Christian school headmaster warned 'Satan' would win if he mandated masks -- then fired a teacher who complained

A music teacher at a Christian private school in Michigan claims that he was fired after he raised concerns about its decision to reopen while defying some of the state's COVID-19 safety mandates.

In an interview with Michigan Radio, part-time teacher Nathan Smith claims that he was dismissed from his job at Oakdale Academy after he brought up problems with its reopening strategy to headmaster David Stanton.

In particular, he said that he was disturbed by the school's decision to make face masks optional for students, while also asking parents to sign liability waivers and a "facial coverings exemption" that claims wearing masks in school "may impede the educational process and/or be uncomfortable for adults and children."

In a video published by the school, Stanton informed parents that he did not want there to be disputes about wearing masks -- and he linked the "divisiveness" about the face mask debate to "Satan."

"I don’t want divisiveness here," he said. "I do not want to allow our enemy Satan to gain a foothold, not even a toehold, in this school... We cannot allow a debate about science to reign."

Smith says that after he brought up his concerns about the mask rules to Stanton, the headmaster said he'd rather not open the school at all than mandate masks.

"He made it very clear that he would rather close the school’s doors than open with too many restrictions," he said.