February 19, 2008
Source: Tyler Texas Morning Telegraph, Feb. 16, 2008
Title: Garden Valley Ministry Stages Protest in Times Square
Excerpt: The group, organized by the East Texas-based Christian group Teen Mania Ministries, was in the Big Apple for an event called “Recreate,” during which participants announced a desire to “recreate” music, film, fashion, television and other media to remove explicit language and imagery.
The teens waved signs with slogans like, “Life doesn’t have any makeup tests” and, “If God seems far away, who moved?” There were singers, dancers, artists and speakers who announced eight questions to be sent to the presidential candidates, including, “What should be done to stop glamorizing the things that are destroying my friends, like drugs, alcohol and sex?” And, “How will you ensure that my freedom to practice Christianity will not be taken away?” [read the rest of this article]
The goal: Rebecca Bjerke, 21, from Phoenix, Ariz., explained why she came to the rally [in Times Square, New York City] on Feb. 8: “To make change for our generation.”
The protest: Protesters staging their own demonstration across the street from the “Recreate” rally said Luce’s organization encourages young people to toss aside critical thought and follow their Christian leaders blindly.
They held an almost blocklong sign that said, “AWAY WITH ALL GODS!” Megaphone in hand, they were at times louder than the hordes of “Jesus”-chanting teens, though far fewer in number.
“They think the problem is that people are disconnected and alienated in society because they don’t believe in Jesus,” said Debra Sweet, one of the protesters and national director of the group World Can’t Wait, an anti-Bush organization.
“These are hard-core Christian fundamentalists leading youth - high-school students, really - on the moral equivalent of a crusade,” she said.
Real Quote: [Ron] Luce [founder of Teen Mania and Battlecry for a Generation] said a Christian belief system is a better place for teens immersed in pop culture to look to when shaping who they are and how they should behave in the world. “Instead of going to drugs, instead of cutting yourself, instead of jumping into a gang or something, instead of getting immersed with every little toy you could possibly get in our materialistic society, look and see what the Bible has to say about those issues of the heart, that really, every human being has.”
