Late last year, a public school
teacher in northern Idaho told students to write an essay titled, “I Believe …”
But there was one caveat – the students were
not allowed to write anything about God in their papers.
That act of religious censorship
prompted a group of Christian students to start asking questions – and those
questions led to the creation of a video that addresses Christian bullying in
public schools. “There is a lot of
bullying directed at Christian kids in public schools and the culture at
large,” said Gary Brown, founder of Reach
America. “So many teenagers are being
ostracized for being a Christian.”
Reach
America
is a national organized based in Coeur d’Alene, ID., that is dedicated to
raising up the next generation of Christian leaders. The group is comprised of young people from
various churches around the region. Brown
said they decided to produce a video based on the debate that came about after
the school teacher refused to allow students to mention God in their papers. “One of the girls asked why,” Brown told Fox News. “It turned into a video where Christianity is
being frozen out of the American culture. These teenagers say it’s time for a thaw.”
The video features teenagers asking
basic questions – “Why can’t I pray in school? Why do I have to check my religion in at the
door? Why am I called names because I
believe in marriage the way God designed it?” As one student remarked, “People who do not
love our God have stolen our country.” The
students proclaim they want to “make America one nation under God – again.”
Last April, a group of Christian teenagers
was heckled and reduced to tears after they were publicly berated by
“anti-bullying” expert Dan Savage. Savage
was delivering an address at a national student journalism conference when he
started attacking the Bible. As a group
of Christian teens got up to leave, he called them “pansy-assed.” “You can tell the Bible guys in the hall they
can come back now because I’m done beating up the Bible,” Savage said as other
students hollered and cheered. “It’s
funny as someone who is on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by
the Bible how pansy-assed people react when you push back.”
It’s that kind of bullying that Reach America is hoping to stop. Brown said they are genuinely shocked at how a
video produced by two dozen teenagers in Idaho has reached a national audience.
“Churches have shown it in worship
services and during youth group meetings,” he said. “It strikes a chord.”
Brown said they’ve heard reports from
across the country of Christian young people called “bigots” and “close-minded”
because of their faith in God. “If you
mention anything about Christ or if people know you are a Christian – you get
laughed at.”
Brown, a graduate of New Orleans
Baptist Theological Seminary, has a long history of working on culture issues. Reach
America started in 2006 while he was working on abstinence education on Capitol
Hill. His goal is to create what he
calls a “Christ-Centered Counter Culture” – or C4 – to impact their communities
and the nation. “They think they are in
a war for the heart and soul of the nation,” Brown said.
I commend these young people for taking
a stand on their religious convictions and boldly resisting the anti-Christian bullies
that are on the rise in American society.
There remains hope for America!
Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
No comments:
Post a Comment