On the Square Today

Elmer Thiessen on the offensiveness of evangelism :

The topic of evangelism made national headlines in Canada recently. It all started with a twelfth grade student in Nova Scotia wearing a T-shirt boldly emblazoned with the words, “Life is wasted without Jesus.” William Swinimer continued to wear his yellow T-shirt even after the vice-principal at his school asked him not to do so, after some students had complained that they found the message offensive. Swinimer’s refusal to obey led to a series of in-school suspensions, and finally a five-day at-home suspension. The normally shy 19-year-old refused to comply even though it might have meant permanent suspension and the loss of his chance of graduating. “I believe this is worth standing up for,” he said, “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.”

Also today, Matthew Hennessey wonders why PETA isn’t pro-life :

When I saw photos of the stunt, I thought to myself, “If PETA are this worried about the ‘murder’ of cows and pigs they must really get hot about the murder of innocent human babies.” I supposed I wasn’t the first person to have had the thought, but I was surprised to find an entire entry in the Frequently Asked Questions section of PETA’s website