Government-sponsored prayer

[Chronos]

The Religious Right is still reaping returns on their investments ...

Town Meetings Can Have Prayer, Justices Decide

WASHINGTON — In a major decision on the role of religion in government, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Constitution allows town boards to start their sessions with sectarian prayers. The ruling, by a 5-to-4 vote, divided the court’s more conservative members from its liberal ones, and their combative opinions reflected very different views of the role of faith in public life, in contemporary society and in the founding of the Republic.

Somehow prayer before government-sponsored meetings is okay but prayer in school is not? I am unable to reconcile this vapid conclusion.

[wright]

The Supreme Court is definitely a useful long-term investment for those with the desire and means to game the US system of checks and balances. This particular decision is pretty scarey.

The Friendly Atheist has a number of initial posts about this, including a link to an article by a (presumably) Christian professor at the University of Missouri who correctly points out how this is a bad, divisive decision. From his original article in Christianity Today:

Some defend the court's ruling as protecting religious exercise for Christians. But free exercise—or freedom of speech, for that matter—has never meant that a people of faith have a right to capture the engines of government and put them to work on behalf of their confession. Still others defend the court because municipal prayer makes Christian belief overall more plausible. This was an impulse in the past, but we have moved beyond a time when evangelicals among sought to make Christianity more marketable buy conforming to the dominate culture. In any case, what shouldn't be done is to harness the government to do the job of the church.

Nail pretty much on the head.

Links:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/05/06/there-are-many-reasons-even-christians-should-be-disappointed-with-yesterdays-supreme-court-decision/
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/may-web-only/carl-esbeck-supreme-court-prayer-greece-galloway.html?start=1

[G-Roll]

The Religious Right is still reaping returns on their investments ...

Town Meetings Can Have Prayer, Justices Decide

WASHINGTON — In a major decision on the role of religion in government, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Constitution allows town boards to start their sessions with sectarian prayers. The ruling, by a 5-to-4 vote, divided the court’s more conservative members from its liberal ones, and their combative opinions reflected very different views of the role of faith in public life, in contemporary society and in the founding of the Republic.

Somehow prayer before government-sponsored meetings is okay but prayer in school is not? I am unable to reconcile this vapid conclusion.

The argument as I understand it is that you can walk out of a government-sponsored board meeting. A child can't do that in school. Also something was mentioned about children and authority figures and how it could be used to convert kids at school.
You could believe all that but I think most Christians in positions of authority fear their religion becoming obsolete.

[Backspace]

Goes right along with "In God We Trust" on our money and "one nation under God" in the pledge.  The one place these  professional religious persecution victims won't find "God": the Constitution...

Yet.

[Nam]

Goes right along with "In God We Trust" on our money and "one nation under God" in the pledge.  The one place these  professional religious persecution victims won't find "God": the Constitution...

Yet.

Florida license plates have the "In God We Trust" but you have to request it. It looks like a regular license plate but instead of it saying the county name or "The Sunshine State" it says "In God We Trust".

-Nam

[cwschizzy]

I almost want to run for local office, just to begin town meetings by praying to Morgan Freeman.

[Chronos]

I would serve spaghetti, meatballs and chianti ...

[Backspace]

"Florida town’s choice: Violate Supreme Court ruling or open meeting with Satanic prayer"

This guy gets my vote...

Chaz Stevens — who made headlines last December when he forced Florida Governor Rick Scott to allow him to erect an 8-foot-tall Festivus pole made of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans next to Deerfield Beach’s nativity manger — told the New Times that he recently converted from “Pabstfestidian” because “Satan is a cool dude.”

“Think of all the people he’s in charge of,” Stevens said. “Do you want to be stuck listening to harp music in the afterlife? Hell no. I want to drink beer and hang with hookers.”

He then tacked to a more serious course, adding “I just want equal billing. We allow various religious nutjobs to give a prayer. They pray to Jesus who is make-believe, god who is make-believe, why not Satan who is make-believe?”

“Why discriminate against one make-believe god over another?” he continued. “Satan and I are being circumvented. The city of Deerfield Beach has once again declared war on religion — and this time it’s Satanism.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/09/florida-towns-choice-violate-supreme-court-ruling-or-open-meeting-with-satanic-prayer/

[cwschizzy]

"Florida town’s choice: Violate Supreme Court ruling or open meeting with Satanic prayer"

This guy gets my vote...
 

Seconded. I love this man.

[dloubet]

And, of course, from the "Give Them and Inch" department...

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/05/25/virginia-officials-declare-pre-chrisitian-religions-have-no-place-at-public-meetings/

[Chronos]

Pre-Christian religions include Judaism. There is no way around that. In fact, pre-Christian religions would exclude Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ was not a Christian, but a jew.

Consequently, Chesterfield County would exclude Eric Cantor VA-7 from providing any prayer as he is Jewish.


Oh, so you say they view Judeo-Christian prayers to be equally either Jewish or Christian? Christianity is NOT monotheistic. The father, the son and the holy ghost -- not to mention Catholic empowerment of Mary and other demi-deities with all those saints.


What a bunch of cockamamie crap! I shall fart in their general direction.

[atheola]

Last year I was living at the VOA (Volunteers of America) shelter before getting my disability so on 9/11 they encouraged veterans to attend some 911 ceremony to honor veterans so I finally gave in and it was held next door where they prepare meals on wheels, etc.. Everything was doing fine till the VOA director introduced a member of the church he goes to to say a "few words".. Well, those few words sounded a lot like a Paul Robinson impersonation with a real loud and deep phoney voice trying to invoke G-G-GAWWWWWWWWDDDD! I felt the hair on my back go up and within a few minutes of that shit I stood up and walked out in disgust. Later that day I stopped the director in the parking lot in front of about 20 people or so and confronted him about the blatant disregard for my and several others disgust at our disbelief and told him, look, you have hundreds of buildings all over town built SPECIFICALLY for this nonsensical showmanship and I'm really offended you would use 911 as a phoney premise to preach at homeless veterans, many who actually put their asses on the line so you could pull this crap..
Well, anyway I got a half hearted apology and within less than a week a place to live outside the shelter..

I don't let them pull this crap on my behalf without letting them know how I feel about it.