A woman on a bus in Fort Worth this past Sunday was asked to leave the bus for reading her Bible out loud to her children. Apparently, it was bothering the driver, and she was then asked to either stop or leave. When she wouldn't stop, she was asked to leave.
And shortly thereafter began the "Help! Help! I'm being persecuted!" cries that Christians are famous for.
This is the basic problem with all religions: they feel the need to loudly and publicly declare their faith, whether by reading a Bible out loud, wearing burkas or yamulkas or cruciforms, carrying prayer mats, etc., and then - and here's the problematic part - acting offended when other people ask them to be more private with their faith.
If I were a believer in Zeus and decided to publicly sacrifice a goat on an altar in a public park as part of my faith, I would be correctly either arrested for animal cruelty or at least questioned and challenged by not only authorities but passers-by as well. (actually, I could be an adherent to the Old Testament as well with the same actions). Why then do we not feel it proper or correct or acceptable to question and challenge Christians or Moslems or Jews on their public displays of faith?
I don't care that the woman reads the Bible - whatever fantasy gets her through the day is fine. I have a problem with her inculcating this deviant fantasy in her children (yes, I think religious training for kids is a form of child abuse), but until we can have a frank and open and reasoned discussion over matters of faith, it's a moot point. It's when her expression of faith begins to encroach upon my personal space that it becomes a problem.
If I were a passenger, I'd ask her to stop and if she didn't, I'd get off the bus - my problem, my solution (either that, or start reading aloud from some erotic novel as a counter-point fantasy). The driver has no such recourse, so getting her off the bus is the only solution.
cbs11tv.com - Woman Escorted Off Fort Worth Transit Bus For Reading Bible Aloud
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