Updates 6:

Public Housing Displays
"We applaud Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez for his public recognition of the First Amendment rights of public housing residents to express their religious beliefs.
In the past, many residents of public housing have been led to believe they are not allowed to display religious symbols in common areas of government housing sites. However, as Secretary Martinez points out in his December 20, 2001 letter to public housing directors, there is no such HUD policy barring such activities.
We join Secretary Martinez in encouraging all public housing directors to amend any policies, which would interfere with the constitutionally protected right of American citizens to express freely their faith." (Family Research Council. Ken Connor, president. 12/26/2001.)

Seasonal Christian Bigotry
"During December's Christmas season - a special time for Christendom - it appears anti-Christian bigotry reared its ugly head. Christmas cards this year poked fun at the Virgin Mary and other aspects of the Christian faith. The Catholic League found no cards poking fun at Islam, Kwanzaa, Judaism, or other faiths." (Agape Press. 12/20/2001.)

Monkeys 1; Christians 0
"The U.S. Supreme Court declined on 1/7/2002 to consider the case of a science teacher in Faribault, Minn., who raised questions about the teaching of evolution. Rodney LeVake, a biology teacher at Faribault High School, was reassigned by school officials in 1998 after he said he wanted to include information questioning the scientific principles of evolution in a science class.
The Christian teacher claimed that the reassignment violated his constitutional rights
to free speech and religion. Justices rejected his case without comment. LeVake said the court's inaction leaves unanswered two questions: Does a teacher in a public school have First Amendment rights? And does it make sense to cover what he calls 'the inconsistencies of evolutionary theories' in class dealing with evolution?
LeVake was moved to a different science teaching position after he told school officials that he was uncomfortable teaching evolution as fact. While he did not want to teach creationism or make reference to God or religion, he told reporters, he did want to tell students about what he saw as 'flaws' in evolutionary theory." (Star Tribune. 1/8/2002.)

Michigan Desires God
"A Michigan law passed on New Year's Eve that will 'strongly encourage' state and local government offices to display the U.S. motto, 'In God We Trust,' CNSNews.com reported.
The new law, which was signed by Republican Gov. John Engler and went into effect on 1/7/2002, 'strongly encourages each state agency and unit of local government to exercise their constitutional ability to place the national motto "In God We Trust" in or on public buildings or land owned or occupied by that state agency or unit of local government.'
The American Family Association of Michigan announced that it plans to place the motto in every public school classroom in the state, and offered the donation of a framed copy of the motto for each classroom in the Detroit suburbs of Troy and Rochester." (LifeLife News. 1/4/2002.)

Kentucky & the ACLU
"The various 10 Commandment displays in Kentucky are surrounded by historic documents such as the Magna Carta and the Mayflower Compact. Jeff Vessels, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, says the displays in the counties being sued still don't meet the court standard of separation of church and state.
So far, the ACLU has sued seven Kentucky counties in two rounds of federal lawsuits. The displays are in courthouses, schools and a county-owned hospital. The ACLU has prevailed in the initial judgments in the latest dispute, but more rulings will come.
In November, the ACLU sued four rural counties, seeking to have the displays removed from courthouses. All four counties kept the commandments posted and intend to fight the suits. At least 20 other Kentucky counties post the commandments in public buildings, including courtrooms, and each could be the next target for litigation, said Vessels." (Newsday.com. 1/1/2002.)

How to Frame Religions So Society Fears Christians
"The irony is that the Islamic terrorists responsible for the September 11 fatalities are merely clones of America's own Christian right extremists, sheathedin a different religion." (The San Francisco Examiner. Kimberly Blake. Taken from Agape Press. 1/21/2002.)

There is a new fad spreading through our nation via the liberal media - and that is, comparing conservative Christians with Muslim extremism and the Taliban. Will mainstream America buy into this faulty comparison that is being fed to us? Do most "God-fearing" citizens of this country really believe that the "Christian Right" is nothing more than the Taliban in different clothing?
First, my concern over this topic does not come from just one isolated event. The media seems to be mounting a unified voice on this matter and is framing the issue to cause fear and distrust towards concerned Christians or conservative citizens. Let me give you some examples to chew on…
"A Boulder doctor, Warren Hern, on 1/21/2002 criticized a decision by the state Health Department to cut funding to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains and compared Gov. Bill Owens to the Taliban. 'Governor Owens has brought the spirit of the Taliban to Colorado,' said Dr. Hern."
(The Gazette. "Owens Compared to Taliban." 1/22/2002.)

So, if you are conservative or a Republican or are Christian or hold to moral standards or are pro-life or are...add your own supposed "right-wing" behavior...BEWARE...you have the "spirit of the Taliban." This example hits home. Also, my own American Family Association was implicated as Talibanish!
"The American Family Association is a religious hate group that is closest to the Taliban in mindset, agenda and actions."
(Infoshop.org. January 2000.) "Two of the anthrax letters were sent to Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, both Democrats. One group who had a gripe with Daschle and Leahy is the Traditional Values Coalition (Rev. Lou Sheldon), which, before the attacks, had issued a press release criticizing the senator for trying to remove the phrase 'So help me God' from the oath." (National Public Radio. NPR's Morning Edition Show. 1/22/2002. David Kestenbaum.) Or...
"AgapePress cited several examples of liberal activists and media pundits in the U.S. using events in Afghanistan and America to compare conservative Christians to members of the Taliban terrorist network. Those examples included comments from The San Francisco Examiner, The New York Times, and MSNBC." (Agape Press. "Another News Report Likens Religious Conservatives to Taliban." 1/25/2002.) Or...
"In a recent article about President Bush's bioethics committee and cloning, Washington Post reporter Rick Weiss equates religious conservative pro-lifers to the Taliban." (Agape Press. 1/25/2202.) Or...
"The Taliban would agree with the proponents of a measure aimed at protecting marriage in the District of Columbia."
(Homosexual activist and homosexual Democratic Congressman, Barney Frank. EWTN News.) Or...
After hearing some tapes with Osama bin Laden, who was praising Allah repeatedly, Chris Matthews of MSNBC's nationally televised TV show Hardball commented that it "sounds like the Islamic version of the 700 Club (with Pat Robertson)." So...
You should have no doubts that the liberal media is framing this issue so mainstream America will fear Bible-believing Christians. Christian behavior, even the most extreme fundamentalist kind, can not be compared to Muslim extremism. But, persecution is coming. (The Salt Factor Newsletter. February 2002.)

Library Prohibition Request
"According to one resident, the town's public library should reconsider its policy of allowing religious groups to hold services in the building. Mercyhouse, a church sponsored by the Baptist Convention of New England, holds services Sunday morning in the large meeting room at the Hones Library at
43 Amity Street in Amherst, New York.
Saul Gladstone, who introduced himself as a member of the Critical Issues Committee at the Jewish Community of Amherst, raised the issue with the Jones Library Board of Trustees. 'They are an evangelical Christian Church. Their intent is to proselytize and that's not desirable to encourage. By allowing them to meet here you encourage that,' said Gladstone. But the Rev. Robert Krumrey of Merchyhouse defends his use of the building. 'It's appropriate to hold religious services in the library as long as it's open to everyone,' he said recently.
The group doesn't pay rent since it is a nonprofit organization. However, it pays a library staff member to open and close the building as required under the meeting room use policy. The local library policy states that meeting rooms are made available as a public service, and booking a room in no way constitutes an endorsement of the program or philosophy of the group or individuals using the facilities." (Daily Hampshire Gazette. 1/14/2002.)

Judge Nixes Faith Programs
"Taxpayer funding of a program once touted by President Bush as an example of the kind of partnerships he hopes will flourish under his 'faith-based' initiative has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge.
On Jan. 8, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of Wisconsin ordered the state's Department of Workforce Development to discontinue the giving of direct grants to Faith Works - a Milwaukee addiction-recovery program for fathers.
The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit arguing that the unrestricted grants from the governor's discretionary fund, as well as pay-for-service grants from the state's department of corrections, violated the religious-liberty clauses of the First Amendment. The judge disagreed with attorneys for Faith Works who argued that sufficient safeguards existed to separate the program's secular and religious components. (Maranatha Christian News Service. 1/18/2002.)

No Crosses in Schools
"A Wisconsin high school Bible Club that was denied the right to paint a cross in school to promote the group plans to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. A federal appeals court dismissed a lawsuit last month that contends free speech rights were violated when members of Trojans Loving Christ (TLC) were prevented from painting the Christian symbol on a hallway mural at Kenosha's Tremper High School in 1998, the Associated Press reported.
'It's not over yet,' said Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel, which is representing TLC. 'My reaction is that there are school board policies that have been promulgated by the
U.S. Department of Education, and the problem is either school personnel are ignorant or just simply don't care to adopt good policies, and therefore engage in constitutional violations.'" (Charisma News Service. 1/18/2002.)

School Rejects Big Ten
"The Kerrville School Board rejected a plan recently that would have displayed the Ten Commandments at a San Antonio-area high school, local TV station KSAT reported. The proposal would have placed stone tablets of God's laws alongside historical documents, including the Constitution.
Fearing controversy and lawsuits, a majority of the school board voted against the plan, despite a plea from member Keith Williams. 'The Ten Commandments is part of our system of beliefs and the basis of our judicial system,' Williams said." (Maranatha Christian News Service. 1/18/2002.)

"No" to Free Church Parking
"A Newport Beach, Calif., agnostic claims a city's longtime policy exempting meter fees for churchgoers is unconstitutional. John Nelson, a developer-contractor, filed a federal lawsuit recently, alleging that the city has been violating a 'constitutional separation of church and state' for 32 years, The Los Angeles Times reported.
But Mayor Tod Ridgeway said that lifting the free parking would create problems for those living near the churches, because churchgoers would then take the unmetered spots in front of their homes." (Maranatha Christian News Service. 1/18/2002.)

No Praying for Institute
"A federal judge ruled on 1/24/2002 that the saying of grace before dinner at the state-supported Virginia Military Institute is unconstitutional. VMI, based in Lexington, has been holding the prayers since the 1950s.
The ACLU sued the school last May on behalf of two cadets who had complained.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon called the ceremonies a 'State-sponsored religious exercise.'
'Because the prayers are drafted and recited at the direction of the institute's superintendent, the result is that government has become impermissibly entangled with religion,' Moon wrote." (Yahoo!News. 1/25/2002.)

ACLU Goes to Bat for Satan
"The American Civil Liberties Union has threatened a federal lawsuit against the mayor of a Florida town for her proclamation banning Satan within the town limits. The ACLU has sent a letter to Mayor Carolyn Risher that said it will file a federal lawsuit unless she removes anti-Satan proclamations from four posts that sit at the town's entrances. The group also wants the town commission to pass a resolution repealing Risher's edict and demands Risher reimburse the town for any costs of printing it.
Risher, the mayor for nine years, wrote the proclamation on Halloween night. It was typed on town stationary, signed by Risher and Town Clerk Sally McCrainie, and affixed with the town seal. Risher, reportedly a Christian, put a copy on her office wall and then placed others at the town entrances. She has contacted Liberty Counsel, a nationwide religion-based organization that offers legal help, for possible assistance.
Polly Bowser, a resident of this town of 1,400 people about 75 miles north of Tampa said she was outraged when she saw a copy of the proclamation on the door to the community center. Bowser started a petition drive to remove Risher." (Fox News. 1/24/2002.)

The Great Religious Purge
"The drive to rid our culture of God and decency is moving along like an out-of-control freight train, despite Sept. 11. That day must have given the American Civil Liberties Union heart palpitations. Think about it: The horror, the mayhem and the death brought out the most basic human emotions - the need to cling to hope and to believe in something greater than ourselves...God.
We were awash in patriotism (horrors!) and enveloped in prayers (even worse!). The godless had to endure seeing public prayer - on television even! And think of it: politicians in church! There was the huge cross, made of steel building beams pushed together, found in the WTC wreckage. Mainstream media mostly ignored it, but the cross was honored by emergency workers and the 'little folk.' It was blessed and considered a miracle, of sorts.
Imagine the effect all that public expression of religion and God had on those dedicated to removing all traces of them from our lives. Too bad it didn't last. Barely out from under the immediate memories of that infamous day, we're being hit between the eyes again. Just recently, word is the ACLU won again. As a result of its lawsuit, a federal judge ruled it's unconstitutional (UNCONSTITUTIONAL, for heaven's sake) to say grace before meals at the Virginia Military Institute. Never mind that it's been done for nearly 50 years. Never mind that no one objected. Well, almost no one. Actually two (TWO?!?!) cadets complained. I guess they were 'offended.'
Never to be accused of consistency in anti-religion, the ACLU is threatening to sue a town in Florida because of a proclamation by the mayor not to permit Satan in town. It seems one (ONE!) resident was - all together now - 'offended!' SCORECARD: God out. Satan in.
The New York City Board of Education ruled that a sign saying 'God Bless You' - put up in front of a school after Sept. 11 by the parents association - is illegal and must be removed. God loses again. And it's not only God. Decency is losing too. I read some approved materials used in the Los Angeles Schools that are part of the 'diversity' programs for students. They are filth. This material is so sexually explicit and graphic
that it should be in a porn shop. There is a concerted effort here!" (Barbara Simpson. The Babe in the Bunker editorial. WorldNetDaily. "Checking the 'God' Scorecard." 1/28/2002.)

Purging Our Founding Fathers
"Public school students in New Jersey may never know about some of the nation's founding fathers, thanks to a new politically correct set of standards for history courses. For those who have long recognized that many of
the nation's public schools have become the incubators of liberalism, the New Jersey story will probably not come as much of a shock.
The Washington Times reports that among other things, the New Jersey Department of Education has removed the names of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin from the new revised version of its history standards. Also excluded are references to the pilgrims and the Mayflower.
There are many critics to the New Jersey move. David Saxe, a Pennsylvania State University education professor who reviews state history standards nationwide, calls it an 'historical irresponsibility.' And Brian Jones of the Education Leaders Council in Washington believes the word 'pilgrim' is being dropped because it implies religion - and references to anything about the Bible, he says, are becoming more and more difficult in America's public schools." (Agape Press. 1/28/2002.)

Sneering Agnosticism
"Prior to the attacks of Sept. 11, a regular feature of my radio program was a segment devoted to spotting Mormon-bashing among the elite media as the Olympic games approached. I am not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but PBS sent me to Salt Lake City in 1996 to interview Elder Neal Maxwell for the series and book 'Searching for God in America.'
Sometimes religious prejudice by the media is subtle and sometimes it is so boldly breathtaking as to make a reader blink. In the four months since Sept. 11, hard-line secularists like Thomas Feldman and Anthony Lewis of the New York Times have wasted little time in urging the delegitimization of all people of faith who hold beliefs that argue for their absolute truth.
The triumph of sneering agnosticism is pretty much complete within elite media these days. As sociologist Peter Berger once observed, if India is the most religious country in the world, and Sweden the least, then the U.S. is a nation of Indians ruled by Swedes. To which I would add a corollary: Elite media is 99 percent Swedish. The vast majority of Americans despise bigotry - even when it's dressed up as journalism." (Hugh Hewitt. "Sneering Agnosticism." WorldNetDaily. 1/15/2002.)

Religious Tiles Banned
"Religious symbols on tiles painted by families after the Columbine High School shootings were banned to protect students' mental health and keep the school from becoming a memorial, school officials say.
The families argued that their views were wrongly excluded while other religious-themed exhibits inside the school were allowed, including a framed poster saying, 'God wept over Columbine this day, April 20, 1999.'
The school district appealed a ruling last year by U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel that school officials had violated the families' First Amendment guarantees of free speech." (Rocky Mountain News. 1/23/2002.)

The Far Christian Right?
"The Minneapolis Star Tribune began a recent article by saying that 'Wayne Pederson wants to change the image of the nation's largest and most powerful Christian broadcasting organization.' The organization is the National Religious Broadcasters and Mr. Pederson is its new president. It's Pederson's idea of what is wrong with the Christian broadcasting industry that has set off a controversy within the membership of NRB.
Mr. Pederson believes Christian broadcasting is influenced to its detriment by what he calls the 'far Christian right.' Whom specifically he is referring to, he won't say.
As they say, he's entitled to his opinion. But when you make statements like this and you are the president of the National Religious Broadcasters, you're going to have to defend your words.
The phrase 'far Christian right' is a pejorative used against Christian conservatives that one normally hears from the likes of Dan Rather or CNN's Bill Snyder. It's meant to discredit and discredit absolutely.
This is not new. Everyone knows this. So when I see this kind of talk coming from
the new leader of the National Religious Broadcasters - whose membership roll is substantially made up of people the secular media considers members of the 'far Christian right' - it makes me question if Mr. Pederson is on the same side of the great cultural struggle for America's soul that I'm on. And I am a Christian broadcaster and have been for ten years." (Tim Wildmon. American Family Assoc. Exec. VP. WorldNetDaily. 1/23/2002.)

Religious Dismantlement
"For more than 40 years, the heathen left have successfully executed a systematic, step-by-step dismantlement of a structure of morals and values carefully put in place to protect the history, heritage and cultural identity of America. Our books, movies, art, television and music are now a unified chorus of smut and anti-social messages. Religious apartheid is officially sanctioned and practiced by the government; and bewildered taxpayers are told they have no choice but to pay for liberal propaganda, blasphemous art and pornography on public television.
There was a statement made by Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Warren, remembered as a liberal jurist, was quoted in Time magazine on Feb. 15, 1954, as follows:
'I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses...I believe the entire Bill of Rights came into being because of the knowledge our forefathers had of the Bible and their belief in it.'
Less than 50 years later, if a nominee to the Supreme Court today said what Chief Justice Warren said, he would not have any chance at all of being confirmed by the Senate. He would be considered too extreme to interpret the Constitution. He would come under immediate and heavy attack by the ACLU, NOW, NAACP, NAE, GLAAD, Planned Parenthood, National Council of Churches...and other assorted self-righteously outraged constituencies of the Democrat Party.
In a larger sense, anything having to do with religion - particularly the symbols and ideas of the Christian religion - has been treated like an unhealthy contamination, and systematically exorcised out of what has come to be called the public (as opposed to the private) sector. Perhaps the greatest challenge facing America today is whether people of faith will allow themselves to be quarantined." (WorldNetDaily. Linda Bowles. 1/15/2002.)

Jesus Sign Threatened
"The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit recently demanding the removal of signs outside a southeastern Louisiana town that proclaim: 'Jesus is Lord over Franklinton.'
ACLU officials said public money was used to put up the signs on state roads, violating the constitutional separation of church and state.
The suit names the town, its mayor and surrounding Washington Parish as defendants. Franklinton Mayor Earle Brown said the town had nothing to do with the signs and has told the ACLU so." (The Gazette. 1/30/2002.)

Student Can't Write Letter?
"A school superintendent near Lubbock, Texas, who attempted to censor a student's letter to the local paper is now facing a lawsuit for alleged infringement of the student's constitutional rights.
Following the September 11 tragedy, the Crosbyton High School band in Lubbock was told they could not play 'Amazing Grace' during halftime of a football game, as a tribute to those who died. At the game, the other team's band honored the victims of the attack by playing, 'God Bless the U.S.A.' Crobsyton band member, Justin Latimer wrote a letter to the local paper, saying he was 'deeply saddened and ashamed' that his band was not allowed to play 'Amazing Grace.'
The same day the letter was published in the Crosby County News and Chronicle, Latimer was called to the office of Larry Morris, superintendent of the Crosbyton Consolidated Independent School District. According to the lawsuit, Morris told Latimer - in the presence of the band director - that the letter had hurt the school, the band, and Morris personally, and that he was forbidden to write any more letters to the editor without Morris' approval.
The American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy filed a lawsuit in federal court in Lubbock on Latimer's behalf. Steve Crampton, chief counsel for the CLP says it is a simple case of censorship. 'If the First Amendment means anything, it means a government official may not dictate the content of private speech,' Crampton says. His group has asked for a temporary order to prevent Morris from interfering with Latimer's right to free speech." (Agape Press. 1/30/2002.)
Editor's Note: And many wonder why I say there is a move to purge public Christianity.

Teaching Intelligent Design
"The latest challenge to evolution's primacy in the nation's classrooms - the theory of intelligent design, not the old foe creationism - will get a hearing next month before the Ohio Board of Education, which is considering whether established science censors other views about the origins of life.
An intelligent designer - perhaps God as depicted in Genesis, perhaps someone or something else - had to provide the original impetus, they say. Opponents of intelligent design see it as a sophisticated variation on the decades old effort to force theism into the public schools, this time by leaving the notion of a divine creator less explicit. 'It's a shrouded way of bringing religion into the schools,' said Martha Wise, a state board member who is the lone opponent of intelligent design on the standards subcommittee." (The Gazette. 2/11/2002.)

Judge Halts Bible Classes
"A federal judge recently ordered an end to Bible classes that have been taught for 51 years in the elementary schools of the county where
the Scopes 'monkey trial' was held. The classes in Rhea County violate the First Amendment's clauses calling for the separation of church and state, according to U.S. District Judge Allan Edgar. A couple with two children attending the schools had challenged the Bible classes. A branch of the Freedom From Religion was a plaintiff." (The Gazette. 2/9/2002.)

A Coach Swimming Upstream
"A federal judge, deciding that the city of Northglenn wrongly terminated a swimming coach who preached his faith poolside, has issued an order allowing the man to resume his swimming program at a municipal pool.
John Hays, who used the city-owned pool as a training facility for his D.A.D.S. swim team since 1997, was banished from the facility in mid-October. But on Dec. 6, after hearing testimony from swim team parents and city officials, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Nottingham sided with Hays, granting a temporary restraining order that allows the coach to use the facilities until the lawsuit is settled.
The judge said, 'I'm satisfied by a preponderance of the evidence that religious speech was the overwhelming factor - in the dynamic that produced the decision to terminate him.' City officials have said in published reports they intend to fight the Hays suit." (Rocky Mountain Christian Times. Feb. 2002.)

Shamans In; Christian Out
"Shamanism is practiced and funded by University of Florida's College of Medicine. The Shamans wrote books about the rituals: 'Creative Healing' and 'The Path of the Feather' - these books funded with UF monies describe rituals and how to become a shaman including photos of rituals at the University of Florida.
Mary Jensen, a Christian, walked into a 'public-invited' occult prayer ritual at UF with a Jesus banner and Bible. The women with shaved heads wearing fairy wings chanted around their sacred circle with a crystal in the middle of it dancing around like fairies with their prayer rocks. They received funding for these rituals.
The Christian was hauled off in handcuffs and jailed for one week. A psychiatric evaluation was ordered and not given within the 72 hours mandated by law. She was held in solitary confinement for 6 days where she was forced to use the bathroom in front of male inmates. The front of the cell was glass.
The University of Florida has barred the Christian for life from UF property across the state as they 'do not want weird people on their campus.' One month later the same prayer rocks were hauled to the 13 stone divination sacred circle dedicated at Kanapaha Park in Gainesville, Florida. Vijali Hamilton, a Seer who talks to rocks was sponsored by UF Shands Hospital to dedicate the 13 stone sacred circle.
The federal judge continues to refuse the Christian's complaint for relief and damages. The witches and pagans are uniting in strength to defend their right to have shamanism funded and practiced at the University of Florida.
Unlike the University of South Florida who paid $269,000 to each defendant who filed
a lawsuit against Dr. James Rowsey for Christian prayer. The University of Florida
is claiming monetary immunity for Christian persecution." (Personal Email sent to me on 2/23/2002 by Kris Miller.)

Gay Man Threatens Christian Leaders
"A man, Bruce Allan Ross, who used his pro-homosexual website called usQueers.com to call for a 'slow, painful death by any means' for 'het (heterosexual) supremacists,' including Dr. James Dobson, Rev. Donald Wildmon, Rev. Lou Sheldon, Pat Robertson, Gary Bauer, Paul Weyrich, Sen. Jesse Helms, and other religious and conservative leaders, was sentenced in San Diego County Superior Court on a kidnapping charge." (WorldNetDaily. 2/6/2002.)

NEW QUOTES for newsletter……(March 2002)

Setting Churches Free
"In 1954, when Senator Lyndon B. Johnson pushed a little-noticed law through Congress, ministers were then barred from preaching about political candidates. Under the law, churches are prohibited from endorsing or opposing candidates or risk being stripped of their tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The law is frequently flouted.
Now a Republican member of Congress from North Carolina, Walter B. Jones, Jr., decided last year to make it his signature issue. The bill is called the Houses of Worship Political Speech Protection Act and would 'permit churches and other houses of worship to engage in political campaigns.'
Although it has yet to be scheduled for a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee, the legislation, H.R. 2357, has gathered 112 co-sponsors, all but four of them Republicans." (The New York Times. 2/3/2002.)

Campaign Signs on Church Property?
"It's just one more political campaign sign to Pastor Mark Hoffman. But tax experts say it violates laws governing nonprofit organizations and is worthy of government intervention. The sign endorsing Gary Kendrick for City Council was put up in December outside Hoffman's church. Hoffman says his landlords put it up, as they did similar signs at two other churches.
When former council candidate Lisa Durso saw the signs, she contacted the Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The Washington, D.C. group is preparing a formal complaint for the Internal Revenue Service.
Church leaders say they've done nothing wrong, but tax law attorneys and professors say all three churches risk losing their tax-exempt status. Hoffman's Foothills Christian Fellowship, and the owners, could lose their property-tax exemption for 2001 and 2002, when the sign was up." (Union-Tribune. San Diego, CA. 2/6/2002.)

House Signs on Home Property
"A Houston woman, Ivy Raschke, and her son, Derek Roberts, told a state district judge that they made a covenant with God to put signs on their homes stating, 'This is a house of prayer.' The signs spurred a lawsuit from the Oak Forest Homeowners Association, which took the them to court and alleged they breached deed restrictions prohibiting advertising and placards other than for the home's sale or rental.
'It's just religious discrimination,' Rashke said recently. 'I will not put my faith in Jesus Christ on trial.' Her son also sees the case as one of religious freedom, saying, 'Someone has to stand up for our rights or they'll just keep taking our rights away.'" (Houston Chronicle. 2/6/2002.)

In God We Trust - Florida
"Riding a wave of patriotism, a state House committee voted to post 'In God We Trust' in every public school in Florida. Republican state Rep. Mike Hogan of Jacksonville got the idea from a similar bill passed in Mississippi last year. The House Council for Lifelong Learning unanimously approved HB 915.
Larry Spalding, an American Civil Liberties Union lobbyist, complained that the bill is a threat to the separation of church and state.' This is no more than a constitutional means to get religion in the schools through the back door,' he said. Spalding said the ACLU would not aggressively oppose the bill because of past court rulings around the nation concerning the issue." (Orlando Sentinel. 2/8/2002.)

Trusting God Part II - Indiana
"Indiana is one step closer to joining the growing list of states who have passed laws requiring the posting of the national motto in schools. Several other state governments have since followed suit, or are in the process of doing so. Arkansas and Michigan have passed legislation comparable to Mississippi's and legislatures in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Oklahoma are considering similar measures." (Agape Press. 2/8/2002.)

Trusting God Part III - Virginia
"The Senate approved legislation 2/18/2002 that would require posting of the national motto, 'In God We Trust,' in state courtrooms. On a 30-10 vote, the Senate approved the bill the House had OK's overwhelmingly in January." (The Virginian-Pilot. 2/18/2002.)

Vouchers - Sacred or Secular?
"For Roberta Kitchen, the national debate over school vouchers is more about the education of her 11-year-old daughter than entrenched arguments over separation of church and state. The girl attends a Lutheran elementary school almost entirely on the public dime. Her tuition is paid by a pilot program available to parents whose children attend Cleveland schools.
Hers is the test case in the legal battle over voucher plans that give parents alternatives to public education. Civil liberties groups (ACLU) and many educators (NEA) want the Supreme Court to declare the Cleveland program unconstitutional. The case presents a straightforward constitutional question: Is it a violation of the principle of separation of church and state for public tax money to pay for religious education?" (The Gazette. 2/17/2002.)

Churches Can't Expand?
"The Virginia Senate voted 34-5 with one abstention for legislation that would remove a limit on the amount of real estate that churches may own. If it becomes law, the measure could resolve a conflict the Rev. Jerry Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg encountered in its efforts to expand. Falwell sued in U.S. District Court contending the state's acreage limit for churches was unconstitutional." (The Virginian-Pilot. 2/18/2002.)

School Prayer Bill
"The Florida state House overwhelmingly approved a bill recently that would allow student-led prayer at some school events, despite warnings from opponents that it could exclude religious minorities. The bill would allow school districts to let high school students hold invocations, benedictions and other inspirational messages at graduation and other events. Rep. Mark Weissman, D-Parkland, criticized the 'Taliban rhetoric' of bill supporters and said they were trying 'to force your religion on my children.'" (St. Petersburg Times. 2/13/2002.)

Christian Club Equal Access
"The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to review a case involving the actions of a Wisconsin principal who banned students from distributing Christian literature and censored a Bible club painting. The case, known as Gernetzke v. Kenosha Unified School District No. 1, involves two Bible Club students at George Tremper Senior High School who wanted to paint a wall mural featuring a heart, two doves, an open Bible, and a cross.
Principal Chester Pulaski, whose school had invited all student groups to submit designs for murals in a school hallway, approved the Bible Club's mural - with the exception of the cross. Pulaski state that inclusion of the cross, because it is a Christian symbol, would invite lawsuits against the school.
In a similar incident, the principal denied a student's request to distribute religious literature to other students during class time, claming that the literature could not be handed out because it would appear the school was promoting Christianity." (Agape Press. 2/22/2002.)

Access Denial Part II
"A religious after-school club in California has filed suit against the Los Angeles Unified School District because they were denied free access to a meeting room. Attorneys are calling it blatant discrimination.
The Good News Club, a Christian elementary school organization, has been barred from using facilities owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District free of charge, even though the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that discriminating against religious clubs is unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court has ruling, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which governs California, also ruled in favor of the Good News Club. But apparently, the L.A. Unified School District thinks it is above the law." (Agape Press. 2/22/2002.)

No Prayer in Community Center?
"The American Center for Law and Justice has filed a lawsuit against a New York City housing agency, alleging that a local pastor was denied access to a public housing facility where she wanted to lead groups in prayer following the Sept. 11 attacks.
ACLJ alleges that Pastor Joan Daily applied to reserve a room at the Woodside Community Center in mid-October to conduct a Bible study and pray for those affected by the Sept. 11 attacks that claimed the lives of many area residents. However, the suit says, her request was rejected by the New York City Housing Authority, which said NYC statutes prohibited the use of its facilities for religious or political purposes." (WorldNetDaily. 3/1/2002.)

The Big Ten & The Courthouse
"The case of Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia and Sally Flynn vs. Chester County, Colin A. Hanna, Karen L. Martynick and Andrew E. Dinniman will be held in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The lawsuit revolves around a bronze tablet, 50 inches by 60 inches, engraved with the Ten Commandments and posted at the entrance to the county's historic courthouse.
According to the Chester County Historical Society, the plaque was installed at the courthouse in 1920 by the Council of Religious Education of West Chester. In August 2001, members of the Freethought Society of Greater Philadelphia, an organization of atheists and agnostics who advocate freedom from religious intrusion, petitioned Chester County Commissioners Hanna, Martynick and Dinniman to remove the plaque from the building. The commissioners did not." (The Daily Local. Philadelphia, PA. 3/3/2002.)

ACLU Sues on Abstinence
In the first legal challenge to federally funded programs that teach sexual abstinence, the American Civil Liberties Union plans to file suit today against the state of Louisiana for allegedly using tax dollars to promote religion.
With $1.6 million in federal funds annually, the suit contends, Louisiana has spent money on Christ-centered' skits, religious youth revivals and biblical instruction on purity. One group used the Christmas story of the Virgin Mary to teach abstinence, and the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette spent grant money organizing prayer sessions at abortion clinics, according to state documents outlined in the lawsuit. We are asking the court to stop the promotion of religion in this government-funded program,' said Catherine Weiss, director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project. (Washington Post. 5/9/02.)

ACLU Sues Denver School
A teacher upset that his seventh-grade daughter will have to sit through a prayer at graduation filed a lawsuit on 5/20/02 in federal court seeking to stop the practice. Sean Shields says a student-led prayer set to be read at the Plainview School graduation violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. His daughter will be an usher for the ceremony. The ACLU filed the suit against Kiowa County School District RE-2 in U.S. District Court in Denver. Shields said he and his family are atheists. (The Gazette. 5/21/02.)

Leftist Colleges Discriminate
I am a Bible-believing student of geology and have recently been denied admission to the graduate programs (in geology) of four public universities. I have been told that my credentials are excellent (that is, GPA 4.0 and great GRE scores, etc.) but that my belief in creation (versus evolution) is not acceptable' in their programs.
Though I never envisioned pursuing legal channels, I wonder if I have a case. Clearly it is religious discrimination, though I don't know how to prove it. And, though I am not interested in winning a case' for myself, I am concerned that other students, now and in the future, could be affected.
Please understand that I was required to submit transcripts from all previously attended schools, one of which is the Institute for Creation Research Graduate School. The title alone apparently sent up a major red flag.
Secondly, an undergraduate professor (from a public college) submitted recommendations for me, and while I do not know the specific contents of what she wrote, she did tell me (via email, which I saved) that while she could give me an excellent academic reference, she felt obligated to her fellow geology professionals to inform them of my stance on creation (versus evolution) and a young-earth (vs. billions of years old) viewpoints.
Thirdly, I was told by some professors of these universities that their programs held to a traditional' geological viewpoint of evolution and that they wished to avoid controversy. They told me that their programs would not work with differing viewpoints. One school told me that I would have to convince the advisor and chairperson, in advance of admission, that I basically was not there to cause trouble. The other school told me that they would not tolerate attempts at evangelism-and that there was great concern of being associated with someone who in the future would pursue creation-related research, especially that which is published.
So, many of my experiences were personal conversation that was not written down and therefore can not be legally verified. If God wants to use my experiences through legal channels, I would be willing. (Sandy W. Email. Guidance request to NAACD. 5/02.)

Judge Restricts School Song
The Lord's Prayer cannot be sung at Woodbine High School graduation ceremonies this year, a federal judge has recently ruled. The 30-year tradition is a violation of the First Amendment, whether or not most Woodbine students, choir members and parents want it, U.S. District Judge Charles Wolle said May 10 in a six-page written opinion.
The ruling bans the choir from singing the Lord's Prayer at graduation ceremonies or rehearsing the song for graduation ceremonies, as long as Ruby Skarin and her twin brother, Donovan, are students at Woodbine High School. The Iowa Civil Liberties Union sued the school district on behalf of the Skarins, who are sophomores at Woodbine and come from an atheist family.The principal effect of having the choir sing The Lord's Prayer' is to advance the Christian religion,' Judge Wolle wrote. (The Associated Press. 5/15/02.)

Creationist College Rejected
A new Christian college aimed at home-schoolers has been rejected for accreditation because of its policy requiring faculty to adhere to a biblical worldview' regarding the origin of the world.
Patrick Henry College in northern Virginia said recently that it will appeal the denial of
its application for accreditation from the American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, nonpartisan and non-sectarian voluntary membership organization' that calls itself unique because it grounds its process in a rigorous set of education standards.'
I think what they are saying is that because we teach creationism we've introduced what to them is faux science into our courses,' Patrick Henry College President Michael Farris said. They ignore the fact that we teach about evolution. It's not good enough to teach about evolution; apparently we have to teach that evolution is the only way to think about things.'
What also bothers Farris is their breach of contract. Their rules say they won't discriminate on the basis of religion, and they also very clearly say that religious schools have the freedom to limit academic instruction to comply with religious beliefs, right in the contractual documents with us,' said Farris. (WorldNetDaily. 5/10/02.)

No Religious Gifts in School
A second-grader at a California public elementary school was told he could not pass out videos to his friends during a gift exchange because the gifts were a video about creationism.
Brad Dacus of the Pacific Justice Institute said, There is nothing unconstitutional about a student expressing or giving out material that expresses their faith, so long as it's in an orderly manner and doesn't disrupt the goings-on of the classroom.'
Dacus says the district is unfairly singling out the second-grader. This is really very ironic in that evolution is taught in many schools as fact unequivocally,' he says, and then when one student, one little second-grader, decides to present an alternative viewpoint on creation,' he's suddenly silenced and prevented from even being able to pass it out. (Agape Press. 4/3/02.)

Overpass Banner Now Legal
A federal lawsuit has triggered the repeal of an ordinance in one Wisconsin town that was allegedly used to violate the constitutional rights of two Christians. The American Family Association Center for Law & Policy sued the town of Madison, claiming that the town practiced illegal viewpoint discrimination when two Christians were arrested as they held a banner on a highway overpass which declared Homosexuality Is Sin.' The federal lawsuit alleged the ordinance violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Pastor Ralph Ovadal, director of Wisconsin Christians United, which organized the highway overpass protest, says he is not surprised the case did not make it to court. Ovadal says the arrests of his associates prove that the real aim of the political correctness movement is conformity of thought through rigorous censorship. (Agape Press. 4/1//02.)

Arrested for Religious Speech?
A pastor in Wisconsin is facing up to 90 days in jail for calling a woman a Harlot and a Jezebel.' Last summer, Ralph Ovadal, pastor of Christ the King Church in Monroe, Wisconsin, led a protest in a parking lot of a nude beach run by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Ovadal led a campaign against using tax payer dollars for such a facility. According to a press release from the pastor, during the protest, a woman arrived at the parking lot, got out of her car and started mocking several young Christian men with filthy language and a lewd dance.
Ovadal says at that point he preached a short message to the woman which, officials say, included calling her a harlot' and a jezebel.' He was charged with disorderly conduct and a trial was held in January. Now, a judge has found him guilty, claiming he
lost his free-speech rights when he verbally attacked the woman in the parking lot. Ovadal said he plans to appeal since he was found guilty. (Agape Press. 4/26/02.)

School Code Too Religious
A five-year-old kindergartener in a McKinley High (Hawaii) student has filed suit against the state Department of Education seeking to remove the words love for God'
in the school's Code of Honor.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed the complaint yesterday in U.S. District Court on behalf of student
James Ornellas, who is challenging the constitutionality of the Code of Honor as a school-sponsored endorsement of religion. The code reads, in part, As a student of McKinley, I stand for...Love for God and all Mankind.'
A plaque engraved with the code, originally composed by students in 1927 for a contest was placed at the main entrance to the school in the late 1990s. It was also printed on posters, displayed in classrooms and around the school.
Greg Knudsen, spokesman for the Dept. of Education, referred to a Jan. 17 opinion by the state Attorney General's Office that the code, like the national motto In God We Trust,' is a code and not a prayer. Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto, in a Jan. 18 letter, indicated that the school would not remove the language in the code nor remove the code from school materials or property. (Honolulu Star-Bulletin. 7/17/02.)

First Amendment Under God?
While so many in the media have been doing their best to make light of the 9th Court decision on the Pledge of Allegiance, others recognize the very real dangers involved in that decision. By most accounts, the ruling is likely to be overturned, but that doesn't change the sobering message that was sent to all Americans.
As currently interpreted, our Constitution is choking our religious traditions out of existence, and there seems to be no stopping it as the under God' Pledge decision indicates. Even with a supposedly conservative Supreme Court, victories against the secular encroachments of government are too rare, and when they do come, they are attacked on all sides by groups like the ACLU. It is often a battle for inches.
There is so little understanding of the anti-God bias involved in government's secular neutrality' that it is not only quietly accepted by many judges, and even some justices, it is loudly cheered on by the dominant media culture. Of course, often this cheering is not rooted in ignorance, but based on downright contempt.
Most religious Americans do not grasp that the culture war is really about religion. Howard Kurtz, media critic for the Washington Post, made a revealing observation right after two high-profile First Amendment decisions on the under God' Pledge and religious school choice. The culture wars, after a brief time-out for such mundane matters as fighting terrorism, are back,' said Kurtz. He gets it.
American's cultural struggle may take many forms, but at its heart, it's about God, who He is and what He expects from His people. The atheist and (Free Thinking) forces in American society also know this, and that's why even ceremonial deism' makes them nervous. God needs to be eliminated, but they've got to go slowly to avoid waking up the sleeping giant. (WorldNetDaily. Bob Just. Separation of Atheism and State. 7/16/02.)

In Remembrance of Prayer
Today, one of the most ardent opponents of prayer-or even a moment of silence' - in public schools is the American Civil Liberties Union. In fact, the ACLU has stated that opposition to school-sponsored prayer is one of its bedrock principles.'
The organization's national board policy also states that any program of what it calls religious indoctrination' violates the so-called separation of church and state and must be opposed.'
The ACLU apparently sees no value in prayer at official school ceremonies or during the regular school year-and the organization evidently believes most Americans agree. The mindless notion that serious social problems can be solved by prayer in schoolrooms, instead of by thoughtful analysis and sufficient resources, appeals to no one but the radical religious right,' the ACLU states in its analysis of proposed constitutional amendments calling for school prayer or a moment of silence. (Agape Press. 6/25/02.)

Judge Removes the Big Ten
On June 21, Chief Judge Robert Echols ordered that the Ten Commandments be removed from a display of historical documents in the Rutherford County (Tenn.) Courthouse.
On April 11, 2002, the Rutherford County Commission, in a vote of 16-5, voted to place several historical documents, including the Ten Commandments, on display in the Rutherford County Courthouse. The judge ordered that the Ten Commandments be removed during the pendency of the ACLU's lawsuit. (Religion Today. 6/27/02.)

Private Prayer Ban Brings Threat
A public school teacher in Nebraska has been reprimanded and threatened with termination for comments he made at a private prayer meeting. Last spring, Bill Sloup and other teachers in the Seward School District received a letter informing them that the board would consider not renewing their contracts. During a private prayer meeting (italics mine), Sloup expressed concerns with the district's reduction in force' policy and requested prayer for people with the school district.
Shortly thereafter, Sloup was threatened with dismissal. He is now represented by Attorney Mat Staver with Liberty Counsel. This particular action by the school district has instilled fear and has resulted in intimidation of all of the other school teachers,' Staver said. They're afraid to speak out, even in private prayer meetings for fear that their jobs would be placed in jeopardy.' (Agape Press. 7/26/02.)

State Denying Theology Aid
A federal appeals court ruled on July 17 that Washington state cannot deny financial aid to college students who study religion, because to do
so violates the First and 14th Amendments,' reports the Seattle Times. The 2-1 decision by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals surprised many of the state's higher-education administrators and constitutional lawyers.
According to the Seattle Times, they now are trying to determine how the ruling will impact the state constitution's provision for separation of church and state, and whether it will open the way for private-school vouchers.'
The appeals panel ruled that the state violated the religious rights of Joshua Davey when it revoked his state scholarship three years ago after he decided to study theology at Northwest College in Kirkland. The state Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB), which oversees many state scholarship programs, took away his scholarship money, citing a state provision that no aid shall be awarded to any student who is pursuing a degree in theology.'
According to the Seattle Times, the court said the state of Washington had violated Davey's rights under the First Amendment -free exercise of religion - and 14th Amendment - equal protection under the law. (Religion Today. 7/26/02.)

Animals Greater Than Christians?
In an address to the national Animal Rights 2002 conference in McLean, Va., prominent animal rights activist and Princeton University professor Peter Singer has called the influence of Christianity the most harmful' obstacle to the animal liberation' movement.
Singer blamed conservative mainstream fundamentalist' Christianity, which takes the Bible too literally' and teaches that there exists a huge gulf between humans and animals.' Singer views his mission as that of challenging this superiority of human beings.'
When asked whether his concept of animal rights included the protection of insects or rodents, he replied: I wouldn't kill a spider if I can avoid killing a spider, and I don't think I need to.'
But when another questioner asked about termites threatening the foundation of his home, Singer contradicted his premise of the equality of all living things by admitting that this was a more serious problem,' and that I guess I would end up killing them.'
The animal rights movement is the logical outgrowth of the Judeo-Christian worldview in favor of Eastern mysticism. The Rat Temple in Deshnoke (India), for example, is filled with rats that run about unhindered and are fed by devotees. It has been said that each year rats in India eat enough grain to feed the population of Canada. Similarly, a Hindu holy man will carefully remove lice from his body without harming them. Why? Lice are also considered to be sacred.
If the Western world abandons its Judeo-Christian heritage and embraces the animal rights' movement, it will lead inexorably to the degradation of the essential meaning of what it means to be human.' (Culture Facts. Timothy Daily, Editor. Family Research Council. 7/19/02.)

Good News Club Wins Case
A California District Court awarded a Preliminary Injunction to Child Evangelism Fellowship, organizer of the Good News Club, a religious after-school club for elementary children. The Court found that the school's policy limiting access
of the Good News Club to the schools in
the Los Angeles Unified School District is unconstitutional. Child Evangelism Fellowship is represented by Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel.
Since the Good News Club teaches morals from a Christian viewpoint, a request to use the facilities under the civic community policy was denied, although the Los Angeles Unified School District permits groups such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to use the facilities at no charge. Religious groups may only apply to use the facilities through the Real Estate Branch, and must pay an application fee and a rental fee.
Because of the ruling, this Christian Club may begin holding meetings immediately, free of charge, just like the Scouts. (Religion Today. 7/1/02.)

Ohio Tries to Evict Church
An Ohio city is being sued by a local church after an attempt by city officials to evict the church from its regular meeting place. Earlier this year, the New Life Church of Hilliard signed an agreement with the Makoy Center allowing the church to rent space from the conference center every Sunday morning for one year. But shortly thereafter, the pastor of New Life received an order from the city to stop meeting at the Center because of zoning ordinances.
Again, Matthew Staver, president of the Florida-based Liberty Counsel, is representing the church in its federal lawsuit. He says a federal lawsuit is the only way to make sure the church's rights are not violated.
This is not only a violation of the church's First Amendment right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but it also clearly violates the Religious Land Use Law,' Staver says. It's because of this blatant discrimination that we see here in Hilliard, Ohio, that Congress overwhelmingly passed the Religious Land use law to stop this kind of discrimination and these insane actions by zoning officials all around the country.' Staver says he will seek an injunction allowing the church to continue meeting in the Makoy Center until the matter is settled in court. (Agape Press. 7/10/02.)

Florida Drops Bible Violation
On June 21, the Orange County Code Enforcement Division issued a letter to Paul and Dawn Bosch, dropping its Notice of Violation against the couple over a controversy involving a home Bible study. The Bosch family is represented by Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, a civil liberties organization based in Orlando.
Mr. & Mrs. Bosch hosted a Wednesday evening Bible study for their church youth group. On May 2, George Laporte, a code enforcement officer for code division, sent a Notice of Violation letter, indicating that the Bosches had violated the zoning code by operating a religious organization in a residential area without obtaining a special exception. They were threatened with a fine of up to $250 per day as long as the violation continues.'
In September of 2000, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) was signed into law. This law was designed to prevent discrimination against houses of worship, including home Bible studies. RLUIPA has been a powerful weapon for houses of worship confronted with zoning laws that require a special exception for operation. The federal law has twice been ruled constitutional by two different federal courts. (Religion Today. 6/25/02.)

Florida's Voucher Law Nixed
A state judge struck down Florida's school voucher program on August 5, ruling that the state constitution is clear and unambiguous' in prohibiting public money from flowing to church schools or other sectarian institutions.
The decision by Florida Circuit Court Judge P. Kevin Davey puts a temporary halt to Florida's school voucher program, one of three in the nation that involve parochial schools.
Gov. Jeb Bush said the state would appeal the decision, which would automatically allow the program to continue while the case makes its way through the courts. Today's ruling puts in jeopardy the education of hundreds of children in Florida,' Bush said. It is my hope that those children will be able to continue to attend the schools their parents have chosen.' (The Washington Post. 8/6/02.)

Godless Columbine
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to reconsider its decision allowing school officials to ban religious themes on tiles painted by families of two students killed in the Columbine High School massacre.
The families asked the court to reconsider its June decision, but the judges declined in a brief order released recently. The court had reversed
a lower court ruling requiring school officials
at Columbine to restore the tiles to a project meant to honor victims of the April 20, 1999, shootings. Twelve students, a teacher and two teen killers died.
School officials removed the religious-themed tiles because they supposedly violated the Constitution's requirement for separation of church and state.' (The Gazette. 8/18/02.)

Christmas Book Banned
Parents of 7-year-old Laura Greska have taken legal action against their daughter's school after Laura's teacher refused to allow her to read a religious book about Christmas in her classroom.
After months of negotiations with Northwest Elementary School failed, the American Center for Law and Justice, an international public-interest law firm, filed a lawsuit on July 29 against the Leominster Public School District in Massachusetts. ACLJ contends Northwest told the Greskas their daughter could not share her Christmas book, entitled The First Christmas,' in class because it contained the story of Jesus Christ's birth,
thus making it religious.
This is a troubling example of a school district that is clearly exhibiting hostility toward religion and targeting its discrimination against a very young and impressionable elementary-school child,' Vincent McCarthy, the Greskas' attorney and senior counsel of ACLJ, said in a statement. The actions of the school district are not only unconstitutional, but send a disturbing message to all elementary school students - that religious beliefs must be treated the same way the school handles profanity or offensive behavior-not permitted at school.' (WorldNetDaily. 7/30/02.)

District Censures E-mail
An e-mail that passed along President Bush's proclamation of the National Day of Prayer got a Dallas public school employee in trouble with her supervisors, according to a federal lawsuit filed on August 1 by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ).
The ACLJ is challenging a Highland Park Independent School District policy that prohibits employees from using e-mail to communicate religious messages. All this individual did, in effect, was distribute the text of the President's message, and the school district is saying that raises serious constitutional issues,' Stuart Roth of ACLJ told WorldNetDaily.
School officials told LaDonna DeVore of Mesquite, Texas, who works in the district administration office, that her April 30, 2002, e-mail distributed to colleagues was inappropriate. She was warned that further use of the e-mail system to communicate religious messages could result in suspension of her e-mail privileges.
The ACLJ suit contends that the district policy violates the First Amendment of
the U.S. Constitution, which protects the free exercise of religion,' and the 14th Amendment, which ensures that citizens are not denied equal protection of the laws.'
(WorldNetDaily. 8/2/02.)

Taking Down A Memorial
It appears the ACLU has a big problem with a display of Christianity on public lands - even if it is a memorial. The legal group has succeeded in getting a judge to order the removal of a memorial cross from a national monument in California.
A conservative Christian attorney says the American Civil Liberties Union is once again demonstrating its anti-Christian bias by convincing a federal judge to order a cross removed from the Mojave National Preserve, located east of Barstow, California. The six-foot cross, which has been at Sunrise Point for nearly 70 years, was erected to honor the veterans of the First World War.
But now, thanks to the suit filed last year by the ACLU, the National Park Service has been ordered to take it down - because the judge says it amounts to a state endorsement of religion.
We're talking about a cross out in the Mojave National Preserve. That's not an establishment of religion. The gentleman who put it up in 1934 was attempting to acknowledge the WWI veterans. To me, that's laudable.' (Agape Press. 8/2/02.)

Judiciary Censorship
A Christian attorney and constitutional expert says he expects many legal groups will offer to defend judges who oppose a recent decision by a San Francisco court to prohibit its members from associating with the Boy Scouts of America.
San Francisco Superior Court judges and commissioners recently adopted a policy prohibiting participation in any organization which excludes members on the grounds that their sexual orientation renders them unfit.
Brian Fahling, an attorney with the American Family Association's Center for Law & Policy, says the ruling could have far-reaching ramifications. What you have now is a pronouncement that would require men and women who sit on state court benches to not participate in organizations that view homosexuality as deviant and immoral - and that would include...churches,' Fahling says.
So if you go to a church, the extension of this rule does reach there - and we're not too far away from that time when this type of rule will actually be applied in that situation.' (Agape Press. 8/6/02.)

Minnesota Found Guilty
There has been a major victory for Christian rights in the workplace. The State of Minnesota has been found guilty of religious discrimination for punishing employees who brought their Bibles to a diversity training' session.
Back in 1997, the Minnesota Department of Corrections told a group of employees to attend a training session called Gays and Lesbians in the Workplace.' Two of the workers, Thomas Altman and Ken Yackly, objected, calling the session little more than state-sponsored indoctrination aimed at changing their religious beliefs about homosexuality.
They still went to the session, but from time to time they read silently from their Bibles. Although they were never told to stop doing that, they were both later reprimanded for what the state called inappropriate and unprofessional conduct.'
The two workers went to court - and after a long series of legal twists and turns, a federal jury has finally ruled that state officials violated their constitutional rights. The jury awarded the employees damages of more than $78,000, including an award of $60,000 for punitive damages.
Altman and Yackly never had an issue with the department's desire that co-workers treat one another with respect and dignity - but that the state crossed the line' and violated their constitutional rights when it tried to change their beliefs about homosexuality. (Agape Press. 8/6/02.)

Let Go of the Church!
A federal judge says a California city cannot seize church land so developers can turn the property into a tax-producing shopping center. In May, the Cypress Redevelopment Authority invoked the right of eminent domain and seized 18 acres of land owned by Cottonwood Christian Center.
U.S. District Judge David Carter said the city's actions were not neutral, but instead were aimed at discriminating against Cottonwood's religious uses. Carter granted a temporary injunction halting the city's efforts. The city had planned to turn the land over to a Costco store, which would anchor the commercial development that would bring in badly needed tax dollars. Cottonwood Christian Center plans to build a multi-million dollar worship center on the land. (Agape Press. 8/8/02.)

Children's Club Under Fire
Pearl Harbor, the nation's most famous battlegrounds, is now the site of a war over words, involving children and God. For 150 years the Boys & Girls Clubs of America has been serving children. But now, there is a case that involves removing religious language.
The Club of Navy Hawaii at the Pearl Harbor naval base has a code that says: I believe in God and the right to worship according to my own faith and religion,' and it also mentions supporting America's Constitution and core values. Critics say no. (Fox News. 8/19/02.)

Bible Club Now Claims Victory
A pro-family attorney is hailing a recent federal appeals court decision as yet another important victory for the constitutional rights of students. In early September, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Bethel School District in Washington state violated Tausha Prince's First Amendment rights by refusing
to give her Bible club the same status and benefits granted to other student groups. The court also ruled that the district violated Prince's rights under the 1984 Equal Access Act.
Stuart Roth, senior counsel with the American Center for Law and Justice, said: The is just another case, important as it may be, which upholds some bedrock principles of constitutional law. And it is our hope that as these cases continue to get litigated and continue to get won by these students trying to get access, the school districts will stop trying to find a way to deny students the right to engage in fully religious speech during the school day.' (Agape Press. 9/17/02.)

ACLU Loses to Big Ten
A federal court in Lexington, Ky., has ruled that the Ten Commandments can remain on display in the Mercer County courthouse, rejecting an attempt by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
to have them removed.
This is a major victory for the people of Mercer County and for all Americans who don't buy into the ACLU's extreme misrepresentation of our Constitution,'
said Francis Manion, senior counsel for
the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which argued the case for the county.
The ACLU filed suit to have the Ten Commandments removed from a display including other historical and legal texts, but U.S. District Judge Karl Forrester denied the legal group's motion for a preliminary injunction on 8/22/02.
The First Amendment was never intended to remove all mention of God or religion from the public square,' said Manion. The Supreme Court and many other courts have long recognized the foundational role of the Ten Commandments in the development of our legal system.' (WorldNetDaily. 8/23/02.)

Court Kicks Out Jesus
On 9/9/02 the California appeals court ruled that the state legislative bodies cannot begin meetings with prayers invoking the name of Jesus.
Reuters has reported on the decision, which came in a lawsuit over a 1999 meeting of the Burbank council that began with a minister giving thanks to God in the name of Jesus Christ.' Writing for the panel, Judge Katherine Doi Todd argued that use of Jesus' name constituted an advancement of a religious belief. (Religion Today. 9/13/02.)

Charter School Cover-Up
Edward Tyler founded the Leadership Preparatory Academy, the first charter school in Widefield School District 3 (Colorado). The school will serve 120 students in grades kindergarten through third grade this year.
While the school plans to move in mid-October into modular classrooms on land between Mesa Ridge High School and Webster Elementary School, they are presently meeting at Holy Family Catholic Church.
School employees have covered all the religious artwork and statues in the section of the building that will be used for classrooms. District Superintendent Mark Hatchel said, As long as there's no religion being taught, we're comfortable with the school's location.' (The Gazette. Colorado Springs, CO. 9/3/02.)
Editor's note: Obviously, the school believes that visual religious images could visually influence children. Heaven forbid!

School Gospel Choir Barred
A Florida school district may be faced with a federal lawsuit after barring a high school choir from singing at a 9-11 memorial service. The Seminole High School Gospel Choir was prevented by school officials from participating in a 9-11 memorial service at Central Baptist Church in Sanford, Florida.
The Seminole County School District said it was adopting a new policy that would forbid any school choir from taking part in an event sponsored by or located in a church.
Mat Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, says it is unfortunate, but the district's policy is part of a nationwide trend involving public school administrators who have the mistaken idea that if something is religious, it must be eliminated. (Agape Press. 9/12/02.)

Police Chaplain Fired
According to an Oregonian newspaper (in Portland), the police bureau terminated John Elms as an official chaplain, offending many officers who received spiritual support from Elms. Allegations that he proselytized and failed to honor the bureau's chain of command were among the reasons given to Elms when he was let go from his volunteer chaplain service.
We have a chaplain program...It's certainly to play a spiritual role when requested, not when the chaplains feel the need,' said Detective Carol Miller, the bureau's Employee Assistance Program coordinator.
The bureaus move stunned officers, many of whom criticized the severity of the bureau's action. He's helped a lot of people, and the officers trusted him,' Officer Daryl Turner said. When you lose somebody like that, you definitely want an explanation.' Elms' distribution in the bureau of 1,500 God's Word for Peace Officers' Bibles was one action that raised concerns. (Religion Today. 9/26/02.)

Church Sues School Board
A church has filed suit against a North Carolina school board and principal after a middle school refused to approve a church-sponsored sign for its athletic field that included a Bible verse. Oxford Baptist Church of Oxford, N.C., had hoped to participate in a school fund-raiser. The school district encouraged local supporters of the school - including nonprofit organizations.
The school's action is another example of how people of faith suffer from the notion that religious speech should be censored,' said Benjamin Bull, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. (WorldNetDaily. 9/25/02.)

Good News Club Vindicated
The Los Angeles Public School District has been permanently barred by a federal court from discriminating against after-school Christian clubs.
This summer, a California district court granted a preliminary injunction to Child Evangelism Fellowship, organizer of the Good News Club - a religious, after-school club for elementary children.
In the ruling, the court found the school's policy of limiting access for Good News Clubs to schools in the L.A. Unified School District was unconstitutional. Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, says because of the ruling, 370,000 students attending the 426 district elementary schools in L.A. will now be able to attend Good News Club meetings after school on their campuses. (Agape Press. 9/26/02.)

Bible Club Claims Victory
"A pro-family attorney is hailing a recent federal appeals court decision as yet another important victory for the constitutional rights of students.In early September, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Bethel School District in Washington state violated Tausha Prince's First Amendment rights by refusing
to give her Bible club the same status and benefits granted to other student groups. The court also ruled that the district violated Prince's rights under the 1984 Equal Access Act.
Stuart Roth, senior counsel with the American Center for Law and Justice, said: 'The is just another case, important as it may be, which upholds some bedrock principles of constitutional law. And it is our hope that as these cases continue to get litigated and continue to get won by these students trying to get access, the school districts will stop trying to find a way to deny students the right to engage in fully religious speech during the school day.'" (Agape Press. 9/17/02.)

ACLU Loses Big Ten
"A federal court in Lexington, Ky., has ruled that the Ten Commandments can remain on display in the Mercer County courthouse, rejecting an attempt by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
to have them removed.
'This is a major victory for the people of Mercer County and for all Americans who don't buy into the ACLU's extreme misrepresentation of our Constitution,'
said Francis Manion, senior counsel for
the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which argued the case for the county.
The ACLU filed suit to have the Ten Commandments removed from a display including other historical and legal texts, but U.S. District Judge Karl Forrester denied the legal group's motion for a preliminary injunction on 8/22/02.
'The First Amendment was never intended to remove all mention of God or religion from the public square,' said Manion. 'The Supreme Court and many other courts have long recognized the foundational role of the Ten Commandments in the development of our legal system.'" (WorldNetDaily. 8/23/02.)

Charter School Cover-Up
"Edward Tyler founded the Leadership Preparatory Academy, the first charter school in Widefield School District 3 (Colorado). The school will serve 120 students in grades kindergarten through third grade this year. While the school plans to move in mid-October into modular classrooms on land between Mesa Ridge High School and Webster Elementary School, they are presently meeting at Holy Family Catholic Church.
School employees have covered all the religious artwork and statues in the section of the building that will be used for classrooms. District Superintendent Mark Hatchel said, 'As long as there's no religion being taught, we're comfortable with the school's location.'"
(The Gazette. Colorado Springs, CO. 9/3/02.)
Editor's note: Obviously, the school believes that visual religious images could visually influence children. Heaven forbid!

School Gospel Choir Banned
"A Florida school district may be faced with a federal lawsuit after barring a high school choir
from singing at a 9-11 memorial service. The Seminole High School Gospel Choir was prevented by school officials from participating in a 9-11 memorial service at Central Baptist Church in Sanford, Florida.
The Seminole County School District said it was adopting a new policy that would forbid any school choir from taking part in an event sponsored by or located in a church. Mat Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, says it is unfortunate, but the district's policy is part of a nationwide trend involving public school administrators who have the mistaken idea that if something is religious, it must be eliminated." (Agape Press. 9/12/02.)

Court Kicks Out Jesus
"On 9/9/02 the California appeals court ruled that the state legislative bodies cannot begin meetings with prayers invoking the name of Jesus. Reuters has reported on the decision, which came in a lawsuit over a 1999 meeting of the Burbank council that began with a minister giving thanks to God 'in the name of Jesus Christ.' Writing for the panel, Judge Katherine Doi Todd argued that use of Jesus' name constituted an advancement of a religious belief." (Religion Today. 9/13/02.)

City Tries to Evict Church
"An Ohio church has sued city officials, claiming that they violated the Constitution by refusing to let the congregation worship in a rental hall where other groups regularly meet. In a lawsuit filed recently, New Life Church of Hilliard alleges that its free-speech rights have been harmed by a zoning code that prohibits worship in a conference center, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
The 100-member nondenominational church signed a one-year lease to worship at the Makoy Center. However, a month later, New Life's pastor received a letter from the city alleging a zoning violation, a minor misdemeanor. The letter said each subsequent service would also be a violation.
The city of Hilliard officials are also resisting a request from another congregation to rezone a former home-improvement store for use as a church. City officials say they're worried about losing tax revenue."
(Maranatha Journal. 8/22/02.)

Church Sues School Board
"A church has filed suit against a North Carolina school board and principal after a middle school refused to approve a church-sponsored sign for its athletic field that included a Bible verse. Oxford Baptist Church of Oxford, N.C., had hoped to participate in a school fund-raiser. The school district encouraged local supporters of the school - including nonprofit organizations.
"The school's action is another example of how people of faith suffer from the notion that religious speech should be censored,' said Benjamin Bull, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund." (WorldNetDaily. 9/25/02.)

Police Force Gets Hammered
"The Honolulu Police Dept., in response to a complaint from Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church, will delete 'so help me God' from the oath taken by new officers. The department announced on 9/24/02 that the traditional wording formalized in its 1991 Standards of Conduct is out.
The language did not comply with the oath for public law enforcement officers established in Article 16 of the Hawaii Constitution, said Mitch Kahle, president of the anti-religious group. It amounted to an unconstitutional religious test, he said."
(Star Bulletin. 9/24/02.)
Editor's Note: Amazing! The power of one man to make a difference...for the worse.

Police Chaplain Fired
"According to an Oregonian newspaper (in Portland), the police bureau terminated John Elms as an official chaplain, offending many officers who received spiritual support from Elms. Allegations that he proselytized and failed to honor the bureau's chain of command were among the reasons given to Elms when he was let go from his volunteer chaplain service.
'We have a chaplain program...It's certainly to play a spiritual role when requested, not when the chaplains feel the need,' said Detective Carol Miller, the bureau's Employee Assistance Program coordinator.
The bureaus move stunned officers, many of whom criticized the severity of the bureau's action. 'He's helped a lot of people, and the officers trusted him,' Officer Daryl Turner said. 'When you lose somebody like that, you definitely want an explanation.'
Elms' distribution in the bureau of 1,500 'God's Word for Peace Officers' Bibles was one action that raised concerns." (Religion Today. 9/26/02.)

Good News Clubs Vindicated
"The Los Angeles Public School District has been permanently barred by a federal court from discriminating against after-school Christian clubs. This summer, a California district court granted a preliminary injunction to Child Evangelism Fellowship, organizer of the Good News Club - a religious, after-school club for elementary children.
In the ruling, the court found the school's policy of limiting access for Good News Clubs to schools in the L.A. Unified School District was unconstitutional. Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, says because of the ruling, 370,000 students attending the 426 district elementary schools in L.A. will now be able to attend Good News Club meetings after school on their campuses." (Agape Press. 9/26/02.)

Church Sues School Board
"A Michigan city that tried to evict a woman over a religious sign displayed in her home now faces a federal lawsuit alleging discrimination. Earlier this year, Johnie Heard-a resident of Section 8, low-income government housing owned by the City of Taylor, Michigan-was threatened with eviction because she had a small stop sign-shaped sign in her window which read:
'24-Hour Prayer Station.'
Florida-based Liberty Counsel represented Heard in an eviction hearing, and the case was dismissed. Now, Mat Saver, president of Liberty Counsel, says a federal lawsuit has been filed claiming religious discrimination.
'Sometimes the question is whether the entity is ignorant in discriminating against religion, or whether it is motivated by hostility,' Staver explains. 'unfortunately in this case, this action by the housing authority is motivated by blatant hostility.'
Staver points out that other residents in the housing development were able to display secular window and yard signs without harassment by authorities. A federal lawsuit, the attorney says, is needed to remedy the situation." (Agape Press. 10/1/02.)

One Nation Under God
"The U.S. House has voted 401-5 to support references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance and the national motto. In addition to reaffirming support for the words 'under God' in the Pledge, the bill reiterates that 'In God We Trust' is the national motto. The Senate, which passed a similar bill, is expected to pass the House versions soon and will send it to the White House for President Bush's signature. The non-binding House resolution bill will have no legal bearing on the 9th U.S. Circuit ruling. (Agape Press. 10/8/02.)

Student Teachers Blocked
"Two student teachers from the State of Washington are suing their universities and the state attorney general for the right to teach at religious schools to fulfill their college requirements. Eastern Washington University senior Donnell Panhallurick was slated to student teach at a Seventh-Day Adventist school
next spring. And University of Washington graduate student Carolyn Harrison would like to complete her internship at a Catholic high school. But due to the state's interpretation of the Blaine Amendment, Penhallurick is being denied the opportunity to teach at this parochial school-and Harrison has been ordered to finish her internship at a public school next semester.
Clint Bolick, vice president of the Institute for Justice, has filed suit on behalf of these two students. As he explains, the lawsuit points out that the state of Washington discriminates against religious educational options in a variety of ways. 'Students in public universities who are studying to become school teachers are forbidden from student teaching in religious schools,' the attorney says. 'They can
student teach in private schools and in public schools, but religious schools are singled out for exclusion. Bolick says his organization is seeking an injunction on behalf of the students." (Agape Press. 10/4/02.)

Kentucky Court Rejects Big 10
"A federal appeals court recently rejected a plan to display the Ten Commandments on a granite monument near the Capitol of Kentucky, calling it a thinly disguised effort at government endorsement of religion.
Republican state Sen. Albert Robinson, who sponsored the General Assembly resolution calling for the display, said the ruling ignores the commandments' historical role and infringes on his own practice of his Christian faith.
The monument, six feet tall and four feet wide, was donated to the state in 1971 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles. It stood in an obscure area near a parking lot until the late 1980s, when it came down for a construction project. It has been in storage since." (Newsday.com. 10/9/02.)

Free Speech Set in Stone?
"A battle over the existence of God, freedom of speech and the separation of church and state is being fought on the steps of the Redmond Regional Library-literally. What began as a benign fund-raising effort-selling engraved paving tiles-was abandoned by the Friends of the Redmond Library in September after it spiraled out of control, despite the hundreds of blank tiles that remain to be sold.
Anti-religious messages, including one that begins 'God Kills Babies,' appeared adjacent
to pro-Christian messages such as 'God Can Change Life.'
The controversy began two years ago when Matthew Barry of Issaquah noticed that several religious tiles had appeared outside the new library building. A campaigner for the separation of church and state, Barry was disturbed by the religious messages. To protest, Barry bought four tiles and put anti-Christians messages on them which now appear in front of the library." (Seattle Times. 10/8/02.)

Navy Discrimination
"Four evangelicals have sued the United States Navy for alleged discrimination that they say kept them out of the Chaplain Corps. The U.S. Justice Department will not comment on pending litigation." (Religion Today. 10/16/02.)

Post Thanksgiving Thoughts
"We just celebrated Thanksgiving. In this atheistic age, mention of 'giving thanks' necessarily ropes you into a consideration of to whom thanks are given. If all of nature and mankind are just accidental-Big Bang and all that-there's a problem.
For children in public schools, it's worse. While you may remember studying the holiday with pictures of the Pilgrims and Indians celebrating the first Thanksgiving-giving thanks to God for their survival-that isn't the picture your kids are getting.
God is never mentioned and, often, even the Pilgrims aren't seen. The problem is that if you show them, you're obliged to mention their religious beliefs. Since religion and God are verboten in public schools, our children are denied an intrinsic part of human life-to say nothing of an accurate picture of history.
Every civilization has had a religion, whether it was the worship of a volcano or a stone figure. We don't hesitate to teach our children about the religion of the ancients or any current religion as long as that teaching doesn't involve the religion of Christians or Jews.
How do you teach the origins of this country without including religion? Christianity, especially. How do you teach that so many colonists came here to get away from religious persecution in Europe? You can't.
Since our schools are doing that, they're guilty of an organized deception which now pervades public life. Look around. You'd be hard pressed to see any mention of the real meaning of Thanksgiving Day anywhere in the public venue. And that's sin." (WorldNetDaily. "Be Warned: Here comes the 'G' Word." Barbara Simpson. 11/25/02.)

Hit List - Congressional Chaplains
"Twenty-two members of Congress and a public interest law firm have asked a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a California atheist that claims congressional chaplains are unconstitutional. The suit comes from Michael Newdow, the same atheist whose case received national attention in June when two members of a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional because it contains the phrase 'under God.'
On November 22, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the U.S. District Court in Washington on behalf of itself and six U.S. senators and sixteen House members. The brief specifically cited the Supreme Court's 1983 ruling in the case of Marsh v. Chambers, in which the high court found that chaplains who were paid with public funds are not establishing a religion.
The high court said in that case: 'To invoke divine guidance on a public body entrusted with making the laws is not, in these circumstances, an establishment of religion or a step toward establishment; it is simply a tolerable acknowledgement of beliefs widely held among people of this country.'
'The strategy to purge all religious observances and references from American public life must not be permitted to move forward,' said the brief filed by the lawmakers and the ACLJ. Chaplains have led the morning prayer and ministered to members of Congress since 1789. Mr. Newdow also wants the words 'In God We Trust' removed from U.S. coins." (The Washington Times. 12/1/02.)

Display Disputes
"A U.S. Supreme Court justice has struck down the city of Cincinnati's ban against a Jewish display of the menorah on a downtown square-and all other religious exhibits-during the holiday season. Justice John Paul Stevens ruled recently that the city may not enforce its restriction against such displays as it has several times during the Christmas season in the past. In upholding a decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott, Justice Stevens said the city was denying citizens' rights to use the square as a 'public forum.'
Judge Dlott called it an 'offensive violation' of free-speech rights for the city to confine the use of Fountain Square to a city-sponsored display, including a huge Christmas tree, during the seven-week period. Right after the ruling, however, the city, obtained a stay from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to keep the ban in force until that court can decide on the legal merits of the city's action." (Reuters. 11/30/02.)

University Faces Lawsuit
"Janis Price worked for years to build a reputation as a strong, highly respected educator and a Christian. Now, she's fighting to restore her career and defend her religious views.
Christians have long found themselves the focus of persecution. What adds a twist here, though, is the entity Price is suing: her employer, DePauw University, a college founded in 1837 in Greencastle, Indiana, on Methodist principles.
The lawsuit stems for Price's cut in pay and responsibilities in 2001 after Neal Abraham, vice-president for academic affairs, placed her on probation. The move came after officials said Price distributed material in her classroom that promoted intolerance and created a hostile environment for students.
The material at the heart of the argument: copies of Teachers in Focus magazine, from Focus on the Family. The issue which created the brouhaha contained an article about homosexual activism in the schools. Price asked Abraham how she was to tolerate others' beliefs if her own beliefs weren't to be tolerated. 'We cannot tolerate the intolerable,' Abraham said." (Agape Press. 11/4/02.)

YWCA Misnomer
"Even though the initials YWCA stand for the Young Women's Christian Association, a spokeswoman said it's been a 'very, very long time' since the organization focused on promoting Christian values. 'Now, the focus is on empowering women,' Christal McNeal, a spokesperson for the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee, recently said. That empowerment, according to McNeal, includes dispensing birth control pills and condoms to girls and women.
Recently, the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee announced it had partnered with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin to open two community-based health clinics.
When CNSNews.com asked McNeal if providing contraceptives to women violated the YWCA's Christian values and beliefs, she said the group has been practicing a 'progressive' approach to women's health issues-including contraception and abortion, since the feminist movement heated up in the 1960s and 1970s.
'If they want to reject Christianity, they need to change their name,' said Wendy Wright, the senior policy director for Concerned Women for America. 'Because the Young Women's CHRISTIAN Association continues to use that name, they are misleading people.'" (CNSNEWS.com. 11/12/02. "Christianity No Longer the Focus of Christian Group." Micha Betsch.)

Atheists March on Mall
"Thousands of nonbelievers converged on the Mall on 11/2/02 to demand equal rights under the Constitution and separation between politics and the pulpit during the first-ever Godless Americans March on Washington, D.C.
The roughly 2,000 demonstrators from around the nation-self-proclaimed atheists, agnostics, Free Thinkers, and secular humanists-toted cardboard signs that read, 'One Nation Under the Constitution,' 'Religion Kills' and 'God is a Fairy Tale.' The nonbelievers marched on the National Mall from 14th Street to the Capitol, where more than 20 speakers addressed the audience from a stage for almost four hours.
Ellen Johnson, president of American Atheists, the Cranford, N.J., group that organized the march, said: 'We godless Americans are everywhere. I am asking you today to work with Godless Americans Political Action Committee. We are on the move to becoming a well-oiled machine who knows how to play the game.' One of the keynote speakers was Michael Newdow, the West Coast physician who led a lawsuit to eliminate 'under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance." (The Washington Times. 11/3/02.)

President Bush Affirms "Under God"
"President Bush signed into law on 11/13/02 a bill reaffirming-with a slap at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals-references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance and national motto.
Bush signed the legislation without comment. It reinforces support for the words 'under God' in the pledge, and for 'In God We Trust' as the national motto. The measure was approved unanimously in the Senate and drew just five no votes in the House." (Yahoo!News. 11/13/02.)

The Big Ten & The Supremes
"When justices of the Supreme Court look out their office windows, they face a three-story-tall banner of the Ten Commandments which has hung there for ten months across the street from the Supreme Court Building.
Rob Schenk of the group Faith and Action says the banner of the Ten Commandments
is still up on the front of his group's Ministry Center on Capitol Hill-even though the District of Columbia legal department is trying to find a way to have it removed.
'We have asserted our First Amendment rights,' Schenck says. Even though he is a bit pessimistic about the outcome of that legal challenge, Schenck thinks, in the end, they will likely claim there is a violation of something by having the Ten Commandments displayed.
Schenck says his cadre of attorneys is getting ready fight any effort to get the huge banner removed. Meanwhile, the Decalogue is hanging before the eyes of the Supreme Court justices every day." (Agape Press. 11/12/02.)

Planned Parenthood Mockery
"A leading pro-life group, STOPP International, a division of American Life League, is on the attack against Planned Parenthood because that organization has chosen to mock Christmas-and even Christ Himself. Their standard holiday cards will read 'Choice on Earth' instead of 'Peace on Earth.'
Jim Sedlak of STOPP says, 'Planned Parenthood wants to portray a world in which babies are killed in the womb, and that is their "god", if you will.' He finds it beyond belief that anyone could support Planned Parenthood after such a blatant attack on Christianity." (Agape Press. 11/20/02.)

No Public School Prayers
"The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is refusing to accept last week's dismissal of a lawsuit against a Nebraska school board member who led graduating students in The Lord's Prayer.
The ACLU accused the Norfolk Public Schools and board member Jim Scheer of violating the separation of church and state. But a federal judge in Omaha said she found no evidence that school officials knew what Scheer would say before the graduation ceremony.
The ACLU says it will appeal the judge's dismissal of the case. Norfolk School Board members traditionally have been allowed to speak at commencement ceremonies if they have a son or daughter graduating. Scheer was allowed to speak because his son was graduating." (Agape Press. 11/20/02.)

Atheist Boy Scout Protests
"Ten years as a Boy Scout taught Darrell Lambert to be honest, strong and inquisitive; to respect his parents, his country and nature; to help people and of course to always be prepared.
He learned those lessons well, and ironically has drawn on several of them in his fight against the Boy Scouts of America, which banished him from the group for failing to learn another mandatory lesson: belief in God.
'I could have stayed in if I had just said that I believe in God, but I would be lying, and I don't lie,' Lambert told Reuters. The defining 'Scout Oath' begins with a pledge to 'do my duty to God and my country,' but the first tenet of a related -12 point 'Scout Law' calls for honesty.
'I told my Eagle board that I didn't believe
in God when I went for my review and if anyone said that I wasn't a good citizen, then they could kiss my butt,' he said." (Reuters News. 11/25/02.)

Political Correctness - Taking Christ Out of Christmas
Happy Holidays? Or, how about Seasons Greetings? No, wait a minute. May Santa Claus bless you real good. I know, I know. Let's try-Merry Xmas!!!
That right, Xmas will do...it will have to do in the public square because the "C" word is not allowed in mixed company. You know what I mean...Christmas...CHRISTmas!!Yipes, I said it. Wow...it's a rather exhilarating feeling to say that name in
our present society.
I was always told that Xmas = X = "unknown factor or variable." To the "unknown" holiday or as a variable, substitute whatever you want. Those who would use "X" are literally cutting out or putting an "X" through the heart of this unique holiday. I think the "X" would be acceptable to most secularists. But alas, some Christians know that the letter "X" in Greek is the symbol for Christ. So really, we are back at the drawing board.
This whole tiptoe-around-the-tulips thing is so ridiculous. Isn't the whole reason for the Christmas season the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem? We celebrate the entrance of "God in the flesh" being born of the Virgin Mary-the Christ child-the Savior of the world. The greatest gift that God could give mankind is the real "reason for the season."
But even coming close to mentioning the name of Christ is an offense to the ears of atheists, Free Thinkers, pagans, liberal humanists, and especially those representing leftist groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, Freedom from Religion, and People for the American Way.
If these secularist organizations continue to have their politically correct way, there will be no more nativity scenes, no more Christian-themed Christmas carols, no religious symbols of any kind, and no more mention of the "C" word. There is a great religious purge happening in our country right now. There will soon be a day when even Christian churches will be forced to limit their outdoor nativity scenes or religious symbols. In fact, it is already happening.
These so-called "tolerant" groups have a great track record of intimidation-especially the ACLU! Striking fear into public leaders has proven an effective weapon in their revolution to make our country totally secular. Every year they attempt to silence Christmas pageants and nativity scenes (or creches). Many public schools and other public arenas have already eliminated any vestige of "religion" (read Christianity) from their setting.
Few stores use the phrase Merry Christmas. Nor do clerks at these stores say Merry Christmas. Places of employment are careful not to offend people of a different faith or no faith so they warn workers to remain neutral or politically correct. Court houses and public parks are no longer allowing nativity scenes. Public schools (grade, middle or high) are not allowing children or teenagers to sing Christmas songs because of a revisionist view of "the separation of church and state."
The Left is inculcating their agenda into a misinformed public. I heard one ACLU director say that "nativity scenes are illegal on public property." That's not entirely true. The legal ruling, according to Matthew Staver, Chief Counsel for Liberty Counsel, is that "a publicly-sponsored nativity scene or Christian program is constitutional so long as, within the context, there are both secular and sacred symbols or messages." How often do you hear about that?
This country was founded on religious liberty and Christian ideals. Christmas has always been a part of this country...until about three decades ago when the courts decided to legislate on the side of secularism. As this country continues to separate our religious heritage from civic life, we will continue to see a moral and spiritual breakdown in our culture. As for me, I will say it loudly and proudly: MERRY CHRISTMAS!