Harris County (Houston, TX) must remove Bible displayed at courthouse

Houston Chronicle ^ | 8/10/04 | RAD SALLEE

[truthandlife]

.S. District Judge Sim Lake ruled today that a Bible displayed in a monument outside the Harris County Civil Courts Building must be removed within 10 days and that the county must pay $41,000 in court costs and attorney fees.

Real estate broker and attorney Kay Staley sued the county in federal court to have the monument removed, contending the display violates the First Amendment ban on an establishment of religion.

The King James Bible rests under glass inside a 4-foot stone monument on the west side of the Civil Courthouse, 301 Fannin.

The monument was constructed with private funds in the 1950s as a memorial to philanthropist William S. Mosher.

During a two-day hearing last week, the county contended that the display primarily honors Mosher, while the plaintiffs said it unconstitutionally promoted a specific religion at a government facility.

[TheBattman]

Actually - that part of Texas is more like some more liberal segments of the US than the rest of Texas.... or so I hear.

[weegee]

Maybe we should be calling the charity the Red Star of Hope now. Wouldn't want to confuse it with any biblically referenced stars.

[weegee]

HOUSTON PING

[GeronL]

we must not let them do this to our country, do they swear people in on a copy of Gore's Earth in the Balance??

[Squantos]

How do they swear people in these days in court ? So help you God is not part of that process anymore ? As long as the president of these United States is sworn in with a bible and in God we trust is on the all mighty dollar the bible has a place in our goobermint does it not ?

[weegee]

If we are not careful, we will be swearing in on the Unabomber's Manifesto.

Freedom of Religion is not Freedom FROM Religion. The 1st Ammendment protects the public display of that Bible. To prohibit the public display is government CENSORSHIP.

There is no requirement to display the texts of all religions in that display. There is no suppression of other religions.

Atheism IS a religion (it is the belief/faith that there is NO God). Agnosticism says "don't know". Atheism says, "I 'know' there is no God." None of us will know with provable certainty until we die (unless we encounter the divine made flesh).

[GOPcapitalist]

If Judge Eckels and the Commissioner's Court had any guts they'd pull a Teresa Heinz-Kerry on Sim Lakein the form of a two word response: shove it.

[GOPcapitalist]

This woman should be shunned by the Houston community.

Forget shunning her. This sorry excuse for a judge is the one who needs to be shunned.

[GOPcapitalist]

BOY ooo BOY! That Judge better high tail it outta here. You don't do things like this here in Texas without paying the consequences! Prepare to see how TEXAS deals with IDIOT judges! Hold on to your boot straps!

Exactly. He's also intruding upon a state matter that he has no right to decide on.

[freedom44]

Actually Muslims generally don't have a problem with our religious symbols, it's the Secularists, ACLU bunch who have initiated almost every single one of these protests.

[GOPcapitalist]

Thanks for the ping. I'm furious at this. If the county doesn't appeal it and they come to take it down in the next 10 days we need to be there and freep it.

[SheLion]

So am I, but we can do something about it. We don't have to lie down and play dead. Speak up, silent majority, and let our voices be heard. Christians have rights too.

Well, next thing you know, we won't be able to fly our flag on American soil. Can you imagine??!!

[TexasCajun]

I hope Ms Kay Staley's life is hell, she deserves no happiness.

[TexasCajun]

It would be nice to stake out her office and politely inform her unaware customers of her civil activities. It would make a difference to me who I wanted as an agent!

[OXENinFLA]

This really ticks me off. I'm sure the devils over at the ACLU love this verdict.

[Chong]

"Well, next thing you know, we won't be able to fly our flag on American soil. Can you imagine??!!"

Yeah, our flag is "offensive" to some people, you see. I have a solution for them...... Git! Shoo!!

[hushpad]

>>>Yeah. Funny thing about some Christians (like me)....

I find it hard, if not impossible, to turn the other cheek to the likes of her and her 'ilk'. I'd rather fight than switch.<<<

I'm pretty sure that Christians are not required to "turn the other cheek" when defending the Supremacy of God and Gods Holy Word. If Moses felt as PC as Christians today, the Jews never would have made it out of bondage.

Christians must turn to lessons in the Bible when fighting todays spiritual battles. Moses was not perfect, and did not need to be in order to follow Gods commands. Peter, Gods Rock, persecuted Christians-he murdered Gods own people! Yet, God built his Church upon Peter.

In a spiritual war, Christians can not afford to seek the approval of mere men. Not only this, but we can not seek TO APPROVE of others simply because they claim to be Christians. If a Christian acts against God - other Christians MUST admonish them - God requires it.

I believe God disapproves of this woman's actions - actions directly intended to remove God from his people. Actions that, if they took place 200 years ago, would have doomed the United States to the same fate as atheists and secular countries.

Without God and His followers, the United States would never have been - and can not continue to be. That secularists don't understand this or like it is irrelevant.

[Dataman]

Ever read the Chronicles of Narnia?

Many years ago. They are supposed to be stories for children but those who read them know that they have a level of complexity beyond the understanding of kids.

[Dataman]

=== Being judgemental and condescending is SO much more reflective of Christianity.

Yeah well ... looks like I'll have to defer to your SO patently obvious expertise in this regard.

It's that way on FR. The enemies of Christ "know" more about His teaching than His followers without so much as opening His book.

[Askel5]

lol ... THREAT MATRIX?!?

Thanks for the redirect ... I'll definitely stop by.