Don't Say Jesus in Alabama

I have been compelled to write this piece in response to the recent complaints by atheist in Alabama that prayers are being said in the name of Jesus. My Bible tells me that if I deny Jesus he will deny me. The early Christians thought nothing of dying for Jesus and were willingly martyred for their faith. How sad we must be for our beloved Jesus to see. Not only are we not willing to die for the one who died for us, but we really don't want to be made uncomfortable or embarrassed or to be thought of as Jesus freaks. We are a strange people. We would willingly die for our country, for our family, or maybe for our honor. But we have to ask ourselves who we are as a "Christian" people if we are not willing to stand up to those who oppose Christianity and in particular, the name of Jesus.

Our founding fathers surely would not believe the state of the union today. Indeed, they intended for no religion to be endorsed by the government. I can imagine how surprised they would be to learn of how we have let the government intrude into all parts of our lives. In a democratic system, if you are not involved you are a non-entity. So as a religious organization or as a church, if you are not operating in the public sphere then you're not operating very much. This removal of God, religion, and spirituality clothed in the structure of religious beliefs from the public forum has been a gradual process. The worst part of this creation of an atheistic society that has been created over the last 50 years here in America, is that it has been created with the tax dollars from a predominately Christian society. My Christianity, or my chosen expression of spirituality, is a very important part of who I am, and it is not possible for me to participate in the public school system that asked me to compartmentalize my life. Of course, the real crime here is not that the government runs an atheistic school system, but that I am forced to participate in it. Our greatest need in education is competition. We need school vouchers. We need choices. My fellow citizens need choices. Countless people want better for their children than what the public school system lays at their feet but cannot afford to make choices in their education. If people were allowed choices about where their kids went to school in regards to a voucher system that included private school, we would have a stronger public school system. Yes, it would be a shrunken public school system. But it would be more efficient and have expectations of Excellency that comes with competition. Quite frankly, if people had choices about where their kids went to school, we wouldn't need such a huge and expensive public school system. I do believe the people who argue against voucher systems on average care a great deal about children's education. But I also believe that their greatest energy is expended upon protecting the institution of public education and therefore find any ideas about competition and dispersion of funds to be a threat. I hope that our next governor of this great state of Mississippi is a governor who understands that a voucher system will make us stronger.

Jesus has been a source of division in the world for 2000 years, so it should be no surprise to us that there are so many people hostile to his great name. It wasn't that long ago, here in our very Christian and very conservative Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that an elementary school teacher gave a school assignment for children to write about what Christmas meant to them. One child wrote about Jesus, and his assignment was returned to him with the instructions that he was not to write about Jesus in his assignments at the public school system. There was public outcry, the teacher was given proper instructions about the right of students to speak of their religious beliefs at school as the story goes. But do not miss the systematic dismantling of Christianity in America that has occurred in the past 50 years and continues today. If you can't write about Jesus in Mississippi or speak his name in Alabama, then the dismantling is complete. We have allowed it by accepting government intrusion, and its hostility to Christianity, into every aspect of our lives. We will only have Christian communities to the degree that we are willing to protect our rights to be open and active in our spiritual beliefs. Our ability to pray, speak, and worship in the public forum is what separates us from Christians in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other such countries.

My hope is that America grows not into an atheistic society but into the multicultural and diverse society that it has the potential to be. Only a voucher system that allows people choices and thereby doesn't force participation in a public school system that discriminates against Christianity will carry us into that multicultural future.