Amen to that.
I finally heard about this case this morning on local talk radio. I can only guess there are some Christians out there who think this is a good ruling. But, it's wrong in so many ways. It really got me to thinking.
In my opinion, the initial court's ruling was fine. She should be allowed to give the invocation when it's her turn. If Muslims, why not Wiccans? For all I care, you can open your public meeting with a prayer to Darwin. I just won't say 'Amen' when you finish praying to your false god.
But, instead, the county has requested the name of Jesus Christ shall not be uttered by any 'cleric' invited to pray. That should outrage every Christian; in who's name shall we pray? Seems to me the book of Acts has something to say about our proper response when a government says we cannot preach Christ.
Note that the Court's opinion states this: "The [invitation] letter [to the clergy] now directs clerics to avoid invoking the name of Jesus Christ, a custom to which Christian clergy often had adhered when closing their invocations in the past." In other words, it's already customary for the so-called Christians to avoid the "J-word" when they pray in public. So, what's the point of praying? Didn't He advise us to pray in His name? (If He will say, "I never knew you" to certain people who did things in His name, I wonder what He might say to these clerics who avoid His name.)
At any rate, other people's prayers to false gods pose no threat to me, because Truth wins in the end. If I believe that, why should I mind if the witch wants to pray?
Exactly. This sad trend has been underway for some time now, of course. As we both well know, that mythical "separation of church and state" has never ever been the goal; it's a "separation of CHRISTIAN church and state." Like the song says, there's just something about that name. You and I love it. Others fear it.
It's why generic mentions of God and "higher powers" and "supreme beings" and on and on and on, don't ever bother them. It's the name of JESUS that freaks them out. That too is easily understood once you view the situation as it is: It's Satan at the core of everything that attempts to keep people from hearing The Name, and it's perfectly logical that the slug only fears ONE name.
MM