{"id":11159,"date":"2012-03-23T12:46:23","date_gmt":"2012-03-23T16:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=11159"},"modified":"2012-03-25T14:29:17","modified_gmt":"2012-03-25T18:29:17","slug":"texas-town-turns-other-cheek-helps-atheist-who-threatened-their-nativity-scene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/03\/texas-town-turns-other-cheek-helps-atheist-who-threatened-their-nativity-scene","title":{"rendered":"Texas town turns other cheek, helps atheist who threatened their nativity scene"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turning the other cheek seems to be working\u00a0in little Athens, Texas.<\/p>\n

It seems a big-city atheist heard that they had a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn last winter, according to MSNBC News.<\/a>\u00a0So, he\u00a0called Athens officials\u00a0five hours\u00a0away to threaten that if they did it again, he would sue. The result was outrage.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
A protester at the "Rally for the Nativity"<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nationwide, America has gotten used to such outsiders forcing anything Christian out of public view \u2013 so much that it is almost assumed by some that it\u2019s just a matter of time until every symbol of faith is obliterated from the American landscape.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, when such an intruder shows up and proclaims the star has to come down off of the water tower or that the crosses in the cemetery offend him or that your children have to quit reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, the sense of helplessness is overpowering. In\u00a0the courts, the demand of one seems to supersede the wishes of the vast majority \u2013 never mind that there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing a right not to be offended by somebody else\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n

So, it was that taxi driver Patrick Greene alerted the\u00a0Athens officials\u00a0297 miles from his\u00a0San Antonio,\u00a0Texas,\u00a0\u00a0home that he was offended by the town\u2019s nativity scene \u2013 and would launch a costly lawsuit if they ever put it on display again. The locals were livid that he would stick his nose into their town’s traditions and faith.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Television coverage of the protest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Then, the story takes an ironic turn. He called a news conference and told reporters he had learned he is going blind. He was going to have quit his job — and he did not have health insurance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 63-year-old learned he had a detached retina,\u201d writes reporter Rich Flowers of the Athens Daily Review<\/a><\/em> newspaper.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cGreene was forced to give up driving his Yellow Cab. Eye surgery would cost $20,000 he said, and he didn\u2019t even have the money to pay bills or buy groceries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enter Jessica Crye, a member of Sand Springs Baptist Church in Athens. She \u201c felt compelled to help. Why not turn this into something else?” she told the Tyler Morning Telegraph<\/a><\/em>\u00a0 newspaper. “This is a great opportunity to turn the other cheek and show God’s love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Erick Graham, her pastor, said they didn\u2019t have time to think or pray about the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t discriminate on who we help, whether they are Christians or non-Christians, church members or not,\u201d Graham told the Morning Telegraph<\/em>. \u201cWe just help those with a need.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham contacted Greene to find out more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said first of all, I don\u2019t want $20,000,\u201d recalls Greene. \u201cThat would be ridiculous, because there\u2019s a chance the surgery would fail. On top of that, there\u2019s a chance it could become detached again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, Greene told Graham he had a more immediate need. \u201cI said, if you really want to contribute something to help, we need groceries\u201d \u2013 at least until he is able to start collecting Social Security.<\/p>\n

Greene hung up and told his wife about the phone call.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to help us?\u201d\u00a0 Karen asked.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Greene and his cat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Greene scoffed aloud. He\u2019d heard empty promises before from Christians. But\u00a0then he got a check for $400 in the mail. \u201cI said I can\u2019t believe it,\u201d Greene said. \u201cI thought I was in the Twilight Zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The money went to help pay the rent, and provide necessities from the grocery store.<\/p>\n

The contributions didn\u2019t stop at $400 either, Cry said. More money is coming in.<\/p>\n

Greene says he was \u201cflabbergasted.\u201d His past experience with Christians was of narrow-minded individuals who had treated him unkindly throughout his life. \u201cMy wife and I had never had a Christian do anything nice for us,\u201d Greene said. \u201cJust the opposite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, he has learned that he also has glaucoma. Blindness seems a certainty. But, he is grateful. His cat, Big Boy,\u201c now has enough food until our social security checks arrive,\u201d Greene recently wrote by e-mail. \u201cWe also have enough food until then. We did not spend any of it on beer or liquor. We did not spend any of it on sports, because all three of us hate sports. Me, my wife and our cat. Our cat is very much into bird watching.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
At a prayer vigil for the Nativity scene<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A rental property manager has suggested he move to Henderson County, where rates are cheaper and Greene and his wife could live within walking distance of the grocery store, a good thing because now they don’t have a car.<\/p>\n

Greene is so amazed by the generosity of the believers in Athens that rather than suing to remove their manger scene, he says he\u2019d like to add his contribution.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI have decided to show my appreciation to the Christian community for all their help, and I am going to buy a star for the top of the Nativity scene.\u00a0 You people can figure out how to plug it in.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s thinking about writing a book.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to call it the real \u2018Christians of Henderson County,\u00a0 Texas,\u2019\u201d Greene said. \u00a0\u201cThese people are acting like what the Bible says a Christian does.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turning the other cheek seems to be working\u00a0in little Athens, Texas. It seems a big-city atheist heard that they had a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn last winter, according to MSNBC News.\u00a0So, he\u00a0called Athens officials\u00a0five hours\u00a0away to threaten that if they did it again, he would sue. The result was outrage. Nationwide, America has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":270,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[674,32,976,1120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheist","category-christian","category-free-speech","category-persecuted-christians"],"yoast_head":"\nTexas town turns other cheek, helps atheist who threatened their nativity scene<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2012\/03\/texas-town-turns-other-cheek-helps-atheist-who-threatened-their-nativity-scene\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Texas town turns other cheek, helps atheist who threatened their nativity scene\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Turning the other cheek seems to be working\u00a0in little Athens, Texas. It seems a big-city atheist heard that they had a nativity scene on the courthouse lawn last winter, according to MSNBC News.\u00a0So, he\u00a0called Athens officials\u00a0five hours\u00a0away to threaten that if they did it again, he would sue. The result was outrage. 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