One Sunday, Webster Cook found himself under attack, verbally and physically, during a Mass hosted by Campus Catholic Ministries at the University of Central Florida.  Why?  For walking away with the Eucharist wafer rather than putting it in his mouth.  He would tell you that he just wanted to show it to his friend.  The Florida media would tell you that he was just an immature, destructive troublemaker (or according to Fox News, committing a hate crime).

Regardless of his intent, there resulted a violent altercation.  Webster was verbally and physically coerced towards either returning the Eucharist or swallowing it.  He stubbornly refused to do either, confused and indignant at the startling and unexpected violence.  He walked away with the Eucharist, keeping it in a drawer in his home until he could speak with a bishop about the use of violence in its attempted reclamation.

This is when the sensationalism started.  "BODY OF CHRIST HELD HOSTAGE" wailed one over-dramatized headline, with videos of teary-eyed priests begging Webster to return this most precious of artifacts.  Webster was portrayed as an immature, attention-craving rogue, and the Catholic world tore into him.

There are some dark, bitter ironies to all of this, foremost being the acronym "WWJD?" that was more likely than not in that room somewhere on that day.  What would Jesus have done?  I might be ignorant about it, but my shallow understanding of Christianity indicates that Jesus would more closely resemble Webster here than the Catholics-which isn't to give him messianic implications.  Webster acted very stubbornly, and the entire incident could easily have been avoided had he acquiesced to their demands and returned the cracker during the service.  His actions, however stubborn, were nevertheless in the right.

There are some even worse implications here, and if you are reading this then you and I probably share the same views on them.  There were legions of people who would have proudly murdered Webster and his family, the promised heavenly reward fueling their defiance of man's mortal law.  Ironic that many of those who craved Webster's blood on their hands were likely the same people who wept for the innocent lives tragically lost on September 11th.  Ask yourself this: how would America have reacted had Webster stepped on Muslim toes?

We cannot afford to ignore the implications here.  Religion has its good and its bad, but its worst evils are far from gone.  It is important for the faithful and skeptical alike to recognize the need for reform, for compassion, for a rational approach to life.  The West is not immune from evil, and an unfortunate many of those who point the finger at the Muslim world for being backwards are guilty of the same faults.

The incident is largely behind us, but the lessons remain: promoting free inquiry in a world that craves emotional satisfaction over truth will prove difficult and highly challenging.  Ours is a battle not just against religion and superstition, but against human nature itself.  However, progress continues, and with hard work and dedicated effort, we can all make a difference.

Max Jackson is president of the Campus Freethought Alliance at the University of Central Florida and is a Campus Regional Director for the Center for Inquiry.  He is majoring in psychology and political science and minoring in anthropology.