I was on the bus last week, and it was just me and the driver. I sat right up front. Next thing I know he is hitting me up with conversation, and being incredibly friendly. It put me a bit out of my element. I mean, I ride the bus a lot and they never talk to me. After a bit of chatting he asks my name, and after I introduced myself one of the strangest and most surreal of things happened: He handed me his business card and introduced himself as a “Monk of Jesus Christ.” Talk about cultural amalgamation! I know many walks of life think many things of Jesus, but i’m not sure how to put this together.
Ok, so I stupidly threw the card away the instant I got off the bus, but now i’m curious: Just what is a Monk of Jesus Christ? A corellary to this question is whether it is legal for him to be apologetic on the job. FWIW, it could have been a Monk for Jesus Christ. I can’t remember.
You could let the City of Boulder - who seem to run the system - know.
But in 2006 it should not be surprising if the the Monks were some kind of religious organization working as Subcontractors to the City. A bit surprising that they were Bus Drivers, rather than counselors or Social Servers of some kind I guess.
Assuming he is an actual Public Employee - really it can be phrased as an Employer establishment-clause vs. First Amendment conflict
The Bottom-line to your Question is “yes it is legal for him to proselytize on the job” and “no it is not legal for him to proselytize on the job” depending on which court case you cite.
The lower courts do not agree on what legal standards to apply to public employee religious-expression cases. Without further guidance from the Supreme Court, the issue is likely to remain unclear.
I saw that web site (it’s the only one that shows up on google) and I didn’t even recognize him, but yeah, that’s my bus driver!
Thanks.
jimmy, thanks for that information. It didn’t bother me such that I want to report it or anything, however, it crossed my mind that this could be of questionable legality.
Yes, and apologetics is a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity; but it didn’t seem to me as if the OP had that sense in mind. It is, though, not quite clear whether the bus driver was merely witnessing (attesting to his own faith) or was prosletyzing (attempting to convert to that faith).
That’s not the definition of the word I’ve always heard. The way it’s defined at dictionary.com is the standard:
It is in that sense that Lewis is called a Catholic apologist. He most definitely did not publicly witness for his faith, at least in the way that fundamentalist Protestants normally use the term. Proselytizing is the word for that.
I was under the impression that Lewis is an apologist. What about his radio addresses? Mere Christianity (which I’ve read some of) is categorized as Apologetics by the Library of Congress (link goes to highlighted page at Google Book Search)
I had a roommate, some time ago, who worked for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. On the one hand its a “conservative think tank,” but really what they are about is establishing christian-conservative student groups at universities across the country and publishing books with that slant. Anyway, he had me read an article titled “In Defense of Apologetics” - probably this one. And that is where I derived my understanding of the word. The bus driver was essentially doing what my roommate had done. He wasn’t trying to convert me to a particular thing, he was just like “I am a Monk of Jesus Christ, here is where you can find more information about that.”
Lewis was a generaly Christian apologist, not a specifically Catholic one. Lewis was C. of E., not R.C. (Which was apparently a point of discussion between him and JRR Tolkein, who was R.C.) And from the books and films about Lewis, I’ve always understood that he did in fact publicly witness, in the sense that he gave public addresses on his Christian beliefs.
Hey alterego, was it a First Transit bus or an RTD bus?
I’m curious, because I ride the bus in Boulder all the time and I talk to all the drivers. First Transit is way more lax in its hiring practices, probably because it only pays $11.50 an hour.
I’m certain that it’s against company policy for him to preach to passengers. Some would consider it offensive.
I just reread your OP and it says that he introduced himself to you; I guess I just inferred that he was preaching to you, too. Was he? Or was he just being friendly?
I almost never ride the Skip, as it doesn’t go anywhere near my house …
In any case, “apologetic,” as an adjective describing a person, was not the best word for getting the clearest intended meaning across to the greatest number of readers of this thread. “Apologetic,” as an adjective describing a person, has an established definition (self-deprecating; offering an excuse). It looks like the OP took the *noun *“apologetic,” which refers to a defense of (e.g.) a religion, and misused it as an adjective to describe the person presenting that defense.