Faith Is Not Above Criticism and Neither Is Your Music
Joseph Roberts
Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: Perspectives
Whenever I'm asked why I care about religious issues in spite of being an atheist, normally I bring up something along the lines of religion being irrational, dangerous or both, and mention how we aren't impervious to the actions of other human beings, making the beliefs which those actions are based on very critical to our survival. But now I can simply say, "because religious people are especially annoying." The zealots, anyway.
I say this because there's this group of super-hip Christian rockers who insist on playing their god-awful tripe in the public square. Not content to contain their worship within the places of their worship, they set up shop in very high-traffic areas on campus in order to bother as many people as possible-in front of Starbucks, in the quad or on the benches at the entrance to the library.
I know that in church, even if someone sings badly, they are generally allowed to suck because God supposedly hears it all the same, but those rules don't apply in the real world. When you say or do something in public, it gets to be criticized by the rest of us.
We all know what they're doing, even if you agree with or support them. They're not trying to entertain; they're attempting to proselytize. They play their sappy music about how they and everyone else needs God to live correctly, and about how Jesus bled to death on a stick so that he could allow himself to forgive us for using our free will to choose things he doesn't allow us to choose. They do this in the hope that passer-bys will hear the music and have an emotional reaction, stop to inquire, hear the "good news," meet Jesus and then telepathically submit to him as master.
They have obviously not given any consideration to the fact that they are not only disturbing people in Starbucks and the apartments, but that you can hear them while in night classes at the library and while studying in the SSC at a time when most students are actually using those facilities to study.
I say this because there's this group of super-hip Christian rockers who insist on playing their god-awful tripe in the public square. Not content to contain their worship within the places of their worship, they set up shop in very high-traffic areas on campus in order to bother as many people as possible-in front of Starbucks, in the quad or on the benches at the entrance to the library.
I know that in church, even if someone sings badly, they are generally allowed to suck because God supposedly hears it all the same, but those rules don't apply in the real world. When you say or do something in public, it gets to be criticized by the rest of us.
We all know what they're doing, even if you agree with or support them. They're not trying to entertain; they're attempting to proselytize. They play their sappy music about how they and everyone else needs God to live correctly, and about how Jesus bled to death on a stick so that he could allow himself to forgive us for using our free will to choose things he doesn't allow us to choose. They do this in the hope that passer-bys will hear the music and have an emotional reaction, stop to inquire, hear the "good news," meet Jesus and then telepathically submit to him as master.
They have obviously not given any consideration to the fact that they are not only disturbing people in Starbucks and the apartments, but that you can hear them while in night classes at the library and while studying in the SSC at a time when most students are actually using those facilities to study.
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