Posts Tagged religious right
Federal Judge Rules National Day of Prayer Unconstitutional
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics, religion on April 16th, 2010
(CNN) — A federal judge on Thursday struck down the federal statute that established the National Day of Prayer, ruling that it violates the constitutional ban on government-backed religion.
“[I]ts sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function,” a Wisconsin judge wrote in the ruling, referring to the 1952 law that created the National Day of Prayer.
“In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience,” wrote the judge, Barbara B. Crabb.
So, in the time it took for me to (almost) finish my taxes, the story changes from the silly email rumor that President Obama has canceled the National Day of Prayer to a federal court ruling that declares the 1952 National Day of Prayer statute unconstitutional!
Now, nothing is actually going to happen between now and May 6th since the statute will stand until all avenues of appeal are exhausted, and President Obama has already stated that he will be issuing the proclamation on scheduled, but this is going to drive the conservative Christians to apoplexy nonetheless.
Should be fun.
Missing the Entire Thrust of the Argument
Posted by Rational Dreamer in creationism on May 19th, 2009
After a passable first attempt, and a merely “bleah” follow-up (a typical misrepresentation of what scientists claim about the Big Bang), Eric Hovind really hits rock bottom (pun intended) when it comes to his third “Creation Minute” video. See if you can spot the howler:
Perhaps if you’ve never studied high school geography you might have missed it, but Hovind’s questioning of how the Colorado River could have flowed uphill for millions of years to carve out the Grand Canyon demonstrates a profound (and wanton) ignorance of proven geological processes.
Orson Scott Card Joins the National Organization for Marriage
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics on April 22nd, 2009
Well that’s the final nail in the coffin. I remember discovering Card’s famous first novel, Ender’s Game, and being completely taken with it. On the strength of that and his other early efforts, I read all five books of his Homecoming Saga, the first few books of The Tales of Alvin Maker, and the sequels to Ender’s Game. I knew nothing of his religious or politics views, and since they didn’t seem to be influencing the quality or tone of his writing, I had no interest in finding out what they were.
But, as seems to happen with all too many authors, when they get a wee bit famous, they start injecting all kinds of personal views and prejudices into their stories. I guess they feel that they have earned that right, and I suspect that editors tend to have less control over the content and tenor of their prized authors’ later novels.
The Bias of Reality
Posted by Rational Dreamer in politics on April 17th, 2009
“Reality has a well known liberal bias.”
So sayeth the sharp-witted political wit, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert.
It is probably the most famous quotation to come out of his brilliant show, The Colbert Report, and it has the merit not only of being funny, but of having a large ring of truth about (or should I say “truthiness”?) too, at least it does in America.
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