Why are They Afraid?

I’m watching a movie called God is not Dead, 2. It’s about a high school history teacher. The class is studying the history of civil disobedience, nonviolent protest. She quotes Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A student asks her if civil disobedience is the same as Jesus saying we should love our enemies. The teacher, who is a Christian, hesitates and then says yes, and she quotes the relevant passage from the book of Matthew.

Of course, this brings us to the meat of the plot. One of the students reports it as pushing religion. The teacher is suspended. There is a hearing before the school board, and the teacher refuses to apologize. She is suspended, and now the ACLU is in on the case, hoping to make it a landmark case for the separation of church and state. That’s where I am in the movie, and I’m already pissed.

Here’s the thing. Now, I am a Christian, but I know myself well, and I believe I would say this if I wasn’t, due to the circumstances of how this all happened. The teacher never once said anything about being a Christian or anything about how the students should believe. She never professed her beliefs. All she did was quote the words of a historical figure. Jesus Christ, whatever you believe about him, was a real man. It’s proven by sources other than the Bible. I’m not here to argue his divinity or anything else. Just to say, he was a living breathing man once upon a time in history, some 2000 years ago.

So, if the teacher can quote the speeches and writings of historical figures like Gandhi and King, what has she done wrong by quoting the words of another historical figure? How does this huge overreaction by the school board and the so-called landmark law suit coming up, even make sense, considering there was no religious proselytizing in the first place? Are people who don’t believe in Jesus as God truly so afraid of the words of a man out of history, that they go to such extremes? It’s bizarre!

Many people have read the words of many historical figures. Why is it only when it comes to Christianity, and I’m sure Jewish teachings and words, that people go crazy and want to stamp it out, even in such a situation where a teacher only answered a question a student asked? Why can she quote those other men but she’s suspended for quoting Christ? How can they claim separation of church and state as they stifle free speech in a classroom? It baffles and bewilders me, and it would if I wasn’t a Christian. What are they afraid of?

Just my thoughts on a movie that is making me so angry, I probably won’t finish it.