Free Republic

Why has a reverent movie about Jesus Christ become one of the most controversial films in history? But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. — Isaiah 53:5 Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ begins with a black screen and the above-quoted passage of Holy Scripture from the prophet Isaiah. It ends with a scene of the resurrected Jesus Christ stepping from the tomb. In the two hours of film that run between those two bookends, writer-director-producer Mel...

Ellen Johnson, President of Godless Americans PAC, shares her comments: *snip* Here, in and around Washington, DC, every conceivable interest group has representation, a presence, a "seat at the table," so to speak. That phrase, incidentally, was often used by Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition. He lamented the supposed absence of political influence fundamentalist Christians exercised "inside the beltway," and he set out to change that state of affairs. He often said that the so-called "people of faith" simply wanted "a seat at the table in the great discussion called democracy." In fact, religious people of...

<p>Atheists and other nonbelievers set up a political action committee yesterday to endorse candidates and lobby lawmakers to remove all traces of religion from the government.</p> <p>But organizers acknowledged that they face a major problem.</p> <p>Most politicians won't want public support from their new group, which they are calling the Godless Americans Political Action Committee (GAMPAC).</p>

Press Release -- 8-March-2004 LAUNCH OF "GODLESS AMERICANS" PAC TOMORROW AT NATIONAL PRESS CLUB Tuesday, March 9, 2004 9:00 AM MEDIA INVITED The Godless Americans Political Action Committee (GAMPAC) will host a press conference on Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 9:00 AM, the National Press Club in Washington, DC. GAMPAC grew out of the historic Godless Americans March on Washington (November, 2002) which brought to the nation's capital thousands of Atheists, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists and other nonbelievers, for an unprecedented display of unity. GAMPAC will members of this diverse, secular community an alternative in having more of a voice in...

<p>SACRAMENTO, California (AP) --The girl at the center of a constitutional challenge to reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools won't be able to watch her father argue the case before the Supreme Court, a California judge has ruled.</p>

SAN FRANCISCO Feb. 23 — The atheist who persuaded a federal appeals court to strike down the Pledge of Allegiance because of the words "under God" lost a bid Monday to abolish prayer at presidential inaugurations. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Michael Newdow did not suffer "a sufficiently concrete and specific injury" to pursue his latest claim. Newdow is both an emergency room physician and a lawyer and has represented himself in the two legal actions. Newdow argued that the Rev. Franklin Graham's prayer at President Bush's 2001 inauguration was an unconstitutional endorsement...

(CNSNews.com) - American Atheists in Maryland said Friday they want the state to start removing roadside memorials; crosses, flowers and sometimes teddy bears that people leave next to highways where a loved one or family member has died in an automobile accident. The practice is repeated all over the country. While there are currently no petition drives or other widespread grassroots activities, Maryland atheists say they want state officials to be more proactive in the matter. "Our position basically is that we're against it (the memorials)," David Condo, Maryland state director for American Atheists, told CNSNews.com. "We don't think...

Not Such a Bright Idea: Atheists Try a New NameAlbert Mohler Daniel Dennett claims that atheism is getting a bad press. The world is filled with religious believers, he acknowledges, but a growing number of atheists lack the respect they deserve. It's time for a new public relations strategy for the godless, Dennett argues, and he has just the plan. The central point of Dennett's strategy is to get rid of the word "atheist." It's too, well, negative. After all, it identifies an individual by what he or she does not believe--in this case the individual does not believe...

Federal Judge Makes It Official -- America Now an Atheist Nation The issue isn't a granite stone with the Ten Commandments inscribed on it. Never has been. The issue is much more diverse and important than a piece of stone. The issue was best stated by none other than Federal Judge Myron Thompson, who said that the display of the stone containing the Ten Commandments (which also contains a host of other historical documents) is illegal. Thompson said the central, most important issue was this: "Can the state acknowledge God?" After asking the question, he went on to answer it....

Supreme Court Denies Judge Moore Plea For Stay; Midnight Removal Deadline Remains, Says People For the American Way 8/20/03 5:37:00 PM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk, State Desk Contact: Peter Montgomery of People For the American Way, 202-467-4999 WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The U.S. Supreme Court today denied a last-minute plea by Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore to stay a federal court order requiring the removal of a massive Ten Commandments monument Moore installed in the rotunda of the state's judiciary building. The high court's decision not to intercede today does not necessarily indicate whether or not the...

Boy Scouts' use of Balboa Park land ruled unconstitutional Judge says use violates separation of church and state By Ray Huard UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER 2:29 p.m., July 31, 2003 The Boy Scouts' lease of public land in San Diego's Balboa Park is unconstitutional, a federal judge decided in a ruling released Thursday. U.S. District Judge Napoleon Jones Jr. said the Scouts' lease of the 18-acre Camp Balboa in Balboa Park violates provisions in the U.S. and state constitutions governing the separation of church and state. Jones said the Boy Scouts are a religious organization because the Scouts require members to...

How the media's reporting on the Religious Right keeps it from seeing the story of the Secular Left As a practicing Christian, a political conservative and a professional journalist, I've long been amazed at how ignorant and uncurious my mostly intelligent and urbane colleagues are about conservatives, especially religious conservatives. Many have looked at me--their friend, despite my Catholicism and Republican Party registration--with the same slack-jawed incomprehension as elderly Southerners when they step off the tour bus in London and hear a black man speaking with a crisp British accent (I’ve seen this, and it’s a hoot). People like me--religious...

BLUE HILL, Me. The time has come for us brights to come out of the closet. What is a bright? A bright is a person with a naturalist as opposed to a supernaturalist world view. We brights don't believe in ghosts or elves or the Easter Bunny — or God. We disagree about many things, and hold a variety of views about morality, politics and the meaning of life, but we share a disbelief in black magic — and life after death. The term "bright" is a recent coinage by two brights in Sacramento, Calif., who thought our social group...

This Isn't a Good Sign Hillary Clinton's Senate Web page features a photo (scroll down to the second pic under "Senator Clinton's Latest Events") captioned: "Senator Clinton speaks at a press conference calling on the Senate to pass Hate Crimes legislation." In the background members of the crowd hold signs reading STOP HATE CRIMES and others with a giant equal sign. But look at the green sign at about 11 o'clock; it appears to read RELIGION IS IMMORAL. In case Clinton's office takes the photo down, we've put a copy here. Picture Here

Maybe you’ve cruised past the church marquee in the middle of a sweltering summer afternoon that read: YOU THINK IT’S HOT HERE? For some reason, making light of such a heavy topic just doesn’t seem right to me — though of course I know what they’re trying to accomplish. Hell. It’s not a popular subject these days. No one wants to talk about it, much less go there. I have a friend who actually wrote a full-blown, hardback book on hell. Needless to say, it wasn’t a bestseller! Part of me wants to forget I ever heard the word. I...

<p>Tony Blair is a hero of the liberation of Iraq, but a British prime minister who confronts Islamist terror abroad has to watch himself with his atheists at home.</p> <p>Mr. Blair is in a spot of trouble for trying to be nice to God. No Churchillian gestures allowed.</p>

(CNSNews.com) - Veterans and atheists are converging on Montgomery, Ala. Monday, hoping to rally their respective supporters over the display of the Ten Commandments at the state courthouse. The group American Veterans In Domestic Defense (AVIDD) and the Alabama chapter of the American Atheists are planning competing rallies in support of and opposition to Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's appeal of a federal court ruling that ordered Moore to remove the monument within 30 days. A week before the Dec. 18 deadline, Moore filed his appeal, noting in a statement that federal courts cannot "prohibit the acknowledgment of God that...

A "Godless America" By Bill Mosley Although there has been a surge in religion since the 9/11 bombing of the World Trade Center, the swell is not nearly so great in true Christianity. The impact of that horrible act of terrorism indeed did drive true believers in Christ to their knees in prayer. Not only for themselves but in behalf of the suffering, sorrow, and sadness that filled hearts that day. Hearts remain broken and lives forever changed as a result of the action of a nation without the true God. It also stirred the "religious" to turn to what...

We Need Republicans Here to Give OUR Perspective, The Environmentalists want Ground Zero to be a Park and the Atheists want no mention of God on the Memorial. On Saturday, July 20, 2002, New Yorkers will come together to shape the future of Lower Manhattan.This historic gathering - called "Listening to the City" - will give 5,000 participants an opportunity to consider plans for the redevelopment of Lower Manhattan and the creation of a permanent memorial to the victims of 9/11.Using the latest in modern technology, participants will have the opportunity to voice their opinions on critical issues and vote...