America's most famous Christian artist?
James Tazelaar
somewhat wobbly scrawl.
When the school * announced that students were to submit drawings of how to
save the earth, the little boy was asked by his mom, "What do you think
about it?" His answer was, "Mom, the only way we can save the earth is
Jesus." She thought about it and soon her small son began what may one day
be recognized as an authentic piece of Christian art...
The school officials, especially an ogre named, of all things, Creme,
thought otherwise. The boy's mother was sternly informed her son's picture
could not be hung. The picture, which showed a white-robed man and two kids
standing in front of a rock labeled Savior, "was NOT about recycling" - Wow!
Would I have jumped Mr. Creme even if I got a bit messy! He couldn't have
been more wrong! Recycling is what the Christian walk is all about, bro...
Anyhow, the little crayon masterpiece was entitled, 'The only way to save
the earth.'
So the youthful artist began another poster, this time showing a boy picking
up trash in front of a church. Jesus was in the background, kneeling.
When his mom viewed the colorful posters of her son's peers in the world of
kiddie art ... she was shocked to see that someone, an old ogre I becha, had
folded the poster so that Jesus was not visible!
But this being a public school in New York mysterious things can and do
happen. When his mom returned to look at the mangled poster it was gone!
Jesus, it seems, is not part of the recycling scene according to Creme. He
wasn't part of the school assignment, to clean or save the earth...
Comes now an instance of when a lawyer is a God-send. The Liberty Council
has offered legal assistance to the family. The school's message, they feel,
is that the lad's faith is illegal and is something to be censored or
carried around in a brown paper bag." My generation took this to mean
alcohol under wraps or maybe even the old Sexology magazine. Here it means a
child's simple faith.
Would you believe that a violation of the First Amendment plus a 1995
federal guideline that states "students may express their beliefs about
religions in the form of homework, art work ... free of religious
discrimination based on the content of their submissions" may be involved? I
can only shout, HALLELUJAH!
You will see and hear more of Mrs. Jo Anne Peck and her son, Antonio. Having
a family of 8 (four of whom are adopted) she's busy, but not too busy that
she can't support a fledgling artist - her son!
Whether the ogre or one of his trolls returned the boy's poster I don't
know. My guess is, no. The extent of the hate that mankind, lost and apart
from God, exhibits towards anything that honors God's Son - even a child's
poster - is nowhere better illustrated than in this incident in Syracuse,
New York.
Recently, you'll recall, a zealot in the Georgia school system smelt (no
better word comes to mind) "cult" in a Star of David medallion worn by a
school-age child. Once the zealot became enlightened the medallion was
returned. Let us fervently pray that should this case go forward and become
a Federal issue, Antonio Peck, Christian artist, will win - big!
My guess is, magnanimous little fellow that he is, Antonio will draw,
autograph, and present to Mr. Creme a drawing he can't resist - a troll
caught trashing the school grounds is apprehended by Officer Jesus.
* www.worldmag.com/ - See 'Back to the drawing board,' by Candi Cushman.