15 November 2008
Attacks on Religious Liberty
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: Judaeo-Christian Values Under Attack .
Guest Blog by Sharon Anderson
Other Attacks on Religious Liberty
I received an interesting letter from the Rutherford Institute. Here are some excerpts.:
Dear Friend,
The election is finally behind us. However, this is not the time to let down your guard or give up the fight.
Although the political landscape may have changed, the enemies of freedom are still at large, wreaking havoc in communities across our land.
I am referring to groups like Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which have made it their life’s work to eradicate all traces of Christianity from our schools, our workplaces and other public places.
This particular group claims to be an advocate for religious freedom, but they are no friend of freedom, particularly when Christians are involved.
Indeed, most recently, Americans United marshaled its tremendous resources in order to wage a despicable smear campaign against Marcus Borden, a high school football coach in New Jersey who just wants to bow his head while his players offer a pre-game prayer.
It was bad enough when school officials insisted that Coach Borden remain still, neither taking a knee nor silently bowing his head while his players prayed.
But at the urging of Americans United, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals declared that Coach Borden should actually leave the room!
It is because of this group, and others like them, that we are quickly becoming a society that is anti-religion. It is because of their efforts that in many parts of the country, law-abiding Americans can no longer speak about Christianity or reference God, let alone bow their heads in silent prayer or even gather friends and family for prayer in the privacy of their homes, without inciting a disturbance.
. . .
We have appealed Coach Borden’s case to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the ramifications of this kind of religious censorship cannot be underestimated. Indeed, they are already being felt across the country.
. . .
In Virginia, the governor recently ordered all police chaplains to refrain from referencing Jesus Christ in public prayers. The governor pointed to the Turner case, which we have also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, as justification for his actions. As you’ll recall, Rev. Hashmel Turner is a city councilman who was prohibited by the City Council (giving in to pressure from the ACLU) from ending his prayers at council meetings with three small words: “in Jesus’ name.”
It is my fervent hope that the United States Supreme Court will hear these cases.
However, whether or not they choose to do so, the battle for religious freedom will not end there. It’s going to take all of us sacrificing . . .to protect and defend our God-given freedoms.
Ronald Reagan was right when he said that “If we lose freedom here, there’s no place to escape to.
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