Jesus!

I have tried to avoid this story, it has been well-covered and well-documented elsewhere and I wanted to highlight things that don’t get looked at as much. But when a religion story involving a modern pagan garners this much controversy and ink you can’t help but throw in your two cents.

It all boils down to a pagan Priestess who wanted to be a part of the rotating opening prayer at her City Council. She was told she couldn’t and prayers to a certain Jesus the Christ continued. This seemed against Constitutional principles so she sued, and won.

But the members of the council are defiant and it looks like they will appeal and it may just go to the Supreme Court. Where I suppose we will learn once and for all if indeed non-Christians and Atheists have to hear people natter on about this Jesus fella and pretend that this is a “Christian Nation”.

At the end of the day, I feel that this only damages relations between Christians and pretty much anyone who isn’t. If I was a Christian I would be worried about the constant wedges driven between my faith and the faith of my neighbors and community members. I think I’ll leave this article with a series of quotes from the relavant parties and you tell me how clear they are thinking. Should Jesus come before the rights of people who don’t believe he’s their savior?

“Those atheists on the Supreme Court, don’t they know the air they breathe comes from my Lord,” – Wellford Mayor Sallie Peake

“I always take it as a message of togetherness” – Councilwoman Debbie Ritter refering to the Council prayers to Jesus

“We’ve got some courts and some judges making some really bad decisions. As a conservative and as a Christian, I am really about fed up with all these liberal rulings getting handed down. I’m tired of what I consider to be the folks in the minority trying to dictate to the folks in the majority what our beliefs are.” – Robbie Templeton, chairman of Greenwood County Council

“Just because one person says they don?t want to hear it, why do you tell everybody they can?t hear it? You’ve got the right to do what you want to do, but you don?t have to participate if you don?t want to.” – Mayor Tim Griffin (forgetting that he’s referring to a City Council meeting and not a Church)

“When you pray, you pray to Jesus” – Greenwood Mayor Floyd Nicholson

Tags: Neopaganism