Now that's an evangelistic approach! I suppose the temptations of the cult of the cannabis extend back thousands of years, even to Old Testament era where a pagan king got Daniel high. OK, all bad puns aside the situation is this:
It all started in 2002, when high school senior Joseph Frederick unfurled a 14-foot banner reading "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during a field trip to watch the Olympic torch pass through Juneau, Alaska. His Principal at the time, Deborah Morse, tore down the sign and suspended him for 10 days.
Now, to the uninitiated I might add that a bong is a device used to smoke marijuana or hashish through a water filled container. I might add that is what we used a bong for in the 1970's, I'm not sure (and this is a good thing!) if bongs are even used today, or if so what for.
Anyway, Frederick sued alleging that his freedom of speech had been violated. Despite failing locally, in March of this year the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with him, ruling that school officials may not "punish and censor non-disruptive" speech by students at school-sponsored events simply because they object to the message.
But guess who stood up the 9th Circuit Court? None less than the Whitewater Superstarr Kenneth Starr! He urged the court to re-examine the decision. According to his petition
"this case presents the Court with a much-needed opportunity to resolve a sharp conflict among federal courts (and to eliminate confusion on the part of school boards, administrators, teachers, and students) over whether the First Amendment permits regulation of student speech when such speech is advocating or making light of illegal substances."
But as Emil Steiner asks, is it just about "illegal substances" or could this ruling allow schools to tear down any banners they don't like? What about these scenarios, would the banner be OK?
- Guns 4 Jesus
- Cigarettes 4 Jesus
- Doctor Prescribed Oxycontin 4 Jesus
That's a great question Emil! The center of the tumult involves free speech and it's relationship to illegal substances. But what if the banner said something like this:
- High School Seniors 4 Jesus
Or what if the subject and object of the phrase were reversed?
- Jesus 4 Bong Hits
Unless Jesus was declared to be an illegal substance, those would likely only create a tumult within the catholic (little 'c') church. But wouldn't it be fun to see Starr get wrapped up in that? Replay the famous definition of what the word "is" is and you can see this get to be entertaining real fast!
Well, although I would never condone taking a bong hit for Jesus some other things that are done "4 Jesus" have resulted in legal action.
In Crown Point Indiana as the AP reported February 18, 2002 four families sued a a church whose leaders they say forced their children to drink a mix of dog food, salsa, sauerkraut, sardines, potted meat, eggnog and cottage cheese. A youth pastor who organized the New Year's Eve event for teen-agers said the "gross-out" contest was for laughs and no one was forced to ingest the mixture that had been chewed and spit out. Sandra Gomez whose 13-year-old son won $50 for drinking the mixture, said the boy developed diarrhea and stomach cramps and was sick for about a week.
Sounds like a made for TV situation, doesn't it:
FEAR FACTOR 4 JESUS!
