THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
(apologies to Keith Olbermann)
Steve McConkey
School football coach’s prayer habits spark debate on staff's religious rights https://t.co/dfeqUfb7rf
— Guardian US (@GuardianUS) October 30, 2015
Think about how atheist groups respond to Christian proselytizing on high school and college sports teams. In general, we send letters warning teams why this is a problem at secular schools and remind them they must keep everything religiously neutral. That’s it. We don’t say “you must promote atheism.” We don’t say you can’t proselytize off the field. But when coaches are on the clock, they shouldn’t be preaching or using the opportunity to promote their faith. According to Steve McConkey, the President of the Christian sports ministry 4 WINDS, that makes us the “Atheist Gestapo.”…. “The secular school system is a puppet of atheists even though they claim to be neutral,” says 4 WINDS President Steve McConkey. “Christian free speech is being attacked as most educators are trained at universities that have put God on the shelf and have accepted different forms of Marxism without God. However, many Christian teachers have not bought into the system.”
One of my favorite activities is listening to or reading about “Christians” whining about how they’re “persecuted.” It’s a silly and baseless argument, something no honest Christian could be anything but embarrassed about, because most followers of Jesus Christ understand their place in the world. They understand their faith is just that- THEIR faith- and the mere fact of calling oneself a “Christian” doesn’t connote upon a belieber the right to claim moral and ideological superiority over lesser mortals who haven’t Seen The Light.
Then there are those hyper-Christian zealots like McConkey who’ve managed to convince themselves that, as the Chosen Ones they believe themselves to be, they are free to demand that their religious beliefs and moral framework take precedence over all others. When they don’t get that, they begin whining about how they’re being “percsecuted” by the Atheist Gestapo for their Christian faith. The latest example of this is Bremerton, WA, high school football coach Joe Kennedy being suspended by the school district for refusing to stop holding public prayers on football fields after games. Kennedy holds that his “agreement with God” supercedes any rules set by mere mortals. Thankfully, the school board, mindful of the requirement to keep Church separate from State, disagrees. Not surprisingly, those of us here at Atheist Gestapo World Headquarters are BIG fans of the separation of Church and State.
There are few more self-serving, inaccurate, and wholly ridiculous arguments than McConkey offering this beauty:
“Christian free speech is being attacked as most educators are trained at universities that have put God on the shelf and have accepted different forms of Marxism without God. However, many Christian teachers have not bought into the system.”
Despite what McConkey might believe, no one is attacking “Christian free speech”- or any other free speech. He and his ilk are free to express themselves in whatever manner they choose- praying silently, witnessing to unbelievers, handling snakes, speaking in tongues, or any other form of expression. If McConkey has his panties in a wad over Christians being “denied” their free speech rights, he might want to dust off that copy of the Constitution he clearly hasn’t read since 8th Grade Civics. While the Constitution never expressly mentions the phrase “separation of Church and State,” there’s this little thing called the Establishment Clause that zealots like McConkey are wont to gloss over because it’s inconvenient to the pursuit of their theocratic agenda.
The Establishment Clause prevents government- Congress specifically- from passing laws that advance the interests of one religion over others. Over the years, tradition and case law have spread the impact of the Establishment Clause to all levels of government…which has become the raison d’etre for the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Public schools, as taxpayer-funded entities, fall under the requirement to maintain the separation of church and state. McConkey could pray, handle snakes, or engage in any and all manner of religious expression at a private religious school. Public schools, though, represent ALL members of the public, not just those “enlightened” enough to call Jesus their home boy.
The short version is that religious neutrality is the law when it comes to public-funded activities. Our children deserve an education free of proselytizing or religious indoctrination. They can go to church or private religious schools for that sort of thing. Public schools, despite McConkey’s hallucinations, aren’t publicly-funded and wholly-owned subsidiaries of Christian churches.
As someone who may or may not be a card-carrying member of the Atheist Gestapo (I like to maintain plausible deniability in case this country actually DOES become a functional theocracy), I have nothing against Christianity…or even most Christians. As I’ve said more times than I care to remember, my problem is with Christians who believe that freedom OF religion doesn’t mean freedom FROM (their) religion. Practice your faith as you see fit…but understand that religious freedom also comes with limitations. Calling yourself a Christian doesn’t mean you get to do what you want where you want or how you want.
If I was to admit to being a card-carrying member of the Atheist Gestapo, I’d offer (hypothetically, of course), that we frankly have neither the time nor the energy to devote to persecuting “Christians”…because they’re hoisting themselves on their own petards free from outside assistance. The Atheist Gestapo is WAY too busy sacrificing goats and virgins (or I would, if I was a card-carrying member…which I’ll neither confirm not deny, though it sounds like something I’d do) to waste time persecuting those focused on forcing their religion on others. People like McConkey are so busy trying to engage in the same persecution they accuse the Atheist Gestapo of that they have no time left for the actual teachings of the Lord and Savior they profess to revere.
Honestly, McConkey and his ilk wouldn’t recognize the Gospel if Jesus His Own Self showed up with a personalized instruction manual…and that’s exactly the problem. When you’re dealing with people whose religious faith is a smokescreen for bigotry, hatred, oppression, and/or homophobia, you’re talking about a flavor of Christianity that has nothing at all to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ. It’s about power, control, and anger…and not necessarily in that order.
And people wonder how and why I consider myself good without God….
