Posted on 07/04/2005 10:18:05 AM PDT by Pikamax
Man in 10 Commandments Case Fears for Safety After Paper Prints Name
Published: July 04, 2005 10:30 AM ET
OMAHA The man at the center of a challenge to remove a Ten Commandments monument displayed in a public park said he feared for his safety after a newspaper revealed his name Sunday.
The Omaha World-Herald in its Sunday editions identified the man, an atheist, who brought the suit against the city of Plattsmouth in 2001 with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Last September, a federal judge declined a request from the ACLU to stop the paper from naming the man, whom the Associated Press is not identifying.
On Sunday, the man said in a statement released through the ACLU that he regretted the paper's decision to release his name and would continue to fear for his safety in the town just south of Omaha.
"I hope the work of local law enforcement, coupled with the warning of federal investigations, will dissuade those who have an irrational hatred of me," the man said. "While most of the people in Plattsmouth are good neighbors, I must be concerned about those who are not."
Tim Butz, director of the Nebraska ACLU, said the organization shared the man's concerns for his safety and has met with state and local law enforcement authorities. The ACLU would not comment on any of the measures taken to guard the man's safety, Butz said.
The Omaha World-Herald would make no other comment than the story it published Sunday, said Larry King, executive editor. The article did not say why the paper decided to publish the story.
"The story speaks for itself," King said in a statement released by the paper.
Besides identifying the man, the story also listed the type of car he drives and his license plate, which is related to his atheist affiliation. The story detailed his personal and professional life and quoted co-workers. Some of the man's writing on religion and Christianity were also quoted as were depositions in which he detailed threats made against him and his family.
Last year the man said he would consider moving from Plattsmouth, should his name be revealed, because his life had been threatened.
The suit alleges the monument violates the First Amendment and Supreme Court rulings on the separation of church and state. The monument has been in the city park since 1965.
At trial, the judge agreed with the ACLU, saying the monument "conveys a message that Christianity and Judaism are favored religions." The ruling was appealed, and is before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Before trial, a federal magistrate granted the ACLU's request to let the case continue without naming the man because of the threats made against him. The order applied only to the lawyers and those involved in the case. The ACLU had asked the judge to extend the order beyond the courtroom.
AT the time, an attorney for the World-Herald argued that sealed evidence presented to the court showed the man's identity was already known.
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Ten Commandment displays in two Kentucky courthouses cross the line between separation of church and state.
But in a second 5-4 ruling, the high court held it was constitutionally permissible to display the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas Capitol.
He's the bad neighbor, and the irrational one
I'm assuming the public has no right to face their accuser in this case?
Did he expect to be exalted?
Maybe he better appreciates the Sixth Commandment. Thou shalt not commit murder. I think his critics will follow this commandment.
He forgot that while exercising his right to free speech that someone might listen.
Good for the Omaha World-Herald!!! This bs of ONE LONE INDIVIDUAL ruling for the masses, needs to stop, but no one seems to have the intestinal fortitude to stop it. If these people don't like it here they can move to Cuba. Quit changing my country.
GOD bless America, President Bush and our brave heroes in the US Military. Happy July 4th.
The story left out which commandments in particular he didn't like. Or is he opposed to all morality.
He wanted his "15 minutes" and now he's got them. The moral of this story is, "GET A LIFE AND MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" This couldn't have happened to a "nicer" guy.
He seemed proud to advertise it before, why not now?
Mike Newdow was a fool, but at least he had the courage to sign his own name to his lawsuit. You, Ron Larsen, are a fool and a coward.
He can run, but he can't hide. God knows his address. LOL
So, let me get this straight, he wants to inflict his religion while driving on public property with plates issued by the government but doesn't want others to display any sign of another religion on public property.
PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. - Ron Larsen has never been one to hide his lack of religious conviction.Atheist Ron Larsen's personalized Nebraska license plate leaves no doubt about his beliefs. "ATHEOS" is Greek for "godless."
He drives a Toyota with vanity license plates that read "ATHEOS" a Greek word meaning godless.
He wrote columns for his college newspaper and letters to the editor in several newspapers, including The World-Herald, promoting atheism and boldly challenging religious devotion.
He publicly challenged the Plattsmouth school district over a Hanukkah history test his son took and issued a press release. He also wrote and signed his name to an Internet posting objecting to Christian references in songs to be performed at a winter concert at the school.
Yet his lawyer asked a judge that Larsen be identified as "John Doe" when the American Civil Liberties Union Nebraska sued on Larsen's behalf to challenge a Ten Commandments monument in a Plattsmouth park
...
For the past four years, Larsen has worked as a copy editor for eMedicine Inc., an online publication providing medical information to those in the field and to the public.
At his job in Omaha, Larsen proofreads journals, books and articles written by physicians across the country.
That's the lying ways of the deceitful left...make accusations and counter accusations against a right wing straw man..
This impoverished soul needs to fear...
The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom....
Jer 5:22 (NIV) "Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence?"
In Hebrew, yirah (Jon 1:16, Ps 90:11), yare (above, Mal 3:16) and pachad (Job 3:25a, Ps 119:120) mean reverent fear, terror, or dread, normally translated simply fear. There are other words in Hebrew for mere respect, reverence, or honor, such as kabad (Ex 20:12). In Greek fear/terror is phobo (Mat 28:4,1 Pet 2:17c), where reverence or honor is timao (1 Pet 2:17a/d).
With this distinction in both Hebrew and Greek, some still assert that "fear merely means reverence." As if God through His Spirit could not select the right word hundreds of times! Some would prefer to believe this than to understand that God really ought to be feared.
Why is it we will not accept the fear of God? Why do we try to "explain away" the fear of God in Scripture? What is it in our unconscious minds that creeps up when the Spirit leads us into the revel
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