WHAT DO the words "mayday," "bomb" and "Christianity" have in common? They'll all cause people to freak out if you say them out loud on an airplane. At least, that's the case as of last Friday, when the pilot of American Airlines Flight 34 from L.A. to New York chose to bring up the topic of faith to his passengers. Rather than being seen as an innocent attempt on behalf of the pilot to share his beliefs, the actions in question have been met with a barrage of criticism for carelessly inciting fear and causing offense. Such views misinterpret the nature of the pilot's words, which should be admired by persons of faith everywhere.
The pilot, whose name has not been released, committed no misdeed by asking Christians on his flight to identify themselves. Nor did he cross the line when he subsequently encouraged the non-Christian passengers to enter into conversations about God with the believers on board. Still, the incident caused many to complain to flight attendants. Others, fearing that the reference to Christianity was a sign of the pilot's malicious intent, called for help on their cell phones ("Pilot's proselytizing scares passengers," CNN.com, Feb. 9).
Several have reiterated those fears in public statements made to the media over the weekend. One passenger, Karla Austin, even dared to make a loaded connection to the tragedy of September 11. "Just given the history of what's happened on planes in this country, anything can happen at this point," Austin told CNN. While the perpetrators of past crimes have often warped the teachings of their religion to suit their goals, there was no reason to initially assume that this Christian pilot resembled one of these fanatics.
For Flight 34's passengers to have such an alarmist reaction to the pilot's comments, they must possess a genuine misunderstanding of the workings of the Christian faith. Since its founding 2,000 years ago, Christianity has called upon believers to actively spread its message to the world. This concept dates back to the events chronicled in the New Testament gospels and book of Acts, in which the followers of Jesus engaged in ministry to the world about Christ's teachings. The pilot in this case was only trying to find an innovative way to fulfill this charge of his faith.
The pilot's choice to evangelize within the unconventional setting of a commercial flight does not contradict the legitimacy of his efforts within the context of mainstream Christianity. Though talk of God is often limited to "safe" locations such as church, Christianity teaches that the subject of God is not taboo in any area of life. In fact, such a view would be illogical to anyone who genuinely seeks to make an impact on those who are not already Christians. These individuals aren't going to take it upon themselves to visit churches begging to be converted; Christians must seek them out in secular environments.
I do not mean to suggest that the pilot's aggressiveness is in accord with contemporary social norms. Today's society holds that certain topics, like religion, should be kept to oneself. According to his employer, the pilot's behavior "falls along the lines of a personal level of sharing that may not be appropriate for one of our employees to do while on the job." While the passengers may have expected some degree of privacy on the flight, such distinctions between private and public spheres of discussion are inconsistent with the values of religious freedom. Non-Christians are always free to ignore evangelistic messages, but Christians cannot meet the requirements of their faith without speaking to others about God.
It should be noted that these events are not a flawless example of how to be a Christian missionary. According to some reports, the pilot commented that those on board who weren't Christians must be "crazy," though the pilot himself has denied saying so. If, in fact, that term was used, it was a foolish insult that improperly reflects the attitude Christians should have toward persons of other beliefs. Even if his word-choice was poor, however, the central thrust behind what the pilot said remains the same. He simply professed an aspect of his principal belief, suggesting that others give it a try as well.
While the pilot of American Airlines Flight 34 may seem a bit out of the ordinary, he demonstrated extraordinary character by standing up to the societal pressure to keep his mouth shut in matters of faith. Today's Christians would be wise to follow his inspirational example in their workplaces, classes and social lives.
(Chris Kiser's column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at ckiser@cavalierdaily.com.)
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