Public Prayer

No matter who you are, what you think or believe, if the majority around you agree with you, it usually makes you feel good; you feel pride, strength, power. If you know that you can stand up publicly and say (_____) and you will hear cheers in response, you feel these things and confidence, and you do not doubt or question at all whether what you have said, or what you think, is true or untrue, it hardly matters. You know you are on the right side; all those people could not be wrong, and YOU certainly could not be wrong. This takes no courage, no self reflection, no concern with whether truth is prevailing or not.

If you know that if you stood up publicly and said (_____) you would be, at best, ignored, or more likely ridiculed, shouted down, threatened, maybe even physically attacked, would you still stand and say it? If you know this is the likely result of your comments, would you not "think twice"; would you not consider whether or not what you are saying is really the truth? Or perhaps you think "the truth" is, by definition, what most people believe?

We, in the West, especially in America, with our supposed great pride in our pluralistic societies, where "everyone has a right to their own opinion" have whatever degree of stability that we have only by general silent assent that there is no truth, that all opinion is equally valid, that a "live and let live" attitude and being "respectful of other people's beliefs" is all we need to get us through. There is precious little in the way of "courage of your convictions" in these societies. It helps to maintain the status quo to not rock the boat, not to mention lessening the possibility of a rock or bottle to your head or being imprisoned.

I don't call upon you to endanger yourself, to risk ridicule or worse in the service of truth. I ask only that you honestly try to grip and feel the burden of it within your own mind; whether or not it is ever outwardly manifested. Please watch this video, it's just over 7 minutes. Try to picture yourself as an atheist student at this school. What would you do? If you are a "believer", can you spot things that are not correct or not right about the positions of the believing folk in the video?

Is it about "free speech"? Is it about the atheist student's "Constitutional rights" over riding what the majority wants? What about Matthew 6:5-6?

TRB