This blog may offend - and that's OK.

Caution: This blog contains overt religious content.
It is rated CS - Common Sense and discretion are advised.

When I started this blog, I fully intended to keep it real and for the most part link it to a public relations or marketing concept so I'm going to start this with a big one. The public relations concept is called The Spiral of Silence. It's a real concept, taught to those gaining accreditation in PR in the book "Effective Public Relations." The spiral of silence refers to a phenomenon where a vast majority of the public disagrees with something, yet, whether through fear, feelings of helplessness or apathy says nothing. When the majority don't speak up, the silence deepens to a deafening roar. Rising to the top to make their voices heard are the vocal minority who are either fanatics or extremely passionate on one side or the other of an issue.

A good example may be the concept of prayer in school. While nearly every person I've ever spoken to supports prayer in school, the spiral of silence effectively allowed legislation to be approved that bans prayer. That's the effect of the spiral of silence.

I introduce this concept to discuss a recent story written in the Fort Myers News-Press by Sam Cook. Now, anyone from Lee County who read this article yesterday, especially my PR buddies, probably just drew in a sharp breath and thought "She is NOT going to go there in public is she?" Well - yes, actually I am. I am not a fanatic, but I am passionate about this subject. I hope it breaks the spiral of silence on this issue.

The Tim Tebow Bashing Story
To recap for those who didn't read the story, allow me to give a quick overview. Sam Cook is a columnist who writes about controversial topics and people in a very confrontational way. Most people either love his style or hate it. Before I go on, I'd like to state my opinion of Sam Cook because I think it's relevant to add credibility to my argument. I really respect Sam as a journalist. Do I think he writes some really bonehead articles sometimes? Absolutely. Frankly, I think he would be flattered by that comment - it's just the way he seems to be. But for the most part, he was hired to write a column based on his opinions that are meant to polarize and cause people to talk. He does that quite well. Sometimes, I even agree with him on some things. He calls it like he sees it and I find that somewhat refreshing, even if he does pick on something that's important to me - like my faith.

Yesterday, Sam, who states he is Lutheran, wrote about Tim Tebow and opined that Tim should not mix sports with religion. He stated that wearing his faith on his eye marks is offensive to many. He also lambasted Tebow's father's mission for being exclusive against every faith view that isn't theirs. OK. Guess what, as a Catholic who is deeply involved with my faith and in love with my God, I can respect that opinion. Why? Because I believe that for the most part, it's wrong. That's ok too. Luckily we live in the United States where Mr. Cook and I can disagree. Fine. This isn't the spiral of silence that I'm talking about. Believe me. Many many many people are telling Mr. Cook exactly what they think of him and his %#&!# opinions.

So, where is my beef?

I have a big problem with a couple of statements that Sam makes to justify his opinion that simply are not based in fact and are promolgated over and over again in the media. There are two things that we hear so often that many have started to believe to be true. The majority remains silent and the lie becomes fact in the world of public opinion.

First, Sam states (not verbatim) that a young Jewish football loving boy who idolizes Tebow cringes when he sees his hero wearing John 3:16 on his face for the cameras around the world to see.

Second, Sam states that we as Christians would be pretty upset if someone wrote God is Dead on their faces, yet we feel justified in promoting scripture verses.

Argument #1
Let's discuss the first argument. Where and how is Sam or the many other journalists who often use this type of argument, getting their facts? I have never spoken to any person of any other religion who is offended or put off because someone professes their faith in public. Maybe if they try to impose their religion on them and forcefully require them to convert, but sharing your faith in public can be a catalyst for learning more about other faiths. As a Christian, I would certainly feel no anger if a football player had the Star of David painted on their face. Are there fanatics who find it offensive? Sure,I'll bet there are, but why do we continue to cater to fanatics? I would also not be upset if a Muslim tatooed Allah! to their forehead. My actual thought would be, "Wow, that's great that the player has such conviction in their faith." Somewhere in the Bible that I believe in (I'm not a Bible quoter, so I don't know the verse - someone else will though, I'm sure of it) there is a quote from Jesus saying, "Anyone who is not against us is with us." Hmmm - what could that possibly mean? Do you think maybe Jesus would have loved Muslims and Hindus and even athiests while he walked the earth? What about Jews - oh, that's right, he was one. And he loved them too. We as Christians believe in our faith. Muslims believe in their faith and Jews in theirs. The list goes on. If that wasn't the case, we'd have one and only one religion. We live in America. We have freedom of religion. Therefore, if you want to show your faith, I'm proud of you for it. If you think faith is a bunch of nonsense and there is no God, I may pity you and pray for you, but I'm certainly not offended by that. If you worship Satan - I really pity you and fear for you, but I'm not offended by that either. How could I be? If you are proud of what you believe in and want to share your belief subtly by wearing it on your sleeve, eye marks or body in any way - I have the complete and total option of ignoring it. Therefore, I take to task this concept that a small Jewish boy would be offended or put off by Tebow's subtle proclamation of his belief. So many people use this argument to justify the elimination of religion and it's just not right. Prove to me that a majority of people feel that way and I may be swayed, but I've never been able to prove it. I have Jewish friends who told me that they receive Christmas cards all the time - some displaying the Christ child. Are they offended? No. They are pleased with the blessing the sender intended. I'll bet - I've never done a formal study - but I'll bet the majority feel that way.

Argument #2
The second item - Would Christians be offended if someone had God is Dead written under their cheeks? Well,duh, of course we would. This kind of argument seems valid until you dissect it a little. God is dead is not really a tenet of any religion. Possibly it's a statement by Satanists, but I doubt it. Athiests don't believe God exists, so it's not their mantra. God is dead is a mean spirited way of attempting to hurt someone's feelings. Back to my former argument. If that athiest or Satanist wrote on their cheeks, There is no God or I hate God, I would not be offended. I would pity and pray for them, but those two statements are true facts for that person, not a shot at someone's religion. If Tim Tebow wrote, "Athiests are idiots" I would think that truly would be offensive.

I guess the bottom line is that people of faith - any faith, or lack there of, have a right to display their beliefs in any way that they want to. We must stop allowing arbitrary examples of supposed political correctness to turn our country into an athiest nation. While Christians and others are criticized for spreading their beliefs and forced to defend unsubstantiated lies, the athiests are eating our lunch. Because of the spiral of silence, they are slowly furthering their cause against all religions. Sam Cook is a perfect example of this influence. Here's a man who claims to be Christian and has fallen hook line and sinker for the lies spread by non-believers. Why is it that athiests are permitted to get their agendas passed through governmental red tape while faithful people sit and watch with horror? It's the spiral of silence ladies and gentlemen. And I for one, am not willing to sit silent on this any longer. Is anyone with me? Or have I become a fanatic?