SCOTUS also ruled that the the individual mandate in the ACA was constitutional. SCOTUS doesn't always rule in the way you or I interpret the Constitution.
Tom
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"SC Police Hastily Scratch “Lord” and “Matthew 5:9” Off Monument...."
- Thread starter Skwim
- Start date
Tom
The Reverend Bob
Fart Machine and Beastmaster
ACA is Constitutional because congress can establish a tax but it cannot force a municipality to adopt the Establishment Clause, they already ruled on it.
Prestor John
Well-Known Member
I'm sure these cops would have accepted any gift from any group as long as it was uplifting..
And well they should have.
One has to marvel at just how clueless some people can be. Will they never learn? OR, is it they know, but "To hell with the law. Let's slip Christianity into secular society wherever we can on the off chance we'll get away with it.""Earlier this month, the Tega Cay Women’s Club in South Carolina gifted the local police department with a large stone that had the department’s logo painted on it.
Seems fine… until you realize the bottom of that design has the words “Matthew 5:9,” the Bible verse that includes the phrase “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
On the back of that stone is what’s known the “Police Officer’s Prayer,” which calls on the “Lord” to give officers courage, strength, and continued dedication to the job.
Bottom line: The police department installed a Christian monument outside the building. It’s absolutely illegal, and we know that because a similar monument referencing Islam or atheism or Satanism would never be permitted there.
Complaints flowed into the station as soon as that stone went up, and city officials agreed that this promotion of Christianity would lead to a lawsuit that they would inevitably lose.
But instead of just removing the monument, they handled this the worst possible way: by literally crossing out the words “Lord” and “Matthew 5:9.”“We talked to our attorney about it and he said they’re probably going to sue you,” said Mayor David O’Neal, also a campaign leader for U.S. Congressman Ralph Norman in past runs. “He said we’d have to hire a lawyer and it might cost $30,000 to $50,000 to fight it, or you can just move the offensive language.”
That move just angered conservatives even more.
Notice how Bryant lied there. Courage is no doubt an important characteristic for law enforcement officials. But faith is not. Christianity is definitely not. Believing in the Jesus myth is not a prerequisite to being a cop. To pretend otherwise is an insult to all the men and women who aren’t Christians but risk their lives for the community anyway."S.C. State Rep. Bruce Bryant, R-York, was outraged the Biblical verse was removed. Bryant retired as York County Sheriff in 2017 after 20 years in office and 44 years in law enforcement.
“To say I am disappointed is an understatement,” Bryant said. “Law enforcement is a calling, a calling for men and women by God to protect the communities they serve. These principles of courage and faith are what this great state and nation were founded upon.”
source
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I'm just as sure that one of the attractions to that particular monument was sticking Christian fingers in other people's eyes, knowing they'd get away with it.
Tom
Prestor John
Well-Known Member
I don't see how referencing the saying, "Blessed are the peacemakers" to relate it to law enforcement is necessarily a "Christian finger".
You don't need to be a Christian to believe that or to want to honor law enforcement.
The Reverend Bob
Fart Machine and Beastmaster
It is as if being a peacemaker is a bad thing
Bob the Unbeliever
Well-Known Member
The same way that atheism is banned today: tacit behavior among the populous.
Try running for public office as an "out" atheist? And the death threats become not only credible, but effective. You either live in a cave, or you are dead.
But the odds of making it to the primaries, as an openly atheist person? Is slim to none--with some notable exceptions in more enlightened cities.
The Reverend Bob
Fart Machine and Beastmaster
So, what is your 5 point plan to turn all these municipalities into atheist municipalities?
A Vestigial Mote
Well-Known Member
I've heard as much said by believers dozens of times. Though when I call them on it, mysteriously this is either not what they were saying, or they duck and dodge, trying their best not to answer to the points I make in that vein.
They want their cake and to eat it too. They want to call atheists devoid of all moral decency, and yet not admit that this means that without their God they would then be atheist, and also subject to their own denunciation of atheists as morally bankrupt. And I can only hope that the reality is much more likely that nearly nothing would change for most people if they were to somehow discover that God didn't exist. Otherwise we atheists are truly living life walking a wire-thin tight-rope - with psychopathic murdering rapists all around us who only refrain from acting on their impulses while "praising the Lord."
Bob the Unbeliever
Well-Known Member
Want to bet? The modern Satanists have a code of ethics that is superior in every way to Bible-Thumping "morality" that anyone cares to name.
But. If a local group of Satanists offered a plaque or statue? The boiling-mad SuperKKKristians™ would lynch any politician who did not immediately slap that down.
How do I know? We had a similar BoonDoggle here in Oklahomer-- had a brutally immoral Bible Plaque in front of our government, on State Grounds. Both atheist and Satanist groups funded plaques to go beside it-- as per the regulations they modified to "allow" their hate-plaque to remain.
Guess what? All plaques were removed to the dumpster-- well, actually neither the atheist nor Satanist monuments were permitted. So only the Bible-Thumper one was binned.
Bob the Unbeliever
Well-Known Member
Me? I'm not among the younger set-- I'm into my 60s.. Ask THEM. The young people are the ones LEAVING RELIGION BEHIND IN RECORD NUMBERS.
But if I were to try? I'd simply increase education levels across the board. Education is where religion goes to die, after all. I'd ban homeschooling, and force Religious "schools" to comply with State Education Standards, or be closed.
Within a short generation? Most kids would not be fooled by the Comforting Lies that is all religion has going for itself.
Bob the Unbeliever
Well-Known Member
In truth? I agree with your analysis 100%-- the majority of humans are essentially good, what with the human species having evolved a very strong empathy behavior, due to being a herd species.
As the infamous quote:
Good people do Good Things,
Bad people do Bad Things,
To get Good people to do Bad things, you use Religion.
The Reverend Bob
Fart Machine and Beastmaster
They're leaving religion behind to become a bunch of New Age hippies not atheists.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/11/10/16630178/study-spiritual-but-not-religious
More Americans now say they’re spiritual but not religious
Examining the Growth of the ‘Spiritual but Not Religious’
A Vestigial Mote
Well-Known Member
My opinion is that this is "step 1" of a total break. Most individuals go through this same sort of sow-ish transition when going from believer to non-believer:
- Outright rejection of the non-believer's points of view.
- Softening a bit and listening or even asking questions.
- Wanting to hold on to certain aspects, while admitting that many things are likely fiction/myth
- Letting go of more and more, calling themselves "agnostic" for a while
- Finally just admitting that they no longer believe and are full-on atheist
The Reverend Bob
Fart Machine and Beastmaster
Have any proof of this?
You keep dreaming, maybe it will happen. But from what I see, what they are doing is what young people have always been doing for centuries: they are experimenting. Once they settle down, establish roots, start families and begin to desire stability the strong possibility is that they will gravitate toward more traditional expressions of spirituality.
Prestor John
Well-Known Member
L-O-L
I bet it would hinge on what the plaque said and what the statue was of.
That doesn't prove what you claim. Sorry.
What did the plaque say that you describe as "brutally immoral"?
What were the atheist and Satanist plaques going to say?
A Vestigial Mote
Well-Known Member
This is my take... and you obviously have yours. I would wager you have as much "proof" for your viewpoint as I do. As you can see from my original reply - I prefaced the entire thing with "My opinion is that..."
Based on what I have seen and experienced, and with the advent of majority irreligious countries and cultures being on the rise, it seems to me that the world is moving more toward irreligion, gradually, all the time. I feel like the internet is a big contributor. Having at your fingertips reams and reams of information about other cultures and religions, as well as being able to communicate with and hear news from multiple many countries and societies is opening people's eyes to the myopic nature of adopting any single viewpoint. Hence (I feel) the rise in the number of people claiming to be "spiritual" without adhering to a specific religion. It is making less and less sense to "tribe up," and a big part of division among large groups of humans has always been religion.
The Reverend Bob
Fart Machine and Beastmaster
I have a little bit more:
Why Are Old People So Religious?
Quote from the article:
Many of us assume that the older you get, the more religious you become—and the evidence seems to support that assumption.
Cooky
Veteran Member
Yeah. Life's pretty good.
No doubt.
That's why we have a constitutional.
To protect the rest of us from people like you.
Tom