*Disclaimer: When I refer to religious people in this post, I'm not lumping every person of faith into one category. If you're a believer and you nod your head while reading this, thinking, "Yeah, I know someone like this," this post is not about you. If, however, you are offended by this post, it's probably because you are a religious bully. I don't apologize and I don't mince words.
Jessica Alhquist vs. Cranston High School West
I’ve been following this case for several months. It actually started back in 2010 when parents of students in the school complained about the (8-foot tall) prayer banner. The school responded by holding meeting after meeting, but resolving nothing. A family filed a lawsuit with the ACLU and 16 year old Jessica decided to become a plaintiff in that case against the city. On January 11, 2012, federal Judge Ronald R. Lagueux ruled that it was unconstitutional for the banner to hang in a public school. Here is a text of the banner:
Our Heavenly Father,
Grant us each day the desire to do our best,
To grow mentally and morally as well as physically,
To be kind and helpful to our classmates and teachers,
To be honest with ourselves as well as with others,
Help us to be good sports and smile when we lose as well as when we win,
Teach us the value of true friendship,
Help us always to conduct ourselves so as to bring credit to Cranston High School West.
Amen
Since Jews, Hindus, and Muslims do not refer to god as “Our Heavenly Father,” it is obvious that it is a Christian prayer.
The First Amendment is very clear: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” This Amendment prohibits the government from establishing a national religion and promoting a preference of one religion over another. Public schools are governmental buildings. Therefore, prayers, religious artifacts, and religious banners are unconstitutional and have no place in the school.
James Madison’s original proposal for a bill of rights provision read, “The civil rights of none shall be abridged on account of religious belief or worship, nor shall any national religion be established, nor shall the full and equal rights of conscience in any manner, or on any pretence [sic], infringed.”
Most Christians feel “What’s the big deal?” That’s only because it’s about their religion. Remember the mosque outrage in NYC? Many Christians wanted all mosques removed from the city, even though many Muslims died in the Towers. It’s only “not a big deal” when it’s about Christianity. If the prayer had been from the Koran and praised Allah, would these same Christians be calling it a “historical document?” I think not.
The most troubling aspect about this has been the vitriol levied against this young girl. She’s been harassed, screamed out, threatened with death, called a “little witch,” and even called “an evil little thing” by her own State Representative, Palumbo. Here is an adult man, sworn to uphold the Constitution, fueling the hatred for this young girl who did the right thing. It's our Constitution. Yours and mine.
Prayer belongs in churches and homes. Not in city or state government offices or schools. Private speech is very different from government speech. As a private citizen, I can express myself, such as through this blog, and can say almost anything short of slander or inciting violence. The government cannot. The government must be impartial in matters of religion. That means no “Ten Commandments” plaques at the county courthouse, or invocations at city council meetings, or prayers at graduation ceremonies or football games, or nativity scenes at City Hall, or prayer banners at schools. If you want a nativity scene on your front lawn, go for it. Or put it outside a church. But don’t put it on land paid for by taxes.
I applaud her courage and wish more Christians acted “Christ-like” when confronted with constitutional issues. Here is just a sampling of the posts that have been tweeted about her (spelling not corrected):
“Gods going to fuck your ass with that banner you scumbag.”
“This girl honestly needs to be punched in the face.”
“Ima go drown that atheist in holy water.”
“Lets all jump that girl who did the banner.”
“I hope there’s lots of banners in hell when your rotting in there you atheist fuck.”
That’s just a small sampling of the hundreds of tweets and Facebook posts she’s received. Not very Christian or tolerant. When she won her court case, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and others, attempted to send her flowers. Every florist in Cranston refused, some stating they wouldn’t deliver “to that person” (which is a violation of the Civil Rights Act). FFRF finally found a florist in Connecticut, Glimpses of Gaia, to drive an hour each way to deliver them. Remarkably, Jessica has maintained a sense of humor. You can read her acceptance speech at the Freedom from Religion Foundation’s Annual Convention last October here: http://ffrf.org/outreach/awards/student-activist-awards/jessica-ahlquist-thomas-jefferson-youth-activist/
There are reasons why many, many people believe that religion is harmful and divisive. Look at this one incident. It happens all over. It’s not enough to simply “look the other way” as many have suggested. What if it was a swastika? Or a flaming cross? How about a noose? Would “looking away” be the answer? No. All of these are offensive. And, when you’re a non-believer, religious idols are offensive when hoisted on you. You can’t ignore an 8-foot banner that you have to walk by every day. No one should have to. Tolerance needs to go both ways, but that’s rarely the case with Christian bullies. They’re never wrong and they think their god is the god and god should be displayed everywhere (forgetting, of course, the Third Commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”) Yeah, whoopsy. I guess in their zeal to condemn Jessica to an imaginary hell, they forgot to read the actual book they, supposedly, base their faith on.
If you’re going to take the Commandments seriously, which most Christians don’t unless it furthers their cause, nearly every Christian would be going to hell for displaying a landscape drawing, a statue of Jesus, or a family vacation photo at the Grand Canyon. Or they'd be stoned to death for not observing the Sabbath.
Numbers 15:32-36:
While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Numbers 15:32-36:
While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses.
Not every religious person is intolerant. Some religious leaders in her community have come out to support her right to express her opinion and condone the attacks on her person, her family, and her character. But, generally speaking, most fundamentalists are the first ones to throw the proverbial stone and spew hatred “in the name of Jesus.” If he did exist, I’m thinking he’d be pretty pissed at the folks threatening violence.
The sad thing is the lack of understanding of the real issue – preserving the Constitution. This isn’t about banning God or a “war on God” as most zealots would have you believe. You can have God in your church, your home, your office, your car, your dorm room, or on your front lawn. Just not in a government building or on government-owned land. That’s it. Government buildings are a small fraction of one-percent of all the buildings in the country. You want to erect a giant cross on your lawn, go for it. You want to plaster your car with “Jesus fish” bumper stickers, you can. That’s private speech.
Not all Christians are Bible-thumping hypocrites. Most lead quiet, private lives (as Jesus instructed). "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1)
Act piously to elicit the praise of others? Hmmm… kind of sounds like the GOP candidates, doesn’t it?
“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:6) Most Christians seem to ignore this and pray openly in public, defying the very teachings they believe in. Again, it’s what furthers their cause, not what is actually written in the Bible.
“A man’s pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.” (Proverbs 29:23)
Planned Parenthood vs. The Susan G. Komen Foundation
Then we have the matter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation suspending their funding to Planned Parenthood. The “official” response, at the time, was a Florida House Republican (Stearns) initiated an inquiry into PP related to public funding (i.e., tax dollars) and abortions and that their “new” policy was to not give grants to companies under government investigation. (It should be noted that such an inquiry is not a formal investigation, so it wouldn’t fall under the “new” policy.)
PP, while offering abortions, in addition to dozens of other services, cannot use public funds to pay for this service. So, whenever you hear a religious nut ball saying “public funded abortions,” it’s a load of crap. PP has been around for 95 years. There have been zero cases of them misusing tax dollars. Zero. Many religious bullies have accused them many times via unscrupulous means (read: misleading internet stories and rumors) but nothing has ever been proven. Zero.
Most in the media and even the President of PP, Cecile Richards, knew the real reason was anti-choice, anti-women’s healthcare right-wing bigots pressuring SGK, relentlessly, over the breast cancer screening funding and they finally caved to the pressure. In addition, the SVP for public policy, Karen Handel, is staunchly anti-choice. When she ran for Georgia governor in 2010, she told voters she was "staunchly and unequivocally pro-life" and pledged to end state grants to Planned Parenthood clinics 1. She was hired in April 2011. Supposedly, the “new” policy was enacted last fall (but no firm dates have been made available by SGK)… followed by the inquiry by Stearns in September 2011. Convenient? I would say so. Standing up to bullies is tough and takes courage, commitment, and fortitude. I wonder what Susan Komen herself would have thought about giving in to religious coercion.
Religious bullying is at an all-time high. It’s not surprising companies and organizations, like SGK, that rely on donations to succeed, bow to the pressure and give in. A lot of companies come under fire because some dogmatic person thinks everyone should think the way they do. Access to birth control has been a struggle thanks to Christians. The Women’s Suffrage Movement dragged on for years longer than it should have thanks to Christian men quoting the Bible (Corinthians 14:34. “Women should remain silent in church for they are not permitted to speak but should be in submission, as the law says.” Or, Timothy 2:11-13. “Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.”). Slavery continued because it was condoned in the Bible. Gays and lesbians cannot marry because of religion. The list goes on.
“A bad wife brings humiliation, downcast looks, and a wounded heart. Slack of hand and weak of knee is the man whose wife fails to make him happy.” (Ecclesiastes 25:25)
Rape
Rape, as a “spoil of war,” is common in the Bible. There are too many passages to list, but can be found in the Old Testament. After any war, God would command all men, boys, and married women to death, but the virgins could be taken as a prize. (And people don’t understand Islam’s fascination with virgins in heaven? Seems like the Bible is full of virgins for the taking, too!) It’s no wonder men viewed women as property for centuries. God commanded it. Women were less than men. They could be raped with impunity (if they were virgins). They couldn’t speak in church or against a man (especially their husband). They could be divorced and abandoned if a man grew tired of them. They were sold into slavery (never the sons). They were forced to marry their rapist. And they were “unclean” during menses and after childbirth. It’s interesting to note that the birth of a female child made the woman “unclean” twice as long as if she’d born a male.
Then there’s the part where a rape victim must marry her attacker. That is, if he’s found. “If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay her father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.” (Deuteronomy 22:28-29) Can you imagine imposing this today? It’s bad enough that Oklahoma is trying to prevent a woman from getting an abortion after she’s raped (SB 1433).
If he’s not found, or no one hears her cries, she is stoned to death for being defiled. “If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.” (Deuteronomy 22:23-24) I guess God didn’t realize a man can smother a woman to stop her cries. I guess that’s his version of “she had it coming.”
Remind me why anyone thinks this is a “good book” or a morality lesson? Murder, incest, rape. Where’s the morality? Nowhere. In fact, it gets worse….
Judges 19:22-29 tells the tale of a stranger who came to stay at the house of an old man in the town of Gibeah. The stranger had his concubine and a servant with him. When men of the town came knocking, asking for the stranger to come out so that they could know him “carnally,” the old man offered his virgin daughter and the stranger’s concubine. “Humble them and do with them as you please, but to the man do not do such a vile thing!” The concubine was raped and abused all night until the dawn and died at the doorstep of the old man’s house. How did the stranger honor her awful death? By carving her into 12 pieces, “limb by limb” and scattering her around Israel. But it didn’t end there. The Israelites battled the men of Gibeah. Over 25,000 men were “defeated” (murdered) by God. “The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel” (Judges: 20:35). But that wasn’t enough. The Israelites went back and killed all the children and set fire to “all the cities they found” (Judges 20:48). But that still wasn’t enough. God is insatiable for blood and murder.
He then sent out 12,000 men to Jabesh Gilead and commanded them to “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children” (Judges 21:11). It’s unclear how many that was, but let’s say 500 to be conservative. It had to be a considerable amount to send 12,000, but we’ll stick with 500 for argument’s sake. So, with the dead of Gibeah, we have close to 26,000 dead. Only a few of these were the actual perpetrators. How’s this logical or even reasonable? It would be like destroying a town and all its inhabitants today because one crime occurred. The rape could have been prevented had the old man simply locked his door and told the men to “fuck off!” Why did 26,000 people, innocent people, have to die? Compassionate God, I think not. He’s the biggest bully and murderer of all.
The Story of Lot
Two angels were staying with Lot. Much like Gibeah, men came knocking so that they could know the angels “carnally.” Lot answered, “I have two daughters who have not known man, you may do to them as you wish” (Genesis: 19:8). The men did not want the virgin daughters, so they crashed into the house where they were promptly blinded by the angels. (Why the angels couldn’t have done that sooner is beyond me!) The angels warned Lot to leave Sodom before it was destroyed. As they fled to Zoar, Lot’s wife looked back at the “fire and brimstone” and (poof!) turned into salt. After the destruction, Lot and his daughters dwelt in the mountains. This is when they (the daughters) hatched a devious plan to get their father drunk, have sex with him, and bear his children (Genesis 19:30-38). They succeeded, having a son each (boys, of course!!!).
Can you say incest?
Birth Control
This is the latest attack by religious bullies. They don’t want to dispense birth control in religiously-affiliated hospitals or offer it under an insurance policy. Churches are exempt. Catholics and other evangelicals are screaming “religious infringement.” Don’t they understand that affordable access to birth control reduces abortion and saves lives? If it’s about preventing unwanted pregnancies, give women access to birth control. If you’re fighting it on the grounds that God tells you to “go forth and multiply,” then how do you explain male masturbation? Seems to me that is the biggest waste of future kids than the pill, which is only 98.6% effective (give or take). All that spilled semen seems like a crime. But, since it’s MEN doing it, it must be okay. Only women’s reproductive health is an issue. Not Viagra, penile implants, or vasectomies (also a form of birth control, yes?).
The "War" on Christmas
What I find most irritating about this fake war is the arrogance of most Christians. You don’t hear Jews pushing Menorahs or Muslims pushing Kwanzaa, or Wiccans displaying Gaia at City Hall. It’s always Christians. They constantly force their god on everyone else. They’re so sure they’re right that anyone who disagrees is “evil” or the “antichrist.” I think most choose ignorance over knowledge when it comes to their “holy book.” How else can you explain the contradictions in the Bible and still maintain it is the inerrant word of God? The most important story – the Resurrection – is contradicted in the gospels. There are 3 very different accounts. And not just about little things. When it happened, who was there, how many angels appeared – all of these things don’t add up. Don’t take my word for it. Read the Bible. Read each chapter, take notes on specific details, and compare. If one thing is wrong (and there are many things wrong), how can you trust the validity of the rest? You have two choices: Accept that the Bible was written by man and has no divine powers, or, ignore the facts and continue deluding yourself into believing the Bible was written by God… Who got his facts wrong. And makes mistakes. And makes you intolerant of others.
And makes you a bully.
