that a vote for a man who honors God, His Holy Word and lives a life in obedience to His commands is a "wasted" vote. I believe such a vote is an act of trust in the Lord.
        I also believe that if enough of those who call themselves Christians will obey God and vote for a man who honors God, His Holy Word and lives a life in obedience to His commands, God will honor and bless our nation in ways we cannot imagine.
        God is waiting to see how many will truly trust Him.
      - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
        
        Believe me, I am well aware that Satan is active in the world today. However, he does not have free reign to do whatsoever he pleases. He can only go as far as God allows him to go.
        
        The time to advocate for a Godly man to be placed on the ballot was many months ago during the nomination process. The train has already left the station, and the two names that God has sovereignly allowed to be placed on the ballot are there.
        
        I agree that neither man could be considered a Godly man, but I believe the choice that God has given us is clear–BHO must go because he has already shown the evil he intends for the nation. Certainly Romney has not shown such a propensity toward lying and evil as BHO has. To vote for another person who is not on the ballot and thereby waste your vote is irresponsible, and that is exactly what BHO and Satan are hoping you will do.
      - John Adams
        
        I do not believe that a vote for a man who honors God, His Holy Word and lives a life in obedience to His commands is a wasted vote. It is a step of faith and trust in our sovereign Lord and Christ.
      - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
        
        That would be true if such a man's name was on the ballot, but it is not. If God had wanted a person on the ballot who honors Him and His Holy Word you can rest assured that such a man's name would be there. Since it is not, we have to choose between the two choices God has sovereignly provided us with. Voting for someone whom God has not even allowed to be on the ballot is not a step of faith in my estimation.
      - John Adams
        
        IOW, if Hitler and Stalin were the two names on the ballot, you would vote for one of them???
      - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
        
        Ouch, you got me on that one. But I don't think the current choice of candidates quite fits that profile :)
      - John Adams
        
        It was an extreme example, and I respect you for not reacting wildly to it. However, I do believe we are not left with the only option of voting for those the ungodly have put before us.
      - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
        
        But who is it that allowed those two to be put before us? The answer is obvious.
      - John Adams
        
        Yes, the answer is obvious, but just because He allowed them to be on a ballot does not mean He would have Christians vote for them.
      - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
        
        God raises up rulers, and He puts down rulers. He allowed Barack Obama to be on the ballot, and then get elected in 2008, and you and I both know that BHO is about as far from a godly man as you can get.
        
        My point is, if God willed that a godly man be elected as President in either 2008 or 2012, his name would appear on the ballot. While you are correct that God does want Christians to vote for a godly candidate, such an individual's name would have to appear on the ballot.
        
        If you vote for your pastor, for example, you are presuming upon him that he actually is seeking the office of President. If he actually has no intention of seeking the office, then I believe you would be in dangerously close to committing a sin if you voted for him. If his intention all along was to seek the office of President, then he would have entered his own name in the nomination process and sought support. If he has not previously done so and indicated he was seeking the office, you have no business voting for him, because you would be attempting to exert your will over his.
      - John Adams
        
        It is true that God has not allowed a godly man to be on the Presidential ballot for 2012. However, that does NOT mean that God wants Christians to vote for an ungodly man. It is very likely God is using this election to bring us closer to the time of the Rapture and the start of the Great Tribulation. I do not want to be a Christian who has voted for the anti-christ or one of his minions.
        I have no intention of voting for my pastor. That was only a suggestion for those who didn't want to vote for either major party candidate but did not know whom to vote for. I have strongly encouraged people to look for another candidate who IS running and honors God, His Holy Word, and lives a life in obedience to His commands.
        As things stand now, I am planning to vote for Virgil Goode who is the candidate of the Constitution Party. From all appearances, he is a true believer. Here are some of the positions he holds:
        Seven Principles of the Constitution Party:
        
        Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
        Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;
        Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
        Property: Each individual's right to own and steward personal property without government burden;
        Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;
        States' Rights:
        Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the
        federal government, nor prohibited by the Constitution to the states, is
        reserved to the states or to the people;
        American Sovereignty:
        American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade,
        and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances.
        I think that these positions are compatible with the principles of God's Holy Word.
      - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
        
        Yes, I agree that his creds sound good, and i would vote for him in a heartbeat if he had a realistic chance of winning. But I believe the dangers of letting BHO gain a second term are far too great to ignore, so I believe that God's will is to vote for Romney, who is a far better choice, in order to put down the evil. The more people who follow your suggestion of voting for Virgil Goode, the more likely it is that BHO will be reelected, and we know for a fact that God strongly disapproves of all BHO stands for.
        
        I think where we disagree is not what kind of candidate we would like to see elected, but rather what means God gives us in order to make the best choices in any given election. You are apparently seeking near perfection or nothing in a candidate, whereas I am looking at the reality of the situation and making a choice between the only candidates who have a chance of winning. Obviously our first choice would be to get a godly candidate on the ballot who had a realistic chance of winning, but since that is not the case this election cycle, our primary goal now is to put down the evil BHO. I believe that God has given us minds to use when dealing with less than ideal situations, and I intend to use mine to make a practical choice.
        
        Your all-or-nothing approach, while sounding commendable on paper, will not get the job done in ridding this nation of the plague of BHO. I believe that by voting for someone who has no chance of winning, it plays right into BHO's hand, as he would like nothing better than to see the anti-Obama vote diluted among 3rd party candidates. I could not sleep at night if I knew I had done something that furthered BHO's chances for re-election, so I will be voting for Mitt and encouraging everyone else that I can to do likewise. You of course will have to live with your own personal decision as well.
      - John Adams
        
        I believe in a sovereign Lord who can do all things. I am willing to put my faith and trust in Him and see what He will do if we but obey Him.
      - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
        
        And I firmly believe that I am doing God's will by voting for a better man who has a realistic chance of defeating the evil BHO. God is His sovereignty has placed these two men on the ballot, and I intend to use the discernment that God has given me to do all I can to disallow BHO another 4 years.
  - Bighoss
    
    Is there no evil outcome, in any area of life, politics, religion or other sphere of human interest, that will not result upon the election and second term of office of President Obama? Will not all our guns be confiscated? all our churches closed? all our cities be placed under martial law? all our commerce be nationalized? Only in the paranoid and deranged thinking of those who can not find enough objectionable things in his first term and who then turn to their wild and disordered imaginations to project horrors of a second!
    
    You people need to get a life.
    - http://www.answersingenesis.org/ keyboardshark
      
      Funny you should should think those things are far-fetched. All those things are entirely possible should BHO (God forbid) gain a second term. Since he would no longer have to worry about the next election, he would feel free to unleash his most destructive freedom-destroying policies and actions without fear of a backlash at the voting booth.
      
      Better wake up, Bighoss, and do some independent research on Obama's second-term plans (based on the statist policies and actions he has already taken in his first term). A second Obama term would spell doom for our Republic, and I am not even kidding.