WILL.I.AM's comment on Einstein

[mrnoble]

Originally Posted by jee7s

Consider that to be the inclusionary environment we all want FIRST to be, one must be sensitive to all cultures. There are many more than a handful of teams in the various FIRST competitions that are sponsored by religious organizations. Usually these are parochial schools of various sorts. Think of the impact such comments would have on those who read the following from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians and believe it to be the word of God:

What is the message sent to those who take the Bible literally and believe it is a sin to be exposed (or allow innocent people to be exposed) to such language?

Thank you, thank you for making this my new favorite all-time CD thread. By introducing biblical exegesis as a standard for FIRST, you have not only opened the proverbial can of worms but you have also allowed me to speak on the topic in which I am formally trained (in Seminary).

Last week I took a team that included two Muslims, an Orthodox Jew, and a Seventh Day Adventist to CMP. There are numerous ways in which participating in FRC potentially conflicts with their beliefs and practices, including having events on a Saturday (Sabbath), and serving the team cheeseburgers. They and their families make choices and compromises in order to allow them to be part of the team, and we also make some compromises as a team to accommodate them. Still it's their choice to participate or not, knowing who and what we are.

If we want to quote the Apostle Paul, here's one for you:

"For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”
1 Corinthians‬ 9:19-22‬‬‬

Much more importantly, though, FIRST IS NOT A CHRISTIAN ORGANIZATION. Feel free to run your team as you see fit, but if you want Christian Robotics I strongly suggest you look elsewhere.

How do we market the program when people are literally prepared to print t-shirts

That would be me. They're already printing by the way, and my first customer (not really the right word, these are being sold at cost) is a team mother.