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, \u201cLife is wasted without Jesus.\u201d\u009d 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\u2019s 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. \u201cI believe this is worth standing up for,\u201d\u009d he said, \u201cit\u2019s not just standing up for religious rights, it\u2019s standing up for my rights as a Canadian citizen; for freedom of speech, freedom of religion.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The regional school board initially supported the actions of the school administration, with Superintendent Nancy Pynch-Worthylake maintaining that repeated defiance of school authorities was justified grounds for suspending Swinimer. The school board issued a statement clarifying that \u201cstudents may choose to wear clothing that embraces their beliefs.\u201d\u009d However, \u201cit is expected that students will not wear clothing with messages that may offend others\u2019 beliefs, race, religion, culture or lifestyle.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The nationwide debate ignited by this incident was most revealing….<\/p>\n