Nova Scotia Teen in Trouble for Wearing ‘Life is Wasted Without Jesus’ Shirt [View all]

[Ian David]

Nova Scotia Teen in Trouble for Wearing ‘Life is Wasted Without Jesus’ Shirt

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Swinimer is surprised his “Life is Wasted without Jesus” shirt has been at the center of so much controversy:

“I believe this is worth standing up for — it’s not just standing up for religious rights, it’s standing up for my rights as a Canadian citizen; for freedom of speech, freedom of religion. I don’t think this is right.”

I’m all for students having freedom to express their beliefs. But that doesn’t mean I approve of this shirt. There’s a pretty clear reason why:

It insults people who don’t believe in Jesus. It says very directly that they’re wasting their lives and that they’re worthless. It’s a form of bullying. (It’s also completely false — How many brilliant people have made contributions to our world without believing in Christian nonsense? It’s a shirt anyone can refute with about 2 seconds of thought.)

If Swinimer wore a shirt that said, “Life is great with Jesus,” I don’t think I would care much at all. That’s a personal message with positive tones (at least in theory). It’s no different than students expressing themselves by wearing a cross. Or atheists saying we can be good without god. It doesn’t say anything negative about people who don’t agree with your beliefs.

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For what it’s worth, the Centre For Inquiry in Canada put out a statement in support of Swinimer:

“While CFI sponsored the Atheist Bus Campaign, we are a strong champion of freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” said National Communications Director Justin Trottier. “This shirt causes no harm and is a perfectly acceptable contribution to the marketplace of ideas.”



More:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/05/04/nova-scotia-teen-in-trouble-for-wearing-life-is-wasted-without-jesus-shirt/