Posted on 08/17/2006 8:21:56 PM PDT by xzins
'China-level' Christian persecution coming: Pastors say court's ruling in Houston Bible case 'breath-taking'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: August 17, 2006 5:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Houston's Bible monument
A few more court decisions like this week's over a display of a Bible in Houston and the United States will be approaching the "China-level" for Christian persecution, according to a leader in the midst of that battle.
The ruling from the Fifth Court of Appeals said the display of a Bible on public ground in Houston to honor the founder of a mission has to go, not because it was unconstitutional itself, but because it became unconstitutional when a Christian group rallied around it.
The pastor's group said that means any monument, building, or even feature of nature is an illegal "establishment of religion" if a church ceremony is held there.
"Connecting the dots between the eminent domain case, which says all of your churches are up for grabs if a town wants a mall, secondly you now have been told you do not have constitutional rights in the public square," Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastors Conference, told WorldNetDaily.
"Any kind of an event is okay, as long as you didn't express any religious faith. What is that telling you?
"We're not persecuted yet, we know that. But we're on our way there. Add that to the surprising acceptance of militant Islam, the fear of speaking against that from a Christian standpoint and then we're dangerously approaching the point where we have literally given away and yielded our freedoms that were earned," Welch said.
"We have history, law and the founding fathers who adopted the Constitution collectively affirming the truth expressed by revered Justice Joseph Story in 1840 that, 'We are not to attribute this prohibition of a national religious establishment to an indifference to religion in general, and especially to Christianity,'" said a statement issued by the pastor's group.
Welch told WND that the court's conclusion was "ludicrous" and if followed logically, could mean that a religious rally at any public building would therefore make the building unconstitutional so it would have to be removed.
The Bible was installed on county property about five decades ago in honor of William Mosher, the founder of Star of Hope Mission, and was replaced in 1996 with donated funds. However, an atheist challenged the monument, and on an appeal from the District Court decision that the Bible was unconstitutional, the appeals court carried the argument further.
Its ruling said that the monument became an unconstitutional "establishment" after a 2003 rally was held by Christians to defend the display. That rally involved prayers and clergy, the court noted.
"The ramifications of this tortured decision are breath-taking and without any historic or legitimate Constitutional rationale," said the pastors' organization. "For the court to state that if a private citizen exercises his or her First Amendment rights of religious expression and assembly on public property, that any monument, building or fixed item of any kind that contains religious references becomes 'establishment of religion' is simply irrational."
The conclusion, if applied nationwide, would result in the sandblasting of hundreds of monuments and buildings "including the capstone on the Washington Monument, which reads, 'Laus Deo,' or 'Praise be to God,'" the pastors group continued.
"For this panel majority of two justices to claim that words and actions by private citizens or elected officials with religious content, expressed about a building or monument, convert it from 'secular' and constitutional to 'sacred' and unconstitutional amounts to an act of blatant judicial activism against the freedoms and Constitution," the HAPC said.
The group Battle For The Bible also is working on the case, and Welch said there are experts on constitutional law who have been and plan to continue assisting the county in its fight over the representation of the Bible.
"They are of the opinion this needs to be appealed directly to the Supreme Court, and we're working on that right now," Welch told WND.
He called the logic "twisted" that could conclude the monument once was constitutional, but since "some action by a private citizen" it now becomes unconstitutional.
Because the atheist's lawsuit was against the county over the monument on county land, the pastors and their advisors have been assisting County Attorney Michael Stafford in the fight.
we are headed the same way china did under mao. Failure to recognize this could be deadly. The (true) price of Liberty is not eternal vigilance, it is the shed blood of patriots. Freedom is not for cowards!
Hi Chik... |
And the twilight fades a little more to darkness.
Work while it is light friends, for the darkness is coming when no one will be able to work.
Athiestic expression by Athiests has become the new State Religion, now founded by law. Clearly a violation of the Constitution.
Like Muslims, Athiests do not respect law, they use it to their purposes.
Like a match is to a bon fire, the burn is painful and the result in the end is the same, a nation of cinders. The only difference I can see is that a match is a lot easier to put out in your living room than a bonfire.
Shame on you for justifying religious persecution because it is less than China's!
I think the ACLU qualifies for special consideration under the RICO statutes.
My favorite part of the First Amendment is the second clause:
Congress shall make no law...
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
You are right. The author is a drama queen.
Well, that was a nasty little comment about my senior Pastor. What's your problem with Greg?
They understand them perfectly, which is why they have such seething disgust for them, and want nothing more than for them to go away.
Exactly... |
The rantings of the WND are a bit different than Greg Laurie's teachings, - who by the way I actually have listened to and have great respect for more than 25 years now. I don't have a beef with the Word of God or people that talk about it. I have a beef with the henny penny headlines of what is hardly more than a "Conservative" gossip rag.
Instead of bellyaching on here, how many people will actually follow up with a letter to their congress and senate reps to do something?
If the story was about a Catholic priest being accused of a molestation, I doubt the author of the story would be labeled a drama queen. If the story was about a mayor pushing for a ban on certain types of ammo, I doubt the author would be labeled a drama queen.
Activist judges and the ACLU are like terrorsts; they only need to succede once. They want that one ruling to go their way, then it's "Stare Decisis, baby, we got precedent!" It might sound like hubris, but every inch of ground lost in the courts is basically lost forever. Once precedent is established in court rulings, it's pretty difficult to overcome.
LOL, devolve, you've got the Ginsberg with the 'tail' again!! What happened to the tailess one? I have it in my files.
How about a rally in this judges' court room?
True, and the ACLU (Atheist Communist Lawyers Union) will lead the legal attack pro bono whenever and wherever it can find a disgruntled atheist to represent.
The term "pro bono" formerly meant "for the public good", but the ACLU has changed it to mean "for the destruction of Christianity". I don't understand why there is no organization of conservative attorneys who could do for the Christian pro-Americanism faction what the ACLU is doing for the far smaller atheistist anti-Americanism faction.
I don't think American Christians, of which I am one, have experienced any real persecution by the government so far. But the wind is definitely blowing in that direction, and if radical leftwing Democrats like the CT primary winner and his Cindy Sheehan-like supporters ever take over both Congress and the White House I expect a significant degree of government persecution against evangelical Christians to begin soon thereafter. I'm not breaking out the tinfoil hats just yet, but I can recognize an implacable enemy when I see one.
Very good. Do you suppose they use an actual Bible when they swear in witnesses anymore?
Reward!
Have you seen these words: "Separation of Church and State" in the U.S. Constitution?
If you can find these words in the U.S. Constitution you will have accomplished an amazing thing. The words 'separation' and 'church' do not even appear in the U.S. Constitution. Don't believe it. Check it out!
If Congress were to pass a law prohibiting prayer in school, would it violate that part of the first amendment which reads: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ."?
If Congress, whose job is to create law, cannot prohibit prayer in school, how did the Supreme Court do it without violating both the first amendment and the separation of powers?
Activist judges have stolen our country and our culture. Let's take America back! Impeach activist judges!
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