Grad Defied HS Admin Who Told Her To Remove Jesus from Speech
For the past few years, there has been a disturbing trend in schools all across America where administration officials have attempted to silence those who want to talk about their Christian faith.
An example of this repression of Christian beliefs occurred at Beaver High School in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, where the school officials tried to stop a student from including references to God in her commencement speech, Faithwire reported.
The administration initially wanted graduate Moriah Bridges to “remove all religious references” from her commencement address, including the words “God,” “Lord” and a prayer she had included. Effectively, they wanted her to silence Jesus.
The administration’s plan backfired though, because when Bridges actually gave the speech on June 2, 2017, she defied the administration and included a well-phrased reference to Jesus Christ.
“I’ve always been a rule follower,” Bridges stated at the end of her speech.
“When they said not to chew gum, I didn’t chew gum. When they said not to use your cell phone, I didn’t use my cell phone.
“But today, in the spirit of defying expectations, and for perhaps the last time at this podium, I say, ‘in the righteous name of Jesus Christ, Amen.'”
That line drew massive cheers and applause from the audience.
WTAE noted that Bridges is now being represented by “First Liberty,” a religious freedom law firm, which is demanding a meeting with school administration officials to change school policy.
The Beaver Area School District Superintendent, Carrie Rowe, released a statement on June 13 where he defended the actions of the administration.
“In Moriah’s case, the district could not approve a speech written as a prayer, but did approve a second version that she submitted,” Rowe explained in the statement.
“As superintendent, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States and of this commonwealth.”
Rowe went on to state that she had been advised that prayer during a commencement address was “not permitted,” and that she “cannot choose which laws to follow.”
Bridges managed to silence the administration for 11 days. It took them that long to come up with a response to her act of defiance. You can read the full statement here.
It took a lot of courage for Bridges to stand up and profess her faith after the administration had instructed her not to.
This world could use a few more people like Bridges who aren’t afraid to stand up for what they believe in.
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