Bible-Thumping Boy, 10, Suspended by School Again

A Bible-toting, Scripture-quoting 10-year-old was suspended from school for the fourth time today after he warned the assistant principal that the fires of hell await her.

Duffey Strode’s third suspension for preaching in the schoolyard ended this morning when he showed up at Eastfield Elementary. He parked his bicycle in front of the school, pulled a Bible from his jacket and began preaching.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery!” shouted Duffey, to no one in particular. “You are guilty! Your eyes are full of adultery!”

At 8:45 a.m., 45 minutes after the boy should have been in school, Assistant Principal Shirley Ramsey came out and asked him to come inside. He ignored her.

“You are of the devil and the likes of your father!” Duffey shouted.

Ramsey repeated her request.

“Fools make a mock of sin,” Duffey replied. “I’d rather get gold and silver up in heaven than all my education on Earth.”

Duffey was handed a letter informing him that he had been suspended for “insubordination, disrespect to a school official, creating a loud and disruptive noise and failure to acknowledge a staff member.”

The boy took the letter to his mother, Robin Strode, who waited in a car outside the school.

“They’ll regret the day they ever did this to the Lord’s children,” she said.

Duffey’s brother, Matthew, 5, and his sister, Pepper, 6, were also suspended from school last week for the third time for the same offense. Their suspensions end next week.

Principal Jim Gorst contends that he is not violating the youngsters’ freedom of speech and freedom of religion rights when he suspends them. He said they are breaking school rules because they stand outside preaching when they should be inside the building by 7:30 a.m.

Gorst also said he is concerned about the names the children are calling their classmates and teachers--things like “whoremongers” and “fornicators.”

“The words bother me when the other children come and say, ‘What does it mean? Is it an OK word to use?’ ” the principal said.