So what if a preacher spoke at a school

Stuff reports:

American Christian preacher Reggie Dabbs has angered parents again, with a motivational speech at Kapiti College being slammed by some as evangelism by stealth.

Dabbs spoke to about 280 year 9 and 10 pupils on Thursday as part of a tour of Wellington secondary schools including Wellington College and Rongotai College.

At the end of his speech, flyers advertising Arise Church’s Impact convention at Wellington’s Opera House on Friday night were made available, which sparked an uproar on a Raumati community Facebook page.

One parent voiced her concerns on the heated thread saying the flyers were “inappropriate” and that Dabbs’ speech was delivered with “a side of church.”. 

So what? I’m all for not teaching religion in schools, but banning an interesting motivational speaker because he is a preacher is getting too purist.

In a statement on the Facebook thread Kane said the issue was a difficult ethical question for schools, but young people might be more sophisticated in matters of theology than they were given credit for. 

“So I guess to answer the question: should we allow a religious group to preach their views to a captive audience in schools? Absolutely not,” Kane said.

“Should we allow someone who happens to be Christian to give a worthwhile presentation in schools? There are a variety of views in the thread, but I am struggling to see the harm.”

I agree both on young people being more sophisticated than you’d think and that what was the harm?