Earlier this year radical atheists complained after Pastor Alan Stewart spoke about God and read a Bible verse at optional-attendance public school event remembering 9/11. The pastor read one Bible verse and mentioned God six times. But that was one verse and six deity name-drops too many for a national group that advocates “freedom from religion.”
This offended the atheist group from Wisconsin.
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This weekend hundreds of supporters rallied in Hamilton County for Freedom of Religion.
News Channel 9 reported:
Gathering together to fight for freedom all in the name of religion. Local pastor Alan Stewart was invited by Sale Creek Middle/High School to speak to the students for a 9/11 memorial service. He thought everything was fine, until he says he and the Hamilton County School board received a letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation criticizing Sale Creek for allowing a pastor to speak at a school event, and for Stewart, mentioning God one too many times.
That letter sparked Saturdays rally as hundreds came together to support him and the first amendment.
Heather Knox is a junior at Sale Creek Middle/High School. She was there the day Alan Stewart delivered his speech.
“In my opinion there is no apology or explanation needed for the message Reverend Stewart delivered to my school,” says Knox.
But the national organization, the Freedom From Religion Foundation demanded one. This after they put blame on the school for allowing Stewart, a pastor, to speak at a school function. The letter was also targeted towards Stewart who admits he used the word God and read a verse from the Bible. But he says, all he was trying to do is send a positive message through a story of devastation.
“I was absolutely stunned that in my lifetime I would be told I could not pray, I could not mention God’s name anywhere in public. For me, this whole gathering is for what we’re here to do today,” says Stewart.
Many stood in Veterans Park to stand by Stewart’s side. Speakers exercising their first amendment rights and the right of free speech to make their point.
Hat Tip Mara
