Upward Bound basketball

[BornReady]

Jim Bado coached a team of eleven year old boys in the Upward Bound Christian basketball league. Jim is an atheist but likes the program because it focuses on kids having fun, meeting new friends and learning to play basketball. Jim was upfront with the program's leaders about his atheism. They were fine with that and simply assigned a Christian assistant named Bob to lead the 10 minute devotion in the middle of each practice. Coach Bado relates the following interruption by a visitor after one of the team's devotion times.

When he finished the ten-minute discussion, Bob asked if I wanted to add anything, and as usual I declined. We were preparing to head back to the court when our visitor interrupted.

"Nice devotional. Let me ask something: how many of you kids have prayed to Jesus to save your souls? How many of you have given your life to Christ?" he asked.

A couple of the boys raised their hands, while several stared at the walls plastered with Bible cartoons. A fidgety few looked at him, befuddled.

"Well, you ought to, because Jesus will be your salvation," he continued, standing to emphasize his Old-Testament-style earnestness. "What about you coaches: have you given your lives to Jesus?"

Coach Bob raised his hand. Coach Atheist didn't.

"Don't you have a personal relationship with Jesus?" our visitor inquired of me, stepping toward the unrepentant sinner.

"No," I replied.

"You don't believe in Jesus?" he asked. "Well, why don't you?"

"It's not my gig," I replied, wanting to end this conversation pronto. From my perspective, nothing positive would be gained by discussing my beliefs - or lack thereof - in front of the team. Attempting to convert me to the joys of Christianity one-on-one, far from impressionable ears, would be fine. More important, for it to take place in this venue would produce nothing positive for these young children or the Upward Bound program. But once started, alas, proselytizing plows its own righteous path.

"Then what are you going to do if you get in an accident while driving home and die?" he asked, staring at me. I was puzzled about what he wanted to accomplish with this line of questioning, but his next "question" cleared everything up for the guy stumbling down the road to eternal damnation: "If that happens tonight, do you know where the Bible says you'll go?"

"Yes," I grumbled, suppressing a groan and wishing I had found a way to end the digression two questions ago.

The visitor continued to press Coach Bado to get saved but the coach showed no interest. So the visitor gave him a brochure that talked about heaven and hell and how to get saved. And the coach resumed the basketball practice with his team.

What do you think, was the visitor out of line? Is this an appropriate evangelizing technique for eleven year old boys?

 

[KimmyCharmeleon]

Just in general anyone pulling that kind of stunt is annoying and unwanted. If the kids believe in god well isn't that bloody good enough lol.

 

[HK]

Out of line. If an atheist had pulled the same stunt on the Christian coach, there would have been outrage.

Religion is not hidden away under a rock, we're all aware of it and what it offers. So if some people have chosen not to follow it, I don't think accosting them in public or on their doorsteps is going to suddenly make them see the light, and it just makes religious people look pushy and tactless.

 

[Peter Parka]

Dickhead and insulting. I'd have told him to fuck off.

 

[BornReady]

What I find most disturbing about the episode is the visitor was targeting children. He knew full well his fear tactics wouldn't have any effect on an adult who had not been indoctrinated from a young age. Make no mistake. He was after the boys, not the coach. I have nothing nice to say about an adult who uses fear to coerce children into doing what he wants. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident but it's not. It's common practice among Fundamentalists.

 

[KimmyCharmeleon]

*spew spew spew* It disgusts me. In another thread a video was posted about these Christian people going to schools and convincing children that god created the Earth and evolution wasn't true, god anything like that makes me sick and makes me want to save those poor kids.