Posted on 02/21/2006 7:42:06 AM PST by AntiGuv
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a small congregation in New Mexico may use hallucinogenic tea as part of a four-hour ritual intended to connect with God.
Justices, in their first religious freedom decision under Chief Justice John Roberts, moved decisively to keep the government out of a church's religious practice. Federal drug agents should have been barred from confiscating the hoasca tea of the Brazil-based church, Roberts wrote in the decision.
The tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered sacred to members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal, which has a blend of Christian beliefs and South American traditions. Members believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies.
New Justice Samuel Alito did not take part in the case, which was argued last fall before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor before her retirement. Alito was on the bench for the first time on Tuesday.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
Well, there's one thing that I do know,
That's my favorite Goddess, Juno,
'Cause she's awfully good at...you know,
and that's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
We went off to worship Venus.
And by gosh you should have seen us!
Now the clinic has to screen us.
and that's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
We will pray to Aphrodite
Even tho' she's rather flighty
And they say she wears no nightie,
and that's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
We will pray with those Egyptians
Build our pyramids to put our crypts in
Cover subways with inscriptions,
and that's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
Oh, Old Odin we will follow
And in fighting we will wallow
"Til we wind up in Valhallaaaa,
and that's good enough for me.
We will sing a verse for Loki,
He's the old Norse god of Chaos,
Which is why this verse don't
rhyme or scan or nothin'
But it's good enough for me...
We'll sing a verse for Thor,
In bed, he's not a bore,
That hammer isn't all he's famous for,
So he's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
Let me follow dear old Buddha
For there is nobody cuter
He comes in plastic, wood or pewter,
and that's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
We will pray with Zarathrustra
Pray just like we usta
I'm a Zarathrustra boosta,
and that's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
Hare Krishna gets a laugh on
When he sees me dressed in Saffron
With my hair that's only half-on,
and that's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
I'll rise early in the morning
When the sun gives me a warning
That Mithras again is dawning,...
and that's good enough for me.
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
Give me that old time religion,
And it's good enough for me.
Oh my neighbor is a nudist,
And my roommate is Buddhist,
Me, I'm a tad more prudish,
But that's good enough for me.
From what Ive heard it is indeed a sacrement, however its use isnt crucial to being a good follower.
BFLR
lol....thanks.
No. But if your church services have involved pot smoking for the last hundred years or longer, then it would probably be constitutionally protected.
I see the clear language "respecting free exercise of religion" (paraphrased)
Second grade, maybe third grade.
One of my favorite verses:
If you pray to Old Uranus
Then your crime is truly heinous
You can stick it in your...songbook
That's good enough for me.
Another:
We will all bow down to Venus,
As we dance upon Mt. Zenos,
We will worship with our...voices,
That's good enough for me.
Good ol' filk songs, I tell ya.
Ya, maybe. On its face, I don't agree with the decision at all however.
LOL, I just told my brother you wouldn't. Gotta run. I'll check back later. A good opportunity for you to make more "friends" here. :-}
I note that the decision was unanimous however, so I am the odd man out on this one. :)
True; the Court ruled correctly on this one. The title was just too good a straight line to resist.
Oh, we used to worship Venus
How I wish you could have seen us
Now the clinic has to screen us
But that's good enough for me
Why not? I'm just curious, because I actually don't have an opinion on this, since I didn't follow the case closely and haven't yet read the briefs or the ruling. In fact, I had just taken it as given that the majority would go the other way and am quite surprised at how it turned out, and unanimous at that.
To be sure, my reading of the Constitution fails to identify any Federal power to prohibit drugs in the first place, but my superficial evaluation of the case took that unenumerated power as a given based on precedent.
I did chuckle at your comment.
Next there will be trails from the penembras :^)
"I note that the decision was unanimous however, so I am the odd man out on this one. :)"
Don't forget this is just on the issue of the preliminary injunction. I don't know that I agree with the Court on that issue of the pro-ban party prevailing in court, either, though you and I probably disagree on the issue of whether the federal government can ban religious drug use. I don't think there is much in the way of federal precedent that backs up any argument that the drug users might eventually win. This is about a 180 on what the prior courts seemed to think, so it is a strong signal, but still, what will this do to the notion of preliminary injunctions in cases like these?
"legitimate and historical religious practice."
It would be hard to prove a practice that had to go underground for generations to survive an unconstitutional and unholy war against citizens of this great nation.
"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God?" --Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia, 1782.
GOD MADE HERB
GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD
GOD GAVE IT TO MAN
Genesis 1:11
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.
Genesis 1:12
And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:29
And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.
"if your "faith" depends on drugs then maybe you need to reconsider where you are placing your "faith"
Romans 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone;
Ro 14:22 Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Blessed is he that condemneth not himself in that which he alloweth
Ro 14:2-3
For one believeth that he may eat all things: but he that is weak, let him eat herbs.
Let not him that eateth, despise him that eateth not: and he that eateth not, let him not judge him that eateth. For God hath taken him to him.
St. Paul also explicitly told strong Christians to not taunt or bother those "whose faith is weak" (and depends on things like certain ceremonies, certain foods, or, in the case before Paul at the time circumcision and keeping kosher).
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