“When the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, decided to hold its annual Paint the Plow event — an initiative in which community schools are invited to paint snow plows — officials likely had no idea that the art project would devolve into a battle over the separation of church and state.



But that’s exactly what happened after an atheist’s complaint led officials to ask students at Sioux Falls Lutheran Elementary School and Sioux Falls Lutheran High School to rework the faith-based messages they had painted on the plows.

The City of South Dakota gave the Lutheran school the choice of repainting the snow plow or withdrawing, and the students chose to withdraw their art, so their message was painted over.

The schools principal said they used the incident to talk to students about a "civics lesson" on groups that oppose religious freedom. "We always talk about persecution in the Middle East - Christians being persecuted in the Middle East - and I said, It happens even here, in the United States, where we are supposed to have the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech."

An atheist complained so…..Hmmmm, wonder what would have happened if an Islamic organization had painted a plow which read -- “Allah is greater.?..

Just thinking out loud.