The hostility toward religion (primarily Christianity) has gone way beyond ludicrous--especially in a country founded by Christians on Christian principles.
From WorldNetDaily comes an article about a public library in Ohio where a meeting room was made available to "all community groups and non-profit organizations engaged in activities that further the Library's mission to be responsive to community needs and to be an integral part of our community." All, that is, except for those who might believe in God:
However, when Cathy Vandergriff asked in person to use a meeting room for a financial planning meeting, the conversation with the library employee took an unwelcome turn.
"When Mrs. Vandergriff indicated that the seminar would be a free ministry to the general public, the employee asked if she would be quoting the Bible in the presentation. Mrs. Vandergriff answered that she would be using the Bible, and the employee informed her that the Library's Policy would therefore not permit her to use the meeting room," the ADF said.
When she followed up with a written request for the use of the facility, an employee again warned about the ban on quoting from the Bible, and the written rejection soon followed. It carried the hand-written notation: "Contact Mr. Vandergriff will be quoting bible versus [sic] explained our meeting room policy."
Are people that ignorant about the First Amendment that they'd turn it upside down? Or is it simple hostility? I honestly can't decide.
3 comments:
This really isn't that hard to figure out.
Prayer meetings aren't allowed in public libraries for the same reason that public schools don't allow folks to come in and hold a salaat.
You might want to re-read the circumstances of this incident. No one is holding an audience captive to a religious service. The group wanted to use the room--which was ostensibly open to anyone to use for any legitimate purpose--for a financial planning seminar (that people would be free to attend or not attend) based on Biblical financial principles.
There is nothing whatsoever that is unconstitutional or improper about such use of public facilities.
If a group wanted to do a financial planning seminar based on a certain financial planning guru's book, obviously there would have been no problem in the eyes of the library staff. But because the seminar was based on Christian principles, suddenly it's impermissible?
That is a textbook example of using the First Amendment--written to guarantee freedom of religious expression--to QUASH religious freedom.
This is exactly the kind of religious oppression that the Constitution forbids. These people have to be stopped unless we are willing to scrap the freedom that so many have fought and died for. I, for one, am not! Another check to the Alliance Defense Fund is in the mail.
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