Persecuted for his cross

Persecuted for his Cross.. yes, a 64 year old Christian faces being sacked from Wakefield District Housing. His sin? Placing a palm crucifix on the dashboard of his work van! Mr Atkinson is facing disciplinary action for GROSS MISCONDUCT as he refuses to remove his cross from the van. However he remains true to his faith and says he will choose being faithful to Christ over his job. It's a matter of principle, faith and Christian integrity.

The company, WDH claims to be "inclusive" and boasts how it allows employees to wear religious symbols in the workplace and have religious paraphernalia on desks in the office. They went as far in their statement to the press to make a point of mentioning that they provided stalls at gay pride events, held 'diversity days' for travelers and hosted a gender reassignment event entitled A World That Includes Transpeople.

It seems to me that WDH only want to be inclusive on their terms. Religious symbols within the offices are fine but dare to show one out on the street in a vehicle branded with the WDH logo then it's a total no-go. But why is that? WDH state that they do not want their organisation being associated with any faith whether that is Christianity, Islam or Buddhism. Perhaps it would do them well to remember that we are in fact a Christian country. Failing that, everyone has the right to express their faith in a non-malicious, non-threatening way and to be quite frank I do not see a 6 inch cross being threatening. Many of the taxis I catch have religious regalia hanging from the rear view mirror. Do I have a problem with that? No, I respect that person's faith and what is more I feel that a vehicle is a totally appropriate place to have a faith item given that many accidents happen whilst on the road and I know that I would feel more comforted if I had a religious item in my car, something that would focus me in times of distress and allow me to gain strength in order to get through a possible road traffic accident.

I wear a bangle, one of those 1cm wide stretchy plastic ones. It's bright green and says on it "Jesus saves you". I wear it most of the time, absolutely always when I leave the house. The only time I really take it off is when I bathe as I do not want the writing to wear off. I wear it to work. The bright green colour totally clashes with the colours in my wardrobe thus making it very visible. It's actually started quite a few conversations about Christianity that have proven to be very fruitful.

I've asked myself the question what would I do if my employer asked me to remove it at work and I concur that I would do exactly the same as Mr Atkinson and refuse to remove it. It is my right as a follower of Christ, as a British citizen, as a human being to both express my faith and to bring me a source of comfort and security.

Stand by your beliefs Mr Atkinson. Christians nationwide are proud to call you a brother.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377684/Electrician-Colin-Atkinson-faces-sack-Christian-cross-van-dashboard.html