LETTERS: NOW GOD IS KICKED OFF THE BUS

To the editor:

I read in the Missouri Baptist Convention paper, Word & Way, about a woman who was five months' pregnant being forced to leave a public bus in Washington state for talking about religion with another passenger. On April 2 she paid her fare to travel from work to her children's day-care center. A man who boarded the bus expressed his joy at being out of the rain by saying, "Praise the Lord." They began to discuss their Christian faith.

The driver called the woman to the front of the bus and told her she could not talk about religion, because other passengers might find the discussion offensive. She moved next to the man so they could speak more quietly, but the driver again called her to the front of the bus and told her she had to leave the bus at the next stop because she refused to stop talking about religion. She asked if there was some law that prevented passengers from talking about Jesus. The bus driver ordered both her and the man to leave the bus at the next stop.

She did not have time to wait for the next bus, so she walked nearly a mile along a busy highway in driving rain, wearing only a thin blazer. She was late picking up her children at the day care.

As I read this, I thought, "What if they had been talking about an R-rated movie they had seen, telling dirty jokes, using profane language or taking God's name in vain. Would the driver have told them they had to be quiet because they might offend some passengers or have told them to leave the bus?" I don't think so.

Over 30 years ago, we took God out of the schools. Now we are kicking him off the bus.

May 6 is 48th the National Day of Prayer. It seems our nation needs more prayer today than we have ever needed before. Plan to participate in a church or community service and pray for our nation to put God back in America. May we "Light the Nation With Prayer." It certainly needs it.

JEAN BARTLETT

Commerce