Byzantine, Texas

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Prayer: can it "favor" one religion?

Posted on 6:31 AM by Unknown
WASHINGTON (LA Times) — The Supreme Court has agreed to revisit the issue of church-state separation and decide whether a town council can begin most of its monthly meetings with a prayer from a Christian pastor.

Thirty years ago, the court upheld a state legislature's practice of beginning its session with a nondenominational prayer. The justices said that "to invoke divine guidance on a public body entrusted with making laws" did not violate the 1st Amendment's prohibition on an "establishment of religion."

But since then, several lower courts have said that a city council or county board may violate the 1st Amendment if its opening prayers favor one religion. What does this even mean? "Lord God, as you are present with us and only us at First Baptist Church on Mockingbird Lane I ask you, please convert dear Councilman Gupta from his vile cow worshipping. And, Lord, bless this city council meeting that it may outlaw dancing and the devil's brew, that it may bring everyone to the Wednesday Bible study at our good church after this meeting (light meal provided), and that Councilwoman LaRouche return to her dear husband and leave that boy toy she has taken up with. Ahhhmen!"

Last year, the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the town of Greece, N.Y., near Rochester, had crossed the line by inviting Christian pastors to deliver nearly every opening prayer. Though the town's policy does not favor one religion, the appeals court said its practice had been to favor Christianity to the exclusion of other faiths.

"In practice, Christian clergy members have delivered nearly all of the prayers relevant to this litigation and have done so at the town's invitation," the appeals court said.

Lawyers for the town appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that opening prayers are a standard practice at town councils and county boards across the nation.

Ken Klukowski, a lawyer with the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group, predicted the court would "not only affirm prayer but significantly strengthen the religious liberty rights of Americans in public life and in the public square."

But the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, urged the high court to "affirm government neutrality on religion. A town council meeting isn't a church service, and it shouldn't seem like one," he said. His group represented Susan Galloway and Linda Stephen, two local residents who objected to the monthly prayers. Christ isn't innocuous and impotent ("Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."). Neither is Muhammad. Nor is Confucius even. If you are stripping benedictions to "Keep this thing peaceful and productive," you might as well have the clergyman solemnly intone selections from Robert's Rules of Order.

The court said it would hear the case in the fall. The justices took no action on another pending religion case, about whether a public high school could hold its graduation ceremony in a church.

The justices also agreed to hear a search case from Los Angeles and to decide whether disgruntled "frequent fliers" can sue an airline. This I fully support.

Walter Fernandez, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for robbery and gun crimes, objected to the search of his apartment. A girlfriend had consented to the search after police arrested him and took him away. The court will decide whether such a search is legal.

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg was a frequent flier on Northwest Airlines who sued the airline in San Diego after he was dropped from its "World Perks" program in 2008. Northwest has urged the Supreme Court to throw out the suit on the grounds that the federal Airline Deregulation Act bars claims in a state court over a "rate, route or service" of an air carrier.
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • Bp. Vasilije of Tuzla and Zvornik and the sex scandal
    Bishop posing with Belgrade stripper Dejan Nestorovic Belgrade ( Radio Free Europe ) - The Serbian Orthodox Church has approved the resignat...
  • The Theophany of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
    Theophany of our Lord, Troparion, Tone 1 When Thou, O Lord, wast baptized in the Jordan,/ the worship of the Trinity was made manifest;/ for...
  • “Let us at least die like Christians!”
    From the Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church's website , a rather stirring story on Christian death from the book Everyday Saints . I can ...
  • Pseudo-Cyril of Alexandria on the Eucharist and the Godhead
    From the blog Roger Pearse , a post on how a modern opinion gets conflated with a patristic source. A correspondent has written to me with a...
  • Of Copts and unicorns - μονοκερωτων
    From the blog On Coptic Nationalism, a post entitled Coptic Unicorn: It's Symbolism . The very prominent Coptologist, Alin Siciu, has re...
  • Palm Sunday in Ottowa
  • Harry Potter: an Orthodoxy story?
    ( Moscow News ) - Harry Potter, the world’s most famous child sorceror, is to become an Orthodox Christian figure, in a play written by a pr...
  • Egyptian police abet rioting Muslims vs. mourning Christians
    Cairo ( AINA ) - A media representative for Egypt's Catholic bishops echoed concerns that police sided with Islamic extremists who attac...
  • OCN responds to sacrilegious SNL skit
    ( OCN ) - The Orthodox Christian Network has asked for a public apology from NBC for airing an offensive skit which depicted Jesus as a reve...
  • UK Copts want to accept Chalcedonians by confession
    ( British Orthodox ) - The Synod of the British Orthodox Church has submitted a recommendation to the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Patr...

Categories

  • books (2)

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (500)
    • ►  August (47)
    • ►  July (73)
    • ►  June (51)
    • ▼  May (95)
      • Bulgarian Church to build underwater chapel
      • Seminarians traveling around Russia
      • Orthodox Scouts committee to discuss gay scouts de...
      • "God, I will die for these children."
      • Towards a complete Ethiopian Bible in English
      • Romanians celebrate Liturgy in support of jailed b...
      • Holy Chinese Martyrs icons blessed for Khabarovsk ...
      • St. Hermogen of Moscow celebrated in Russia
      • From "Grumpy Orthodox Cat"
      • OCA, Met. Jonah reach deal
      • No. You cannot talk to her. She is a princess righ...
      • Abkhazia is the Georgian Church's
      • Patriarch Theophilus of Jerusalem on trip to Moscow
      • What is hell?
      • Harbor for the Poor: Almsgiving and St. John Chrys...
      • Details out on 109th St. Tikhon's Pilgrimage
      • Silent march for the safe release of Syrian bishops
      • Myrrh-Bearing Women Sunday, St Mary Magdalene Convent
      • Malankara Orthodox hierarch hosts Met. Tikhon
      • A month on, two Syrian bishops still in captivity
      • Will Copts start accepting Catholic baptisms?
      • Armenian Catholicos Karekin II consecrates church
      • Divergent Interpretations of the Same Statistics
      • Blogs that interest you
      • Prayer: can it "favor" one religion?
      • From the Edict of Milan seminar in Constantinople
      • Assembly of Bishops on Prison Ministry Awareness S...
      • The Federal Election Commission and prayer
      • Tornadoes and God's people
      • The lost codex of Archimedes and the prayer book
      • Lost in translation?
      • 10 years on... still fighting.
      • Chinese Christians see the Bible for the first time
      • Romanian Orthodox (ROEA) hold annual conference
      • Edict of Milan celebrated with Orthodox - Catholic...
      • Confessing the faith that unites us - Fr. Mark Hodges
      • The Stones Cry Out - a trailer
      • Update on St. Nersess Armenian Seminary's new loca...
      • Met. Hilarion discusses state of Church in China
      • 109th Annual Pilgrimage to St. Tikhon's Monastery ...
      • OCA delegation visits offices of Antiochian Archdi...
      • Jerusalem Christians complain about police treatment
      • The tattoos of Oriental Orthodox pilgrims to Jerus...
      • Bishop Maxim of Hum visits Mexico City
      • Pat. Sviatoslav: Greek Catholics a thorn in side o...
      • Serbian Church, government seek unity
      • Mount Athos does not want to be taxed
      • Pat. Kirill of Moscow celebrates Liturgy in China
      • Reading, PA parish celebrates inmate initiative mi...
      • ROCOR, Patriarchal parishes celebrated joint Divin...
      • Lesbian couple turned away from guesthouse, outrag...
      • A happy ending to Watertown church robbing
      • Patriarch Kirill of Moscow visits the Great Wall o...
      • Bulgaria celebrates Ss. Cyril and Methodius
      • Coptic Pope Tawadros II on visit to Rome
      • Popes Francis and Tawadros II - "united by one Bap...
      • How the US catalyzed the death of Middle East Chri...
      • 3 popes at the Vatican today (Benedict, Francis, &...
      • Patriarch Kirill in China for official visit
      • ANOTHER assassination attempt on Pat. Bartholomew ...
      • 10 Lessons: the Church and rapprochement with Miap...
      • A Repost: Priests don't answer emails.
      • When the heterodox and icons meet
      • Paschal message of Bp. Mark of Berlin
      • Pope Francis: Without me there is no Church
      • Facing Islam: Orthodoxy and the Religion of Muhammad
      • Syrian bishops remain missing since capture
      • Repost from 2011: Christ is Risen! - Ghana
      • Pascha meets Cinco de Mayo
      • Notre Dame professor: Christian martyrdom a myth
      • 'Arab Spring' propelling Christians out of Middle ...
      • Conference in Turkey to discuss recognition of min...
      • Syriac Church receives 800k converts in Central Am...
      • DoD clarifies position on religious speech from it...
      • Paschal message of Pat. Kirill of Moscow
      • The Holy Fire in Jerusalem
      • Romanian nuns celebrate Pascha in ossuary
      • Greek Easter... with lemon!
      • The church: hospital, war zone
      • Bishop Peter of Cleveland officiates washing of feet
      • Greek Catholic Archbishop Stefan of Philadelphia i...
      • Cremation in Greece
      • On Holy Thursday, Romanians honor their dead
      • Washing of the feet in Jerusalem
      • Holy Week in Cape Town
      • Church of England continues... being the CofE
      • Great and Holy Friday
      • Holy Friday Matins (15th Antiphon) - the late Abp....
      • The blessing of the Book of the Holy Gospels
      • Great and Holy Thursday
      • New South Wales Legislative Council recognizes gen...
      • "Painting Icons" with iconographer Seraphim O’Keefe
      • The intriguing Christian ostraka
      • Sharing your faith while in military service: treason
      • Source names bishops' kidnappers
    • ►  April (71)
    • ►  March (63)
    • ►  February (56)
    • ►  January (44)
Powered by Blogger.

About Me

Unknown
View my complete profile