A Johnston County teacher in North Carolina is under flak for his response to a Bible verse posted by a group of students in the West Johnston High School hallway.
The verse posted by Fellowship of Christian Athletes on Tuesday said, “Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything.”
Senior Madison Moreth said, “They put posters up all the time, and like, mornings before school, as we’re walking in, they do prayer at the poles and they pray every morning and stuff.”
The response to the prayer by Mr. VanDerlaske read, “If you are sick you should go to the doctor. This is terrible medical advice. Some people have died/ gone to jail because of it.”
He posted an article next to the student’s prayer titled, “Parents given jail terms for relying on prayers to save dying daughter.”
VanDerlaske has been employed with the district since 2013 and was also named the Teacher of the Year in 2018.
The district in a statement, wrote “My staff and I are aware of this situation. We have copies of the social media posts. Our Human Resources Department along with the Area Assistant Superintendent are working with the school principal to fully investigate the facts and decide on an appropriate response.”
