We said that we were going to hinge our discussion on three Scriptures:
Phill 2:3
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Eph 4:2-5
2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit-- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-- 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Gal 3:28
28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
The company that I work for used to print a weekly periodical. It was a 4 to 6 page newspaper containing company news, activities, and editorials. One day I got the paper and read the headlines on the front page, “Gas guzzling SUV’s to be banned from the Sammamish Plateau.” I live on the Sammamish Plateau and was irritated even at the headline. I proceeded to read the article and it talked about Sammamish wanting to be a “better citizen community” and how people from the company I work for were spearheading the effort and it looked like it would easily make the November ballot.
I vented to a few friends, and had a venting session over the phone with Kathryn, and then I saw it. While staring at the article on the front page of that newsletter I noticed up in the top right hand corner, the date. I don’t recall the year but the day will live with me in infamy. It was April 1st.
Because I believed I was losing something that I felt was important.
Loss is a painful experience.
I’ve got three coins, all US $1 denominations. Let's discover them together.
- The first is a 1883 Silver Dollar. It has the words, “In God we Trust” on the back, because in 1883 we trusted in God.
- The second is a bi-centennial (1776-1976) Silver Dollar. It has the words, “In God We Trust” located on the front because in 1976 we trusted in God.
- ---In case you’re interested: Congress first authorized a reference to God on a two-cent piece in 1864. In 1955, the year after lawmakers added the words "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance, Congress passed a law requiring all U.S. currency to carry the motto "In God We Trust.”
- The third is a 2010 new dollar coin. Where are the words “In God We Trust?” Are they gone? No, they are now in tiny little print on the edge of the coin. I have to use a magnifying glass to read it.
The world is changing.
Many years ago I learned the word ecumenical.
What does that mean?
Essentially it means promoting a worldwide Christian unity.
To be ecumenical means not to press differences, such as baptism, or women’s roles.
Is this right?
Is this the unity that Jesus prayed for in the garden in John 17?
A unity at the expense of truth?
In many ways the idea of being ecumenical makes me feel like the company newspaper did, like I am losing something.
This is but the tip of the iceberg of a movement called “religious tolerance.” For the next two weeks, this will be our topic. While I realize that what we are going to study today may leave you feeling angry or upset, I promise that as we work through this, we will find the balance that God wants us to have.
How do you define “religious tolerance?”
I found two interesting definitions both compelling.
- Religious Tolerance is allowing followers of other religions to follow their spiritual beliefs without oppression or discrimination. It is a fundamental right in a democracy, a noble goal, and vitally necessary for world peace.
- Religious Tolerance is an acceptance of all religious faiths as being equally true. Since religions teach different beliefs, this implies that absolute truth doesn't exist, and therefore the idea of religious tolerance is inherently evil.
Which definition is correct?
Let’s look at some of the effects of religious tolerance. I’ve put these, for the most part, in chronological order.
Example 1 - 2003
A Ten Commandments display in the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court building was removed because it violated the First Amendment's ban on establishment of religion.
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who has become known as the "Ten Commandments judge," was sued by the American Civil Liberties Union after placing the monument in the courthouse. The four-foot-tall, two-ton granite display features the Commandments inscribed on two tablets along with historical quotations.
The Court of Appeals said, "If we adopted his position, the chief justice would be free to adorn the walls of the Alabama Supreme Court's courtroom with sectarian religious murals and have decidedly religious quotations painted above the bench," the three-judge panel said, according to the Associated Press.
"Every government building could be topped with a cross, or a menorah, or a statue of Buddha, depending upon the views of the officials with authority over the premises," said the panel.
However, supporters of Moore said the monument was intended "to remind everyone of the moral foundation of the laws of Alabama and the United States."
Should the Ten Commandments be displayed at government legislative buildings?
Example 2 - 2007
Here’s a case that has gone back and forth.
A Sacramento doctor and lawyer, sued the Elk Grove Unified School District in 2000 for forcing public school children to recite the pledge, saying it was unconstitutional.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in his favor in 2002, but two years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he lacked standing to sue because he didn't have custody of the daughter on whose behalf he brought the case. He immediately filed a second lawsuit on behalf of three unidentified parents and their children.
In 2005, a federal judge in Sacramento found in favor of him, ruling the pledge was unconstitutional because its reference to "one nation under God" violates children's rights to be "free from a coercive requirement to affirm God." The judge said he was following the precedent set by the 9th Circuit Court's ruling in the 2000 case.
How does this one make you feel?
It reminds me of this Scripture.
Romans 14:11-12
" `As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
`every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.' "
12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Another suit brought by the same man.
In 2005, he sued Congress and several federal officials, arguing that making money with the motto on “In God We Trust” violated the First Amendment clause requiring the separation of church and state.
Last year, a federal judge in Sacramento disagreed, saying the words did not violate his atheism.
Example 3 - November 2008
The Freedom from Religion Foundation argued that having a Christmas Tree and Nativity Scene in the rotunda was not fair and they were allowed to put up a sign next to these Christian symbols. It read, "There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens our hearts and enslaves our minds."
Is atheism a religion?
It certainly appears to be treated as one.
Dictionary.com defines atheism as, “The doctrine or belief that there is no God.”
It sounds like the world believes in atheism as a valid choice of religious preference.
Example 4 - April 2010
The National Day of Prayer is an annual day of observance held on the first Thursday of May, designated by the United States Congress, when people are asked "to turn to God in prayer and meditation". The law formalizing its annual observance was enacted in 1952
Federal district court judge from Wisconsin Barbara Crab, ruled that the "National Day of Prayer" was unconstitutional. The Madison, Wisconsin based Freedom from Religion Foundation filed the lawsuit against both the Obama and Bush administrations in order to block the Presidents from making an annual proclamation customary of the event.
In May it was reported on CNN that President Barack Obama would be the first president in 8 years not to hold a public ceremony on this day. He will, however, sign a proclamation as other presidents have..
It says something positive about our society if the President of our nation feels his participation in a pubic prayer is unimportant.
Example 5 - July 2010
From Port Angeles, Wash. – Apparently incumbent Judge Rick Porter had required a potential juror in a DUI trial to pledging to truthfully answer questions about her qualifications to be a juror and asked her to pledge to do so using the words, "so help me God."
The woman claims to be a secularist, not an atheist. She said, "I challenge church dogma of any sort. It didn't make me any less impartial."
She also said, "I felt consternation, I felt embarrassment, and I felt discriminated against. I was not given the option that the state Supreme Court has given people."
She wrote a note to the judge where she compared the oath to taking an oath that invokes the name of Santa Claus.
If there is no God, where does she get the moral direction that would make her impartial?
Example 6
Bible reading and prayer used to be common in our public schools.
In high school, I remember thinking it was nice that a preacher would get on the public address system before a football game and pray for fair play and the safety of the players.
Various courts have ruled about prayer at school sponsored athletic events, and other issues about prayer or religion at school. This is not an exhaustive list.
- An individual student or group of students is free to pray at a game. To prevent this would violate the student’s free speech rights.
- Teachers, coaches, etc. cannot lead a group prayer. To do so would be viewed as school endorsement of a specific religion, which is unconstitutional under the principle of separation of church and state.
- Student-led, student written public prayers are not permitted to be part of a game format. The school officials cannot insert a prayer into the schedule of a game, even if the actual prayer is led by a student.
- Promoting any one denomination or religion at the expense of another faith group or secular philosophy is not permitted. For example, a comparative religion class must give a balanced description of religious and secular beliefs from a variety of faith groups and ethical systems.
- Religious clothing and symbols, if not disruptive, are a protected form of speech.
- Prayers before a Board of Education Meeting are not allowed. The court ruled that prayers are an illegal endorsement of religion
One of the most notable controversies is over prayer in public schools.
- In 1962 the US Supreme Court ruled against mandated daily school prayer.
The Supreme Court's previous last major school-prayer ruling was announced in 1992, and barred clergy-led prayers -- invocations and benedictions -- at public school graduation ceremonies. "The Constitution forbids the state to exact religious conformity from a student as the price of attending her own high school graduation," the court said then. The ruling was viewed by many as a strong reaffirmation of the highest court's 1962 decision banning organized, officially sponsored prayers from public schools. - But in 1993, the justices refused to review a federal appeals court ruling in a Texas case that allowed student-led prayers at graduation ceremonies. That appeals court ruling, which is binding law in Louisiana and Mississippi, conflicts with another federal appeals court's decision barring student-led graduation prayers in nine Western states.
So on goes the battle...
Now there is more to all these stories but the fact that is these issues point a degree of power that religious tolerance has developed.
I have to say that I had a really difficult time with this lesson. I kept getting irritated and wanted to editorialize them so that you could hear the frustration in not only my voice, but also the words. I hope I was able to successfully overcome that. My desire was to describe the facts of the stories only
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