Author Topic: Prayer and Religion in Public Life  (Read 634698 times)

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #175 on: November 04, 2011, 11:06:21 AM »
Paranoid anti-religious extremists just can't help themselves.   ::)

Air Force Academy Backs Away from Christmas Charity
Nov 4, 2011

The Air Force Academy apologized Thursday night after it was accused of religious intolerance for promoting Operation Christmas Child – a program designed to send holiday gifts to impoverished children around the world.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation said military commanders crossed the line when they promoted the gift program, sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse, an organization run by Franklin Graham.

Operation Christmas Child said they expect to send more than 8 million shoe box gifts to underprivileged children in 100 countries. Around 60,000 churches and 60,000 community groups in the United States are participating.

MikeyWeinstein, of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said an evangelical Christian message is also included in the boxes.

“This is a proselytizing entity of Franklin Graham,” said the group’s president, Mikey Weinstein. He filed a complaint on behalf of 132 Academy personnel including two sets of Muslim-American parents.

The attack on Operation Christmas Child has generated outrage across the country.

“It’s another anti-faith effort that we are seeing by this administration,” said Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), who just pushed a congressional effort to reaffirm “In God We Trust” as the national motto.

“This is beyond political correctness,” Forbes told Fox News. “This is an anti-faith mode that we see over and over again coming from this administration and the people serving in it.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told Fox News that this is evidence that the Obama administration “has engaged in a culture war beyond measure.”

“We see here the collateral damage – the fallout of religious freedom and the attack on Christian organizations that are simply reaching out to help those in need,” Perkins said. “This is a long pattern under this administration under a president who apologized for everything that is American.”

“It’s so outrageous,” said Jordan Sekulow an attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice. He said the controversy is an example of the cultural shift happening in the United States.

“This is a perfect example of how heartless these groups are when it comes to defending their anti-religion position,” Sekulow said. “It’s not about the First Amendment. It’s about a real hatred of religious people and people of faith that they would go so far as to stop an assistance program like Operation Christmas Child.”

Weinstein refuted that allegation.

“We are not trying to take shoe boxes of toys and candy away from kids,” Weinstein told Fox News. “But this is clearly an egregious Constitutional mistake.”

The Academy sent an e-mail to the entire cadet wing inviting them to participate in the Operation Christmas Child project.
 “As the holidays approach, we have the opportunity to provide the joy of Christmas to impoverished Children around the world,” read the e-mail sent to some 4,400 cadets and provided to Fox News. “PLEASE, PLEASE CONSIDER SPENDING SOME OF YOUR VALUABLE TIME AND MONEY TO LOVE ON A KID AROUND THE WORLD!!.”

Weinstein said he was alerted to the program on Wednesday after he was notified by an upset cadet.

“The cadet sent an e-mail saying, ‘This just shows how our military is supporting one religion – which is Christianity,’” Weinstein said.
He later received a telephone call from Brig. Gen. Richard Clark, the Academy’s commandant of cadets, to apologize.

“He said it was a mistake and he would fix it,” Weinstein said. “Lady Liberty is smiling tonight. This is a victory for the Constitution.”

“We agree that it was inappropriate,” Academy spokesman Lt. Col. John Bryan told the Colorado Gazette. He told the newspaper that the initial e-mail was sent by cadets without the knowledge of senior leaders.

Late yesterday, cadets received the following e-mail retracting the promotion of Operation Christmas Child:

 “My apologies for the below message as it was not sent to the proper audience. The Cadet Chaplain Corps will be resending through the proper channels and to the proper audience.

Weinstein said he doesn’t have a problem with secular toy drives – but Graham’s, he said, crossed the line.

“Franklin Graham is a fundamentalist – a total enemy of the Constitution – an absolutely incredible Islamophobe,” Weinstein said.

He argued that Operation Christmas Child should have been promoted through the Academy’s chaplains – not the entire Academy. And that’s exactly where the project rests – in the hands of the chaplains.

“The kids will still get their toys,” he said acknowledging that it will only be promoted to a smaller subset of people.

Operation Christmas Child said they were unaware of the controversy at the Air Force Academy.

http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/air-force-academy-backs-away-from-christmas-charity.html

MCWAY

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #176 on: November 04, 2011, 11:10:25 AM »
Giving kids toys on Christmas........AAAAAAA AAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #177 on: November 04, 2011, 11:17:08 AM »
Giving kids toys on Christmas........AAAAAAA AAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The horror . . . .

Straw Man

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #178 on: November 12, 2011, 11:39:27 AM »
Radical Fundie Christians gather to protest the religious freedom of their fellow citizens

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/detroit-faith-leaders-condemn-11-11-11-christian-prayer-event-vilifying-muslims/

Some Detroit Faith Leaders Condemn 11-11-11 Christian Prayer Event

Friday, November 11th, 2011 is an unusual day.  So unusual, in fact, that it occurs only once every 100 years. While some people are planning to mark the triple convergence of 11′s with a splash, hoping it will bring them good fortune, others are planning to rid Detroit of demons – Muslim “demons,” that is.

As The Blaze previously reported, Evangelical group known as “The Call,” headed by Lou Engle, is planning a prayer rally at Ford Field in Detroit on November 11th, with the goal of uplifting the city of Detroit, “a microcosm of our national crisis,” as Engle describes it.

Engle believes Detroit is “God’s staging ground for healing and prayer,” capable of producing “a prayer that can change the nation.”  He points out that Detroit is rife with “economic collapse, racial tension, the rising tide of the Islamic movement, and the shedding of our children’s innocent blood on the streets and yet unborn.”

Some leaders of Detroit’s Christian and Muslim communities, however, have expressed concern about the real aim of the planned rally. They believe The Call’s leaders frequently “demonize Islam and promote ‘Dominionist’ theology, which advocates a takeover of government, media and business by conservative Christians.”

And the Council for Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on mosques across the Detroit area to beef up security in preparation for the event.

To counter the planned rally, local leaders gathered Thursday afternoon in Detroit’s Grand Circus Park to promote an alternative event “for people of faith to pray for Detroit in an inclusive, non-political way,” and to denounce Lou Engle’s rally at Ford Field as “un-Christian, “un-American,” and “idolatrous.”

Critics of Engle point to his intentions of converting “Muslims to Christianity before they turn Michigan into an Islamic state,” as cause for concern.  Indeed Engle has alienated many potential sympathizers with statements such as this:

“At 11-11-11 the Lord just clearly showed to us, you got to pray all night long because it’s when the Muslims sleep and all over the world right now Muslims in the night are having dreams of Jesus, we believe that God wants to invade with His love Dearborn with dreams of Jesus.  We’re gathering together to say God, pour out your grace and revelations of Jesus all over Dearborn and the Muslim communities of North and South America.”

An additional element of controversy surfaced when several of Detroit’s most prominent African-American pastors agreed to support and join Engle’s rally.  Other pastors came to their defense, however, indicating that they were tricked into believing this was a “nice, goody-goody event and we’re going to sing kumbaya.”

On Friday, 11/11/11, the day of “reckoning,” all shall be revealed, or so Engle says:


Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #179 on: November 12, 2011, 11:50:11 AM »
Awesome.

Penn State and Nebraska Teams Pray Together For Child Sex Abuse Victims
By Noel Sheppard | November 12, 2011

There was a touching scene before Saturday's Penn State-Nebraska football game when all the players and coaches from both teams joined in the middle of the field to say a prayer for the victims in the emerging child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the nation (video follows with commentary): [click on the link to see the video]

May G-d bless all the victims and families taken advantage of by members of the Penn State University faculty and donors, and let there be swift justice for those that were involved in these heinous acts as well as for anyone that assisted in covering them up all these years.



http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/11/12/penn-state-and-nebraska-teams-pray-together-child-sex-abuse-victims

Straw Man

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #180 on: November 12, 2011, 11:57:33 AM »
Awesome.

Penn State and Nebraska Teams Pray Together For Child Sex Abuse Victims
By Noel Sheppard | November 12, 2011

There was a touching scene before Saturday's Penn State-Nebraska football game when all the players and coaches from both teams joined in the middle of the field to say a prayer for the victims in the emerging child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the nation (video follows with commentary): [click on the link to see the video]

May G-d bless all the victims and families taken advantage of by members of the Penn State University faculty and donors, and let there be swift justice for those that were involved in these heinous acts as well as for anyone that assisted in covering them up all these years.



http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/11/12/penn-state-and-nebraska-teams-pray-together-child-sex-abuse-victims

yeah - all that prayer is going to do a lot of good for those poor kids who were raped by that freak while everyone looked the other way.

how can someone witness a child or anyone being raped and not do something about it immediately?

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #181 on: November 18, 2011, 09:51:13 AM »
Proposal to bring back "In God We Trust" on Georgia License Plates
by Bree Tracey | November 16, 2011

On a typical Georgia license plate you'll see a pastoral image of green fields and peaches, but one thing you won't find is the motto "In God We Trust."

Sen. Bill Heath (R-GA) is trying to change this by filing a proposal Tuesday to make the phrase "In God We Trust" the default motto on all Georgia license plates, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Last spring, the state held a public contest to pick a new license plate design. The Revenue Department's website showed entries with the "In God We Trust" motto on it and did not make it clear the motto was not a permanent part of each design, so people were forced to re-vote.

Motorists can already purchase a sticker with the motto for $1 that can be placed over the county name decal that comes standard on each license plate, but Sen. Heath wants to reverse this order. He proposed for the motto to appear on all Georgia license plates after July 1st, leaving motorists with the option to cover the motto with a decal sticker if they wanted.

Tuesday was the first day state lawmakers could submit proposed laws and resolution in advance of next year's legislation session that begins January 9.

http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/11/16/proposal-bring-back-god-we-trust-georgia-license-plates?test=latestnews

kcballer

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #182 on: November 18, 2011, 09:53:54 AM »
Awesome.

Penn State and Nebraska Teams Pray Together For Child Sex Abuse Victims
By Noel Sheppard | November 12, 2011

There was a touching scene before Saturday's Penn State-Nebraska football game when all the players and coaches from both teams joined in the middle of the field to say a prayer for the victims in the emerging child sex abuse scandal that has rocked the nation (video follows with commentary): [click on the link to see the video]

May G-d bless all the victims and families taken advantage of by members of the Penn State University faculty and donors, and let there be swift justice for those that were involved in these heinous acts as well as for anyone that assisted in covering them up all these years.



http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/11/12/penn-state-and-nebraska-teams-pray-together-child-sex-abuse-victims

Prayer didn't stop the catholic church being pedophiles.  How will it do anything here?  Hmmm?  it won't.  Pray is a selfish act designed to make one feel better about their own self interest.  Oh well i'm not going to actually help but i'll pray so yeah that makes it okay.  Loser.
Abandon every hope...

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #183 on: November 18, 2011, 09:59:50 AM »
Prayer didn't stop the catholic church being pedophiles.  How will it do anything here?  Hmmm?  it won't.  Pray is a selfish act designed to make one feel better about their own self interest.  Oh well i'm not going to actually help but i'll pray so yeah that makes it okay.  Loser.

The entire Nebraska and Penn State football teams disagree with you.   :)

kcballer

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #184 on: November 18, 2011, 10:02:00 AM »
The entire Nebraska and Penn State football teams disagree with you.   :)

Oh no!  A bunch of footballers disagree with me.   ::)
Abandon every hope...

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #185 on: November 18, 2011, 10:02:44 AM »
Oh no!  A bunch of footballers disagree with me.   ::)

Yes, they do.  As does the vast majority of the country. 

Straw Man

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #186 on: November 18, 2011, 10:14:55 AM »
Yes, they do.  As does the vast majority of the country.  

the vast majority of the country thinks praying for child rape victims is somehow helping the victims?

where did you get that idea?

Instead they should pray that Sandusky makes a fuil confession and then puts a bullet in his head

that would actually be helpful to society and it might even make the victims feel a bit better too

kcballer

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #187 on: November 18, 2011, 10:18:09 AM »
Yes, they do.  As does the vast majority of the country. 

haha and that's why we have child molestation because instead of doing something about it, people like you would rather 'pray' about it.  great solution.  How's that working out for ya?  ::)
Abandon every hope...

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #188 on: November 18, 2011, 10:21:32 AM »
haha and that's why we have child molestation because instead of doing something about it, people like you would rather 'pray' about it.  great solution.  How's that working out for ya?  ::)

Actually, I think pedophiles should be one and done.  The recidivism rate is astronomical. 

In any event, the Penn State/Nebraska prayer was pretty awesome. 

Straw Man

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #189 on: November 18, 2011, 10:26:21 AM »
Actually, I think pedophiles should be one and done.  The recidivism rate is astronomical. 

In any event, the Penn State/Nebraska prayer was pretty awesome. 

what was so awesome about it ?

just a bunch of people praying

it happens every day all over the world.


Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #190 on: November 18, 2011, 09:17:04 PM »
What a pathetic life these people lead.  Running around the country crying about religious symbols.   ::)

Military Investigates Memorial Cross at Camp Pendleton
Nov 18, 2011

Military officials at Camp Pendleton are investigating a cross that was erected by a group of former Marines to honor their fallen colleagues, after an atheist group objected to the monument.

“Camp Pendleton legal authorities are researching and reviewing the issue in order to make a judicious decision,” Lt. Ryan Finnegan said in a statement to Fox News & Commentary. “As Marines, we are proud to honor our fallen brothers, and are also proud of our extended Marine Corps family. However, it is important to follow procedure and use appropriate processes for doing this in a correct manner to protect the sentiment from question as well as be good stewards of our taxpayer dollars.”


Photo Courtesy of LA Times

The Los Angeles Times documented the former Marines as they carried the 13-foot cross up a steep hill – a Veterans Day journey that took two hours. They were accompanied by the widows and children of the fallen Marines. You can read the LA Times blog by clicking here.

The cross was erected and dedicated to the memory of Maj. Douglas Zembiec, Maj. Ray Mendoza, Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin and Lance Cpl. Robert Zurheide. It replaced another cross that was destroyed by a brush fire in 2003.

The former Marines chose to carry the cross, rather than use a vehicle. They told the newspaper that carrying the cross was an act of profound symbolism: the fallen are never forgotten, the mission never falters.

But for Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, the cross is a violation of the constitutional separation of church and state.

“The question is why government officials would allow this to happen,” Torpy told Fox News & Commentary.

Torpy said he contacted Camp Pendleton to raise objections on behalf of a number of his members who read the LA Times story.

“I can definitely understand losing someone in combat,” Torpy said. “I was in Iraq. But it’s unfortunate that now I have to be a bad guy and ask why is this on federal land instead of on private land.”
Torpy said he could have given the Marines a pass.

“Maybe, but not really,” he said. “This is a large, 13-foot cross – generally these things are posted up in places that lord over the surrounding area.”

He said the allowing the cross to remain on Camp Pendleton property is “exploiting my service in order to gain special privileges for Christianity and that’s not fair to me.”
Lt. Finnegan confirmed to Fox News that the cross is on Camp Pendleton land.

He said the former Marines who erected the cross were “private individuals acting solely in their personal capacities. As such they were not acting in any official position or capacity that may be construed as an endorsement of a specific religious denomination by the Department of Defense or the U.S. Marine Corps.”

Depending on the outcome of the review, the cross could be removed.

Torpy said that’s the appropriate thing to do.

“I’m sure there’s maybe some way that this could be worked out, but wandering up a hill at Camp Pendleton with an exclusively sectarian religious monument, a big one, and say ‘I’m just going to do this on my own – that’s not how the federal government works,” he said.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and a former Marine, said he was disgusted by the atheist’s complaints.

“It’s really outrageous and it shows the hostile environment that’s been created by this (Obama) administration towards religious freedom,” Perkins told Fox News. “At some point, we have to say, enough is enough.”

Perkins said radical atheists are attacking the U.S. Military.

“I’ve actually climbed those hills at Camp Pendleton and getting a cross to the top of them is no small challenge,” Perkins said. “But unfortunately, the greater challenge is to ensure that radical secularists do not crucify the freedoms won by these heroic efforts of the men and women who serve – on the cross of political correctness.”

Lt. Finnegan said it was unclear how long the investigation might take.

http://radio.foxnews.com//toddstarnes/top-stories/military-investigates-memorial-cross-at-camp-pendleton.html

Straw Man

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #191 on: November 18, 2011, 10:39:13 PM »
What a pathetic life these people lead.  Running around the country crying about religious symbols.   ::)
Military Investigates Memorial Cross at Camp Pendleton
Nov 18, 2011

Military officials at Camp Pendleton are investigating a cross that was erected by a group of former Marines to honor their fallen colleagues, after an atheist group objected to the monument.

“Camp Pendleton legal authorities are researching and reviewing the issue in order to make a judicious decision,” Lt. Ryan Finnegan said in a statement to Fox News & Commentary. “As Marines, we are proud to honor our fallen brothers, and are also proud of our extended Marine Corps family. However, it is important to follow procedure and use appropriate processes for doing this in a correct manner to protect the sentiment from question as well as be good stewards of our taxpayer dollars.”


Photo Courtesy of LA Times

The Los Angeles Times documented the former Marines as they carried the 13-foot cross up a steep hill – a Veterans Day journey that took two hours. They were accompanied by the widows and children of the fallen Marines. You can read the LA Times blog by clicking here.

The cross was erected and dedicated to the memory of Maj. Douglas Zembiec, Maj. Ray Mendoza, Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin and Lance Cpl. Robert Zurheide. It replaced another cross that was destroyed by a brush fire in 2003.

The former Marines chose to carry the cross, rather than use a vehicle. They told the newspaper that carrying the cross was an act of profound symbolism: the fallen are never forgotten, the mission never falters.

But for Jason Torpy, president of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, the cross is a violation of the constitutional separation of church and state.

“The question is why government officials would allow this to happen,” Torpy told Fox News & Commentary.

Torpy said he contacted Camp Pendleton to raise objections on behalf of a number of his members who read the LA Times story.

“I can definitely understand losing someone in combat,” Torpy said. “I was in Iraq. But it’s unfortunate that now I have to be a bad guy and ask why is this on federal land instead of on private land.”
Torpy said he could have given the Marines a pass.

“Maybe, but not really,” he said. “This is a large, 13-foot cross – generally these things are posted up in places that lord over the surrounding area.”

He said the allowing the cross to remain on Camp Pendleton property is “exploiting my service in order to gain special privileges for Christianity and that’s not fair to me.”
Lt. Finnegan confirmed to Fox News that the cross is on Camp Pendleton land.

He said the former Marines who erected the cross were “private individuals acting solely in their personal capacities. As such they were not acting in any official position or capacity that may be construed as an endorsement of a specific religious denomination by the Department of Defense or the U.S. Marine Corps.”

Depending on the outcome of the review, the cross could be removed.

Torpy said that’s the appropriate thing to do.

“I’m sure there’s maybe some way that this could be worked out, but wandering up a hill at Camp Pendleton with an exclusively sectarian religious monument, a big one, and say ‘I’m just going to do this on my own – that’s not how the federal government works,” he said.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and a former Marine, said he was disgusted by the atheist’s complaints.

“It’s really outrageous and it shows the hostile environment that’s been created by this (Obama) administration towards religious freedom,” Perkins told Fox News. “At some point, we have to say, enough is enough.”

Perkins said radical atheists are attacking the U.S. Military.

“I’ve actually climbed those hills at Camp Pendleton and getting a cross to the top of them is no small challenge,” Perkins said. “But unfortunately, the greater challenge is to ensure that radical secularists do not crucify the freedoms won by these heroic efforts of the men and women who serve – on the cross of political correctness.”

Lt. Finnegan said it was unclear how long the investigation might take.

http://radio.foxnews.com//toddstarnes/top-stories/military-investigates-memorial-cross-at-camp-pendleton.html

you're referring to the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers ?

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #192 on: December 02, 2011, 11:05:51 AM »
Preach B. Hussein.   :)

Obama delivers very Christian message at Christmas tree lighting
By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor

(CNN) - President Barack Obama delivered an unusually stark Christian message at the White House Christmas tree lighting Thursday night, saying Christ's message "lies at the heart of my Christian faith and that of millions of Americans."

"More than 2,000 years ago, a child was born to two faithful travelers who could find rest only in a stable, among the cattle and the sheep," Obama said at the tree lighting ceremony, a longstanding White House tradition.

"But this was not just any child," Obama continued. "Christ’s birth made the angels rejoice and attracted shepherds and kings from afar. He was a manifestation of God’s love for us."

Obama has been more public and specific about his religious beliefs since polls last year showed that only a minority of Americans know he is Christian. Last Easter, Obama got unusually specific about his beliefs on Christ's resurrection at a White House prayer breakfast.

Some conservative Christian leaders have questioned Obama's Christian faith, even though Obama got his start in politics through church-based political organizing and has written about accepting Jesus in his 20s.

Last month, South Carolina Christian conservative leader Bob Jones III told a reporter “I’ve no reason to think (Obama is) Christian."

“Some people will say whatever they think the politically helpful thing would be,” Jones said. “I say, ‘Where is the evidence that he is a Christian?’ ”

In his remarks at Thursday's tree lighting, Obama said that Jesus "grew up to become a leader with a servant’s heart who taught us a message as simple as it is powerful: that we should love God, and love our neighbor as ourselves."

"So long as the gifts and the parties are happening, it’s important for us to keep in mind the central message of this season," he said, "and keep Christ’s words not only in our thoughts, but also in our deeds."

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/01/obama-delivers-very-christian-message-at-christmas-tree-lighting/comment-page-2/

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #193 on: December 02, 2011, 07:48:00 PM »
Who comes up with this stupid stuff?   ::)

U.S. Military to Rescind Policy Banning Bibles at Hospital
Dec 2, 2011
By Todd Starnes

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said they are rescinding a policy that prohibits family members of wounded military troops from bringing Bibles or any religious reading materials to their loved ones.

The decision to rescind the ban on Bibles came exactly one day after a Republican lawmaker denounced the policy on the House floor and called on President Obama to publicly renounce the military policy.
“The President of the United States should address this and should excoriate the people who brought about this policy and the individual who brought it about should be dismissed from the United States Military,” Rep. Steve King (R-IA) told Fox News & Commentary.

King spoke from the House floor Thursday blasting a policy memorandum from the commander of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center written by Chief of Staff C.W. Callahan. The September 14th memo covers guidelines for “wounded, ill, and injured partners in care.”

“No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading material, and/or artifacts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit,” the policy states.

“That means you can’t bring in a Bible and read from it when you visit your son or your daughter, perhaps – or your wife or husband,” King said. “It means a priest that might be coming in to visit someone on their death bed couldn’t bring in the Eucharist, couldn’t offer Last Rites. This is the most outrageous affront.”

A spokesperson for the medical center told Fox News late Friday that the policy will be rewritten and its intent will be made “crystal clear.”

“The instructions about the Bibles and reading material have been rescinded,” said Sandy Dean, a public affairs officer for Walter Reed. “It will be written to articulate our initial intention which was to respect religious and cultural practices of our patients.”

Dean said the instruction was “in no way meant to prohibit family members from providing religious items to their loved ones at all.”
If that’s the case, why is the policy being rescinded?

“We don’t want there to be any misinterpretation of what we’re trying to say,” she told Fox News. “We appreciate Congressman King bringing this to our attention. We don’t want our instructions to be ambiguous.”

We appreciate him bringing it to our attention.

Rep. King said the military has some explaining to do.

“I don’t think there’s any excuse for it and there’s no talking it away,” King told Fox News. “The very existence of this, whether it’s enforced or not, tells you what kind of a mindset is there.”

“The idea that these soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that have fought to defend our Constitution, and that includes our First Amendment rights to religious liberty –would be denied that religious liberty when they are lying in a hospital bed recovering from wounds incurred while defending that liberty is the most bitter and offensive type of an irony that I can think of,” he said.

The policy has brought strong condemnation from religious and conservative advocacy groups.

“It flies in the face of not only the Bill of Rights, but 200 years of federal law,” said Ken Klukwoski, of the Family Research Council. “This current administration is showing unprecedented hostility towards those practicing the Christian faith.”

“But beyond that,” he told Fox News, “We’ve also seen a militantly secular attitude of trying to sterilize the Defense Department of all references to faith.”

Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, echoed Rep. King’s demand that whoever is responsible for the memo be fired.

“It cannot be allowed to stand,” Land told Fox News. “It must be rescinded and the people responsible for perpetrating it should be fired.”
Land said the policy “shows the ugly face of the pseudo-tolerance of secularism.”

“They claim to be tolerant but this is as intolerant as you can be – to not allow wounded soldiers to have religious artifacts,” Land said.
King said Americans must “take a very strong stand.”

“Christians are generally nice people and for that reason they can victimize the Christians in this country,” he said. “There was a reason that Christ gave us the demonstration of righteous anger when he threw the money changers out of the temple. It gives us some license to throw these kinds of people out of the military.”

King said he’s been alarmed at a trend he’s seen to scrub Christianity from the military – most recently the decision to remove a cross from an Army chapel in northern Afghanistan because it violated Army regulations.

He placed the blame on the Obama Administration.

“This is Orwellian,” he said. “Who would have believed even two or five years ago that the Executive branch of government led by our Commander in Chief Barack Obama would produce some kind of document that would prohibit family members coming into our military hospitals

Klukwoski said he’s noticed a similar trend in what he called “anti-faith measures.”

“We are seeing a shocking level of hostility towards religious faith but beyond that – we’ve also seen a militantly secular attitude of trying to sterilize the defense department of all references to faith and references,” he said.

http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes/top-stories/u-s-military-to-rescind-policy-banning-bibles-at-hospital.html

tonymctones

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #194 on: December 02, 2011, 10:49:05 PM »
^^^

strawman and his cronies

Dos Equis

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #195 on: December 11, 2011, 11:12:11 AM »
Why can't these people just enjoy the most wonderful time of the year?  How miserable are their lives?   ::)

Atheist Group Seeks Banner to Join Christmas Display
Published December 10, 2011
Associated Press

ATHENS, Texas –  A national atheist foundation plans to seek permission to hoist its own banner to join secular and religious Christmas displays on an East Texas courthouse square.

The display surrounding the Henderson County Courthouse in Athens includes a traditional Nativity scene, as well as multiple Santa Clauses, elves, wreathes, garland, trumpeters, dwarfs, snowmen, reindeer and Christmas trees, the Athens Daily Review reported.

"We've got an array of decorations and feel that we are in compliance with federal law," County Judge Richard Sanders told the newspaper. "We're not pushing any religious down anybody's throat. These are holiday decorations we enjoy."

However, county officials received a letter Monday from the Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation, which argued the seasonal display on courthouse grounds amounts to an unconstitutional endorsement of the Christian faith.

Foundation attorney Stephanie Schmitt says that since the county allows the nonprofit group Keep Athens Beautiful to erect the displays on the town square, they amount to a "public forum." Schmitt told the newspaper the group would ask to put up its own display.

Schmitt said the foundation had received 20 to 25 complaints this holiday season of religious displays it regards as illegal.

In Elmwood City, Pa., the foundation has proposed hoisting a banner that reads: "At this season of the Winter Solstice, LET REASON PREVAIL. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds."

Meanwhile, Henderson County Sheriff Ray Nutt said his office received a report Thursday that someone had defaced some of the figures in the display, but the markings were later removed.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/10/atheist-group-seeks-banner-to-join-christmas-display/

Straw Man

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #196 on: December 11, 2011, 12:55:13 PM »
^^^

strawman and his cronies

speak for yourself and I'll speak for myself

this is one instance where I'm in complete agreement with Bum and I thought this story might have been a joke

Why in the world would we care if soldiers have bible, koran, etc... I assume they have them in the field and I can't believe they wouldn't be allowed to have them in a hospital.  Don't these places have chaplains?  It just makes no sense at all. 

garebear

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #197 on: December 11, 2011, 05:00:41 PM »
Yes, they do.  As does the vast majority of the country. 
At one point the vast majority of the country were absolute white supremacists. Were they correct in their racism since they formed a majority?

Learn to think independently, child.
G

tonymctones

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #198 on: December 11, 2011, 05:17:26 PM »
At one point the vast majority of the country were absolute white supremacists. Were they correct in their racism since they formed a majority?

Learn to think independently, child.
LOL learn how to disprove a point, does the white supremacists being wrong make another group wrong?


moron...

tonymctones

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Re: Prayer and Religion in Public Life
« Reply #199 on: December 11, 2011, 05:18:24 PM »
speak for yourself and I'll speak for myself

this is one instance where I'm in complete agreement with Bum and I thought this story might have been a joke

Why in the world would we care if soldiers have bible, koran, etc... I assume they have them in the field and I can't believe they wouldn't be allowed to have them in a hospital.  Don't these places have chaplains?  It just makes no sense at all. 
your liberalism does have limits, I am impressed sir