Tag Archives: Topic: Christmas

Middle East Forum: Earlier I discussed how mosques, some of which breed radicalization and serve as terrorist bases, flourish in America, while churches are increasingly targeted and destroyed in the Muslim world, especially the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity. This pattern—religious appeasement of Muslim minorities in the West, religious hostility for Christian minorities under Islam—continues and manifests itself in other ways.

The Malakoff News: Officials for both Henderson County and the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) confirmed this week that the next round in the battle over the county’s Christmas display will likely come in March, when the FFRF is expected to ask Commissioners’ Court for the right to display one of its banners on the lawn in December.

ParagouldDailyPress.com: Noble said he had not responded to the letters pending legal advice. He said the Rutherford Institute and Liberty Counsel had volunteered to help the school district in the matter and the Alliance Defense Fund had sent a list of court cases that might be applicable to the situation.

EllwoodCity.org: Despite over 100 people present at the borough council meeting last night and some strong words by religious leaders and residents alike, the Borough of Ellwood City will still plan to move the traditional Nativity Scene off borough property come next Christmas.

WPXI.com: Ellwood City is planning to move its Nativity display off public property next year to avoid a lawsuit from an anti-religion advocacy group, but the mayor and hundreds of residents are lobbying to reverse the decision.

Courthouse News Service: A religious display that included a baby Jesus, a cross and a sign, “Reunite the church and state …” was removed last week from the entrance to the Lubbock County Courthouse – but another Texas county refused to remove its religious display.

Crosswalk Religion Today News (12/28): The city backed up the event organizers, but the federal court ruled in favor of the men’s First Amendment rights. Alliance Defense Fund litigation staff counsel Jonathan Scruggs applauded the ruling: “The court made the right decision in suspending the ban so that people can share their faith in a nondisruptive manner.”

Norman Transcript (AP) (12/25): The preachers’ attorney, Jonathan Scruggs, of Memphis, Tenn., had argued that the public retains its rights to free speech and freedom of religion while attending a public event on public property. But he acknowledged that the city and the Bentleyville group could alter the contract to try to get around Davis’ ruling. “We would then evaluate that,” said Scruggs, who works with the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedom. “We take them as they come.”

The Freedom from Religion Foundation has issued a press release indicating that they sent a letter of complaint to Alsip, Illinois regarding a cross on top of the water tower.

CNSnews.com: As Christians celebrate their savior’s birth on Sunday, they are being urged to remember persecuted fellow believers unable to enjoy the day with their families, including death row prisoners Asia Bibi of Pakistan and Youcef Nadarkhani of Iran, both of whom will be spending their third Christmas behind bars.

Catholic Culture: Catholics in India’s troubled state of Orissa have been encouraged to celebrate Christmas “with prudence and vigilance,” and a local prelate has asked police for protection, because of new threats.

TheHill.com: Members were indignant this week after it was reported that the House manual on “franking” — taxpayer-funded mail from Congress — includes a long-standing prohibition on specific holiday greetings. Under the rule, lawmakers can only wish constituents a generic “happy holidays” in official correspondence.

TheEagle.com: The person who stole a baby Jesus figurine from a Nativity scene in Texas A&M’s All Faiths Chapel was probably playing a prank.

Toronoto.ctv.ca: A Toronto family that had pieces of its Christmas nativity scene stolen says they have received an outpouring of support and donation offers, but will rebuild the missing pieces themselves.

Boston Herald: Police in Fairhaven say whoever crashed their vehicle through a Nativity scene in a public space in town did it deliberately.

MPR News: Attorney Jonathan Scruggs with the Christian group Alliance Defense Fund says the judge upheld the plaintiffs’ main complaint. “And that is, the city cannot ban the First Amendment in a public park just because event officials don’t like the message that a person is sharing.”

Religion Clause Blog: Supermarkets have become ‘ashamed’ of selling Christmas cards with religious themes, Christian leaders said yesterday. They claimed a creeping ‘multicultural indoctrination’ had led to an aversion to Christianity, and that shops were worried about stocking cards that might offend other faiths.

Engage Family Minute: A week or two earlier, a little 6-year old boy in a West Virginia first grade classroom was given the assignment to answer the question, “Christmas is about ______.” This is a long-standing tradition in the rural county in which he lives. The county paper receives the papers, scans them, and publishes them so the whole county can “Ooo” and “Aweee” over the backwards letters and funny quips common to 6-year olds. But, 3 of these boys got it right. They answered, “Christmas is about Jesus’ birthday.” When they received their papers back, bold, black lines were crossed through the words, “Jesus birthday.”

Chaplain endorsers, representing more than 2,000 military chaplains, commend the commander of Travis Air Force Base and his legal team for their decision to keep the traditional manger scene as part of the 17-year tradition of displays during the Christmas season.

The Smoking Gun: Police this morning arrested a 25-year-old Virginia woman for the theft last week of Baby Jesus.

Canoe.ca: The statues of the infant Jesus, Mary and Joseph were spray-painted red and a cardboard sign was left beside the display with the phrase, “Keep the state separate from religion” written on it.

WAFF.com: A Tennessee Valley school proceeds to keep the song, “Silent Night” in their Christmas pageant despite one group’s request to consider taking it out of the program.

Daily Tribune: Reacting to criticism from an atheist group that a Nativity scene at Warren City Hall violates the constitutional separation of church and state, Mayor James Fouts said Tuesday he won’t allow displays that seem to “attack” religion.

Texas Pastors’ Council: A trans-denominational, multi-ethnic coalition of pastors in cities across Texas is asking all thirty two Texas U.S. Representatives to support a rule change that would reverse a long standing prohibition on any mention of holidays in their “franked” mailings or other official communications from their office. The Franking Commission has interpreted a 1974 code very broadly and some Congressmen are now asking for change.

Ray Clarke, Sr. at DailyAdvance.com: Fabricated” war ? No, I do not think so. These are not isolated cases. All you have to do is go see the website of the Alliance Defense Fund or the American Center for Law and Justice to see the well documented attacks — not just on Christmas but the very Judeo-Christian foundation of this nation.

Religion Clause Blog: In Jankowski v. City of Duluth, (D MN, Dec. 20, 2011), a Minnesota federal district court granted a preliminary injunction to prevent city of Duluth police officers from interfering with activities of two street preachers at the Bentleyville Tour of Lights . . . An Alliance Defense Fund press release reports on the court’s decision.

Duluth News Tribune: Attorney Jonathan Scruggs of the Alliance Defense Fund represented Jankowski and Scott. “We’re thrilled with the ruling,” Scruggs said in a phone interview from Memphis, Tenn., on Tuesday. “We believe that the decision correctly applied First Amendment principles and returned free speech to Bayfront Festival Park.”

Bellingham Herald: The preachers’ attorney, Jonathan Scruggs, of Memphis, Tenn., had argued that the public retains its rights to free speech and freedom of religion while attending a public event on public property. But he acknowledged that the city and the Bentleyville group could alter the contract to try to get around Davis’ ruling. “We would then evaluate that,” said Scruggs, who works with the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedom. “We take them as they come.”

A federal court issued an order Tuesday that prevents the city of Duluth from enforcing a First Amendment ban on people desiring to share their faith at a city park during the “Bentleyville Tour of Lights” event.

Knights of Columbus at Christian Newswire: The Knights of Columbus-Marist Poll found that nearly two-thirds of adults nationally — 64 percent — think people should say, “Merry Christmas,” while less than one-third — 31 percent — believe the appropriate greeting is “Happy Holidays.”

ADF Attorney Nate Kellum appeared on the Zeb Bell Show to discuss the assault on a nativity scene in Texas. | MP3 audio 15:40 mins | Related: Video: Thousands Rally in Texas to Save Nativity – War On Christmas | Nate Kellum at Townhall: Don’t Mess with Texas (at Christmas)

MalakoffNews: The FFRF answered back Monday in a letter to Abbott signed by foundation co-presidents and husband and wife, Dan Taylor and Annie Laurie Gaylor.

Houston Chronicle: Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Friday backed Henderson County in a dispute over a Nativity scene on the county courthouse grounds.

Ironton Tribune: Coal Grove Mayor Larry McDaniel and his wife, Vickie, had just finished checking the lights for the elaborate Christmas display at Paul Porter Park Saturday evening, when they got a phone call, they didn’t want to hear. “We hadn’t been home a half-hour and some people had been in the park and told us Baby Jesus wasn’t there,” Vickie McDaniel said.

Mercury News: ravis Air Force Base will not meet the demands of a group trying to take down the nativity scene and menorah displayed at a main intersection on the base.

MyFoxDetroit: You may have heard this argument before, that a nativity scene or any display of religious symbol on public ground is a violation of church and state. In Warren, a man wants to challenge the argument a step further by displaying a ‘certain’ sign right next to the nativity scene.

News.Ellwoodcity.org: “We cannot afford an expensive lawsuit,” said DeCarbo. “I urge the council to move this thing,” DeCarbo added.

ACLU: The New York Civil Liberties Union today wrote to New York City officials and Brookfield Properties asking them to accommodate a Christmas prayer vigil at Zuccotti Park.

ADF Attorney Steven Aden at Townhall Conservative: Christmas is a holiday which marks the birth of Christ, and one on which people celebrate rich traditions that have come to be tied to the season. However, one thing’s for certain: none of those traditions involve Planned Parenthood’s newly released talking points for defending baby killing during your Christmas dinner—an idea even more repugnant than the group’s usual propaganda.

Chuck Norris at Townhall: Anyone who knows me knows that for my whole life, I’ve been a huge supporter of our U.S. military personnel, whom I congratulate about their victory in Iraq. But when our president and officials in the U.S. Department of Defense exchange a war abroad for a religious war at home, can’t we see that something else is seriously awry in this administration?

One News Now (includes audio): “The school should not succumb to pressure from the faulty legal demands of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which spends its time threatening and intimidating school districts with disinformation to further its own constitutionally incorrect agenda,” Sharp contends. And ADF attorney David Cortman says . . . “An overwhelming majority of Americans agree that it’s okay to celebrate Christmas in schools and in the public square, and they are certainly correct,” he offers. “There is nothing unconstitutional about inclusion of this song in the school’s program, and that is supported by how the courts have consistently ruled.”

Washington Examiner: Looks like the PC police have threatened members of the House of Representatives against wishing constituents a “Merry Christmas,” if they want to do so in a mailing paid for with tax dollars.

LoHud.com: Christmas decorations and Nativity scenes at four homes and Sacred Heart Church in northwest Yonkers were descrated over the weekend, Yonkers police said.

As many as 5,000 attended a rally in a small Texas community to show their support for a Nativity scene under attack by a Wisconsin-based atheist group, according to a minister who organized the event.

Rebecca Hagelin at the Washington Times: Consider supporting organizations that work to preserve religious freedom. If the secularists and progressives have it their way, Christmas, Easter and even religious worship may one day be confined to secret celebrations locked behind closed doors. A few stellar organizations that deserve your support are the Alliance Defense Fund (www.alliancedefensefund.org), the American Center for Law and Justice (www.aclj.org) and the Liberty Counsel (www.lc.org). And, finally, have a very merry Christmas!

Duluth News Tribune: Jonathan Scruggs, the Alliance Defense Fund lawyer representing Jankowski and Scott, said he had told the court he wouldn’t file a response. “We are happy to rest on our prior arguments,” Scruggs said. “We continue to believe that the city’s policy violates the First Amendment.” His clients are hopeful the judge will act to “return free speech to Bayfront Festival Park,” Scruggs said. He and the plaintiffs see the issue differently than the city, Scruggs said, and, “I think every single federal court to address this situation sees it differently as well. City police officers are threatening to remove my clients from the park, so clearly there’s state action here.”

Todd Starnes of Fox News at Baptist Press: David Cortman, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, told Fox News & Commentary they plan on offering legal services to the school district free of charge in the event someone tries to file a lawsuit. “Groups on the left such as Americans United have been trying to bully schools across the country all during this Christmas season, Cortman said. “When they tell schools it is unconstitutional to include a song such as Silent Night in their Christmas program, they are simply wrong not only as a matter of law but also as a matter of fairness.”

WAAYTV.com: At issue: whether singing “Silent Night” during the show was appropriate. The advocacy group Americans United for Separation of Church and State objected to the religious content being performed at a public school. Another advocacy group, The Alliance Defense Fund fired back, saying that

Examiner.com: David Cortman of the Alliance Defense Fund praised the school’s decision. “Groups on the left such as Americans United have been trying to bully schools across the country all during this Christmas season,” he said. “When they tell schools it is unconstitutional to include a song such as ‘Silent Night’ in their Christmas program, they are simply wrong not only as a matter of law but also as a matter of fairness.” “I think it’s about time that not only Americans but schools specifically stand up to these Grinches who go on this Christmas attack every year yet deny there is any war on Christmas,” Cortman added.

ADF sends letter to Tuscumbia school officials threatened by Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Some Communist Party members are getting caught up in the revival, violating party rules and becoming active religious believers in a trend that drew a high-level admonition Friday. “If we let party members believe in religion … this will inevitably result in the splits in the party organization ” . . .

Duluth News Tribune: “I think it’s important to bring a caveat to the table,” said Scruggs, who is based in Memphis, Tenn. “The opinion was just from a magistrate judge. All it was was a recommendation. The district court judge can accept, reject, revise it any way he wants. At this point, everything is a bit premature. … There’s nothing too much to celebrate.” . . . The Alliance Defense Fund is a nonprofit dedicated to defending religious freedom and doesn’t charge for services, Scruggs said.

Mercury News (AP): The December culture wars are here again and this year’s target sits squarely on Travis Air Force Base. At issue are a nativity scene and menorah sitting amongst a host of secular Santas and holiday signs at the corner of Travis Avenue and Skymaster Drive. The religious displays are the subject of a letter from a group called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Officials in Ellwood City, threatened with legal action from an atheist group over a holiday display at the borough’s municipal building, say they’re on the verge of an agreement that will result in a “happy ending” for the parties involved.

WHNT.com (includes video): There’s a holiday controversy with school children caught in the middle. Someone protested the use of ‘Silent Night’ in a Christmas program at G.W. Trenholm School in Tuscumbia.

Capitol Times: “This is all we do in November and December is Nativity scene violations,” says Annie Laurie Gaylor, the group’s co-president. “We tell our attorneys to get ready. It’s our busiest time of the year.”

KUAR.org: The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas is taking issue with a nativity scene displayed in a Paragould primary school. In a follow up to a story we brought you earlier in the week, the ACLU’s director Rita Sklar says although she wants to avoid a lawsuit, the school must obey the constitution.

Omaha.com: Lincoln lawyer Jeff Downing, who has defended schools and cities in cases involving religious expression, said the school probably overreacted by taking down the sign. “I think it’s a completely defensible thing to have on a school kiosk at this time of year,” he said. “It could have a meaning for one observer that’s completely different from the next observer who looks at it.”

ADF President and General Counsel Alan E. Sears at the TellADF Blog: The coming of Christmas is always a time for prayerful reflection … on the year now closing, on the year now just ahead. And there’s so much to reflect upon . . .

CBS Philly (includes video): Some residents of a South Jersey town are calling a Knights of Columbus banner that hangs over Broadway in Pitman, a sign of the season.

Fredericksburg Patch: A maintenance employee for Rappaport Companies reported that the figure of the Christ child was stolen from the Nativity scene in Central Park.

Local churches have traditionally claimed 14 of the 21 Palisades Park display spaces to illustrate the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. But atheists managed to get all but three of the spaces this year because of a new city lottery system.

MN Star Tribune: Jonathan Scruggs, an attorney with the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Alliance Defense Fund, which advocates for religious freedom, argued Monday that the city stepped on the First Amendment when it threatened to arrest anyone who violates Bentleyville rules against political campaigning and preaching.

Religion Clause: . . . this year the Recreation District has ruled that the Menorah may not be put up, invoking a rule of the Denver Parks and Recreation Department that bars religious decorations on public property.

The Malakoff News: Late last week, the legal focus shifted away from removing the nativity to allowing the FFRF to place one of its banners on the courthouse lawn. The request is based on the idea of “public forum,” said FFRF Co-president Annie Laurie Gaylor.

KBND.com: Prineville’s Nativity Scene is still creating controversy in the small town. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is complaining the display is not inclusive.

ADF Attorney Nate Kellum at Townhall: And while it sounds like the FFRF is about to get a lesson in what “Don’t mess with Texas” means, Athens and other towns around the country need to remember that they can respond to a letter from the FFRF with a phone call, an e-mail, or a mailed request to the Alliance Defense Fund.ADF exists to defend religious liberty free of charge, and part of that liberty consists in the freedom to celebrate the birth of Christ at Christmas.

Breitbart: North Korea warned South Korea on Sunday of “unexpected consequences” if Seoul displays Christmas lights near the tense border, and vowed to retaliate for what it called propaganda attempts.

KLTV.com: Henderson County pastors are now organizing a nativity rally to take place on the courthouse steps next week . . . Organizers say for one hour on December 17 Christians will gather in worship and prayer.

Palm Beach Post: New legislation sponsored by Wise, if passed, would require districts to officially refer to the period during which school is not in session and includes Christmas Day as Christmas Break. It would go into effect July 1, 2012.

TriValley Central: A western Pennsylvania mayor refused to include a banner from an atheist group that says “there are no gods” as part of a holiday display that includes a Nativity scene and has been erected annually on city property for decades.

WI State Journal: The conservative group Wisconsin Family Action set up the manger scene on Sunday, and its president Julaine Appling said they plan to display it through the end of the month. But the move angered the Madison-based Freedom from Religion Foundation,

Paragould Daily Press: He provided the Daily Press with several memos from the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) stating that a nativity scene displayed in a public school does not violate the “establishment clause” of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. According to the ADF web site, the ADF is America’s largest legal alliance defending religious liberty through strategy, training, funding and litigation. The First Amendment’s Establishment Clause states that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion.” One of the ADF memos states “this provision is often misunderstood as prohibiting seasonal religious expression in public schools. Many school officials mistakenly believe such expression would violate the so-called ‘separation of church and state’ — a phrase not found in the Constitution, but often misused in connection with the Establishment Clause.” [more] | ADF Memo: Constitutional Rights of Students, Teachers, and Public Schools to Seasonal Religious Expression

Canoe.ca: A posh Montreal suburb has decided to remove a nativity scene and menorah from town hall rather than acquiesce to demands from a Muslim group to erect Islamic religious symbols.

Canoe.ca: All Diane Pope and Brigette Klepy want for Christmas is to be allowed to decorate the school buses they drive.