====================================================================== MITAAH News -- Issue #3 -- July 21, 1997 (sent sporadically to mitaah@mit.edu mailing list) Pseudo-random samplings of information that may relate to atheism, agnosticism, humanism, freethought, or church-state separation issues. Please send any promising material to reagan@mit.edu. ====================================================================== In this issue: * More info on the Religious "Freedom" Amendment * Horror Stories: CC claims that RFA will end "persecution of Christians" * "Contact" gets low marks for Christian Content (but ****1/2?) * Ala. Gov. Fob James tries his hand at Constitutional criticism * AANews: foaming-at-the-mouth fun from American Atheists! * Link to us with the free MITAAH logo! * Some humor, more humor, and humor of questionable taste ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From church-state@infidels.org: From: skip evans Dear Friends & Supporters, As you may know, hearings begin on July 22nd on the so-called Religious Freedom Amendment. This amendment, if enacted, will absolutely gut the First Amendment's principle of separation between church and state, creating havoc in our public schools, our government institutions, and essentially hand the religious right its biggest victory since Pat Robertson and company first set their sights on turning this into a "Christian nation". I am urging you to contact the House Judiciary Committee as soon as possible and let them know how you feel on this vital issue. Below you'll find contact information for all committee members. Please either mail your letter via the postal service or use the provided fax numbers. Don't send a message via email; I recently read that most congressmen receive about 3,000 email messages per day and that very few, if any, are getting read. Also provided below is the press release issued by the national office of Americans United for Separation of Church and State detailing the Christian Coalition's deceptive tactics in pushing the amendment. Please review it for valuable information you may want to include in your letter. Thanks so much for your support! Skip Evans, President Americans United/Atlanta HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE CONSTITUTION fax numbers ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Barr, R GA 7th 770-838-0436, 202-225-2944 Ed Bryant, R TN 7th 202-225-2989 John Conyers, D MI 14th 202-225-0072 Bob Goodlatte, R VA 6th 202-225-9681 Asa Hutchinson, R AR 3rd 202-225-5713 Henry Hyde, R IL 6th 202-225-1166 Bob Inglis, R SC 4th 202-226-1177 Willian Jenkins, R TN 1st 202-225-5714 Jerrold Nadler, D NY 8th 202-225-6923 Robert Scott, D VA 3rd 202-225-8354 Maxine Waters, D CA 35th 202-225-7584 Melvin Watt, D NC 12th 202-225-1512 Charles Canady, Chairman 202-225-2279 Mailing Address: Honorable (name) House of Representatives Washington DC 20515 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Horror Stories" The last story about the proselytising police officer should scare any decent person. I wonder what happens to motorists with Darwin fish on their cars? ----- From: Skip Evans, President Americans United for Separation of Church and State FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Joseph Conn May 22, 1997 Rob Boston CHRISTIAN COALITION RELIES ON BOGUS 'HORROR STORIES' TO PROMOTE SCHOOL PRAYER AMENDMENT, CHARGES AMERICANS UNITED CHURCH-STATE WATCHDOG GROUP'S RESEARCH UNDERCUTS COALITION CLAIMS Washington, D.C. Are thousands of Christian children and adults undergoing daily persecution by public school employees and other government officials? Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition claim they are, and the group is seeking a constitutional amendment rewriting the church-state language of the Bill of Rights. But a new study shows the "horror stories" Reed and company rely on often turn out to be grossly distorted or years old, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "Our First Amendment religious freedom rights are precious," said Americans United Executive Director Barry W. Lynn. "We must not allow Congress to tamper with them on the basis of tall tales spread by a TV preacher's front man." The Christian Coalition is sponsoring a "Religious Freedom Rally" and press conference at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Thursday, May 22 to promote Rep. Ernest J. Istook's so-called "Religious Freedom Amendment." The event will feature three public school students and others who claim their religious rights have been violated. In a May, 1997, fund-raising letter, Reed claimed passage of the Istook amendment "would mean an end to the daily stories in the newspapers about kids being punished for standing up for God. And while it is sad, but true, that these events really happen...they, and thousands of other stories just like them, underscore the fundamental need for the Religious Freedom Amendment." But an analysis by Americans United unveils serious flaws in all three public school stories scheduled at the Christian Coalition rally, with crucial facts omitted to advance the Coalition's agenda. The Americans United analysis also indicates that, despite Reed's claim that there are "thousands" of religious liberty violations and they occur daily, the three public school cases spotlighted by the Christian Coalition are six, seven and eight years old respectively. "If religious liberty violations are occurring daily, why is Ralph Reed showcasing three incidents that are ancient? Why does he use the same three or four examples over and over?" asked AU's Lynn. "When you check the facts, Reed's 'thousands' of religious liberty violations simply vanish." Continued Lynn, "The American people deserve to know the truth about religion in public schools, but they won't hear it from Ralph Reed or his boss, TV preacher Pat Robertson. The truth is students are free to engage in a remarkable array of private religious expression during their free time. In the rare instances where a public school official has made a mistake about a student's religious rights, the problems can be corrected by a simple phone call or letter." AMERICANS UNITED ANALYSIS OF ALLEGED "RELIGIOUS LIBERTY VIOLATIONS" CITED BY THE CHRISTIAN COALITION During its May 22 "Religious Freedom Rally" on Capitol Hill, the Christian Coalition plans to feature three young women who allege that their religious freedom rights were violated in public schools. Americans United for Separation of Church and State has analyzed all three cases and found that the Coalition has omitted crucial facts in each case. Americans United also notes that the three public school cases are quite old. The most recent goes back to 1991 and the oldest to 1989. Yet the Coalition routinely insists that public school students' religious liberty rights are violated every day. Here is a summary of AU's findings: Kelly DeNooyer: In December of 1990, DeNooyer's parents sued officials at McKinley Elementary School in Livonia, Mich., after her teacher refused to allow DeNooyer, then a second grader, to show a tape of herself singing a religious song. DeNooyer had been selected "VIP of the Week" under a classroom program designed to boost student confidence by giving them the opportunity to make verbal presentations about themselves. The teacher rejected the tape for several reasons. She said showing a tape would undermine the point of the exercise, which was to make students feel comfortable giving speeches. She also said the school has a policy requiring that all tapes be reviewed before being used in class. Lastly, she felt its religious content was inappropriate. The parents sued in federal court and lost. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that public school teachers and administrators, not students, are the proper agents to determine classroom content and assignments. On April 18, 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision. (DeNooyer v. Merinelli) Brittney Settle Gossett: Settle (now out of school and married) sued the Dickson County, Tenn., School Board after she was given a failing grade on a report about Jesus Christ in 1991. Teacher Dana Ramsey had assigned each student in her ninth-grade class to write a research paper on an unfamiliar topic based on four outside sources. Settle initially told the teacher she would do her paper on drama. She later changed her mind and said she wanted to do it on the life of Christ. Ramsey rejected the new topic, saying Settle knew too much about it. Settle wrote the paper anyway and received a zero, not for writing about Jesus but for ignoring the teacher's instructions. Two federal courts examined the facts and ruled in favor of the school; the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals noted that Settle had no constitutional right to "do something other than [the teacher's] assignment and receive credit for it." In November, 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the decision. (Settle v. Dickson County School Board) Audrey Pearson: Pearson's mother contacted the Rutherford Institute, a conservative legal group, after her daughter was told to stop reading a Bible on a public school bus in Prince William County, Va., in 1989. The principal had not understood that students are permitted to bring religious material to school for their personal use and her decision was quickly reversed once contacted by the Institute. The matter never went to court, and the incident is now eight years old. NOTE TO REPORTERS: In several Christian Coalition press announcements about the May 22 events, a fourth "victim" was scheduled to appear, an ex-police officer who says his religious rights were violated on the job. But apparently the facts were so indefensible, even Reed couldn't put them forward. An accurate summary follows: Brad Hicks: A former police officer in Newton, N.C., Hicks was fired in April of 1996 after he disobeyed orders from the police chief to stop handing out gospel tracts while on duty. Chief Jim McMasters said Hicks had been warned about the activities and refused to stop. McMasters acted after a woman who had been pulled over for speeding complained about Hicks' activities. Hicks was first placed on suspension and told he could keep his job if he stopped proselytizing while on duty. He refused. "You cannot stop someone on the road as a police officer and proceed to give them a church sermon," McMasters told the Kinston Free Press. "The Constitution doesn't allow that, and we can't allow that. He refused to stop talking about religion, so I had no choice but to terminate him. I respect his religious convictions, but I also have to protect citizens from people who are violating their civil and constitutional rights." National office: Joseph Conn, Rob Boston Americans United for Separation of Church and State 1816 Jefferson Place NW Washington DC 20036 1-202-466-3234 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Contact: three (in one) thumbs down?" A Christian media organization gave Contact a low rating for "Christian content," but a very high rating for overall artistic quality. You can read the review and some viewer feedback at: http://christiananswers.net/reviews/i-contact.html Having just seen the movie with some MITAAH folks and having read the actual book, I really have to wonder what movie some of these folks were watching. Unfortunately, about half the people *I* know who saw the movie came to similar (confused?) conclusions. Maybe I'm too familiar with Carl Sagan's writing to really judge the film. Did anyone else think that the movie "demonstrated that science is just another kind of faith," or that "Dr. Arroway's 'faith' in science and reason is severely shaken?" Maybe we should fire up MITAAH-DISCUSSION once again. Also, for some real fun, look at the home page (just http://www.christiananswers.net/) to learn about "True Science." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Gov. Fob James on the Constitution" Gov. James is the character who promised to use the AL state police, National Guard, and the University of Alabama football team to insure that Alabama citizens live according to Christian-based law. Check out his letter to AL supreme court justice DeMent. http://www.state.al.us/news_rel/dement.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "AANews for the week" Every movement needs a radical fridge--freethinkers have American Atheists to keep things interesting. Here are a few excepts from their latest newsletter. From: AANEWS@listserv.atheists.org SHERMAN THREATENS LAWSUITS IN WISCONSIN TO STOP TEN COMMANDMENTS-IN-GOVERNMENT CRUSADE Atheist activist Rob Sherman is moving to stop a campaign by the Christian Family Association which seeks to have government bodies display the Ten Commandments in all 72 county courthouses in Wisconsin. Thursday night, Sherman -- a resident of Illinois -- showed in at a public hearing in front of the Oconto County Board, and pointed out that displaying the Decalogue is a violation of the First Amendment separation of government and religion. "The Christian Tyranny Association says non-Christians have no place in their America, but here in Oconto County, this is not the message that you want to send to your residents or tourists who want to visit," Mr. Sherman told the Supervisors. Following the meeting, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other news sources that if the Oconto Board, or other government bodies proceeded to erect Ten Commandment postings, he would launch a legal challenge. "If they want to have a very expensive holy war, which they will lose, they can go ahead with it," warned Sherman. Sherman's move apparently has caught the Christian Family Association off guard; the group's regional director, Denni Pape, said he and his organization "were quite surprised that somebody took the opposition and took all that trouble to come in from Illinois." The call for Decalogue display in government buildings is being promoted by CFA and its religious right allies in support of Etowah County, Alabama Judge Roy Moore. Moore's policy of posting a hard-carved plaque of the Commandments, and of opening his courtroom proceedings with a Baptist invocation, have been declared unconstitutional. Moore is appealing that ruling to the Alabama Supreme Court; but he has won backing from religious groups throughout the country including the Christian Coalition, and Gov. Fob James who has threatened to mobilize the state guard, police and the University of Alabama football squad in order to "resist" any federal order against Moore. Sherman is no stranger to the state-church separation battle, or Wisconsin. In 1992, he threatened a lawsuit and had the Wauwatosa Common Council remove a cross which had been part of that community's seal since 1957. The U.S. Supreme Court has led stand a decision by the 7thg U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that religious graffiti on city seals or emblems violates standards for First Amendment state-church separation. SUPREME COURT NIXES JERSEY RELIGIOUS DISPLAY: DISTRICT JUDGES MUST SEEK NEW TEST The U.S. Supreme Court, which in June refused to hear an appeal from the City of Jersey City over a nativity scene and menorah in front of City Hall, has sent the case back to the U.D. District Court, according to a recent ACLU dispatch. In June, the high court, without comment, left intact rulings that prevented Jersey City from displaying the religious ornaments in front of City Hall. The City had attempted to "secularize" the clearly-religious display by posting a sign which declared that it celebrated "the diverse cultural and ethnic heritages of the city's residents." ACLU had originally challenged the display in 1994, and the following year a federal trial judge ordered Jersey City officials not to erect it. But the City appealed, and the display was put up again, this time with the addition of a plastic Santa Clause, Frosty the Snowman, and a sleigh with an evergreen tree to ostensibly depict the Kwanza season. Upon appeal, a judge declared that the display then had "sufficiently desanctified sacred symbols" to pass constitutional scrutiny. But the U.S. District Court of Appeals again questioned the First Amendment aspects of the display, and vacated the lower court ruling saying that it had applied the wrong legal test. The brief challenging the latest "secularized" display noted that "however confusing the presence of a snowman in Bethlehem may be from a canonical perspective, a reasonable observer...would invariably characterize (Frosty, Santa and the sleigh) for what they are -- attempts at evasion of constitutional prohibitions through superficial secular tokenism." Staff attorney David Roach of ACLU added that "Mayor Schundler (Jersey City) has consistently tried to argue that because the City permits various religious groups to have parades and religious celebrations, the City itself must be permitted to engage in such religious activity in City Hall. The Mayor evidently cannot or will not understand the difference between permitting private citizens to engage in an activity and engaging in it himself. The former is required by the Constitution, the latter prohibited." http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/index.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "Free MITAAH logo!" Link to the MITAAH home page in style! I re-sized a copy of our logo down to standard web page button dimensions. It will fit nicely right next to your Blue Ribbon or Internet Infidels logos! Get it at http://web.mit.edu/reagan/www/images/mitaah.gif and add the following to your page: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Some humor: Fun with Mormons" A little humor from the CFA and the Center for Inquiry, courtesy of Sarah. From: Sarah Carlson Side note: In the following, consider "Moronic" to refer to the great prophet Moroni, of course. >From: Docterman@aol.com >To: cfatalk@lists.uoregon.edu >Subject: cfatalk: a Moronic tale > >Center for Inquiry Staff Witnesses the Hill Cumorah Pageant: >A Story of Our Pilgrimage to the Sacred Burial Site of the Moronic Plates > >And it came to pass that the Mormons did celebrate the Hill Cumorah Pageant, >yea, three score years, being the celebration of the coming of Christ to >America and His witness to the Latter-Day Saints. > 2 And the unbelieving Inquirites, being overcome with the spirit of >inquisitiveness, did seek to witness this celebration at the hill where the >Angel Moroni did reveal the Moronic plates to Joseph Smith. > 3 And it came to pass that we did go forth in a van rented in the manner >that the Lord commanded us, crossing the great wilderness between Amherst and >Palmyra. > 4 Behold, I make a record of our merry and blasphemous proceedings on that >day with mine own hand; and make it according to my knowledge. > >On July 18, 1997, a tribe of 14 staff and friends from the Center for Inquiry >journeyed to the Mecca of Mormonism to witness the incredible sights and >sounds of the annual "Historic Hill Cumorah Pageant." This was the 60th >anniversary of the event presented by the Church of Jesus Christ of >Latter-Day Saints, also known as the Mormons. The outdoor pageant is held >near Palmyra, New York , the home of the Church's founder, Joseph Smith. > The unintentionally humorous pageant is a theatrical reenactment of stories >from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. If you don't know what I mean by >"unintentionally humorous," perhaps you need a little crash course in Mormon >beliefs. > According to the Book of Mormon, God commanded a prophet named Lehi to leave >Jerusalem and take his family to a new "Promised Land." After "wandering in >the wilderness" for many years (just like the Israelites), Lehi's son Nephi >builds a boat according to God's commands (just like Noah) and they all sail >across the Atlantic for America (just like Columbus -- I guess old Joe Smith >was hard up for original material). > Are you chuckling yet? If not, read on. > Once they reach America, Lehi and his family break off into two tribes: the >Nephites and the Lamanites. These two tribes grow into entire civilizations, >building their own temples and cities. They are constantly at war with each >other. God sends a succession of prophets to the tribes to cleanse their >periodic iniquities: Abinadi, Alma, Sam the Lamanite, Nephi II, Mormon, >Moroni. (hmmm... All of this sounds remarkably similar to the tales of Judah >and Israel as recorded in 1st and 2nd Kings and 1st and 2nd Chronicles. I >guess Joe had writer's block when he was writing this section.) > According to the Mormons, Jesus Christ visited the Americas after his >resurrection in Jerusalem. In the pageant, Jesus was portrayed floating in >the sky before gently landing on the ground before the awe-struck Nephites. > After his visit, he then floats back up into the sky and disappears in the >distance, much like Mary Poppins. > Jesus' visit marks the beginning of a 200 year period of peace between the >Nephites and Lamanites. However, the nations begin warring again, and the >Lamanites wipe out the entire nation of Nephites _at the very hill where we >witnessed the pageant_. The Nephites' destroyers then become descendants of >the Native Americans. > Isn't it strange that these two civilizations, who built entire cities and >temples, left without a trace of archeological evidence? Isn't it stranger >still that at the very site where an entire nation was supposed to have been >destroyed, we have yet to find a single skeleton, arrow, spear, or sword? We >should have been sitting on a graveyard! What a blow it would be in favor of >the Mormons' credibility if they could uncover evidence of the spectacular >battle that they claim took place at Hill Cumorah. Yet we find nothing but >grass and trees. I guess the Lamanites did a very thorough job of >eradicating the Nephites. > All of these events are faithfully "re"enacted each year by a couple hundred >cast members who believe with the utmost sincerity that this incredible work >of fiction is true. And every year, thousands of Mormons from across the >country and around the world flock to Hill Cumorah to watch this fantastic >spectacle. Cast members are not paid for their participation in the event, >but invest their own time and money for the honor of being in the pageant. > Production costs are high, with an elaborate stage, and such special effects >as rain, lightening, fire, and an erupting volcano. All of this work is done >to commemorate events for which there isn't a single shred of evidence, and >which were conveyed by a man known by sane observers to be a con-man, a liar, >and a plagiarist. > The Mormons claim that Moroni, Son of Mormon and the sole surviving Nephite, >took engraved metal plates recording these events and deposited them in a >stone box on Hill Cumorah. Moroni then returned in the form of an angel in >1823 to show Joseph Smith where the plates were buried. According to the >program distributed at the pageant, Smith translates the plates "by the gift >and power of God and in 1830 the Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra." > It is appropriate that science fiction writer Orson Scott Card should write >the script for the pageant. Card is famous for such works as _Ender's Game_, >a story about humanity's encounters with a noble race of bug-like aliens; >_Wyrm_, featuring a worm-like creature with multiple phalli and an appetite >for human women; and _Hatrack River_, a Mormonish epic set in the Great Lakes >region, featuring large families, migrations, magical powers, and Native >American and Christian religious themes. In Card's defense, it should be >noted that his plot and prose are much better than Joe Smith's crude attempt >at fiction, which is characterized by an over-abundance of the phrase "And it >came to pass..." and other clumsy attempts at mimicking the style of the King >James Version of the Bible. > While certainly credulous, the Mormons at the pageant were a cordial bunch. > Cast members went among the crowd in costume before the show began, passing >out brochures, chatting, and obligingly posing for pictures. I took a >picture of one of the "Three Wise Men," who had a career as a trial lawyer >and fancied himself "an amateur historian." Another gentleman I photographed >thoughtfully removed his glasses for the picture -- for the sake of >historical accuracy. > Smokers among the Center for Inquiry crowd marked us as "outsiders" among >the Mormon majority in the audience (their religion prohibits consumption of >nicotine and caffeine). > Another conspicuous group from Berean Christian Ministries stood at the >entrance passing out literature attacking Mormon doctrines and arguing for >the "true" Christianity. Some of the articles in their literature were >reminiscent of articles in _The Skeptical Review_, a publication dedicated to >debunking biblical inerrancy. One article noted that there was no >archeological evidence in North or South America for the existence of the >Nephite civilization. Another article pointed to inconsistencies in Joseph >Smith's accounts of his divine visions as reason to doubt Mormon doctrines. > Yet another article examined evidence suggesting that the Book of Mormon was >a plagiarism of a work of fiction by clergyman Solomon Spalding. It is >unfortunate, however, that these debunkers of Mormonism have not turned a >consistently skeptical eye to their own scriptures, which they believe to be >"the inerrant, eternal Word of God and the yardstick by which we measure >truth and error." > When the "unintentionally humorous" show was over, the visitors from the >Center for Inquiry left the pageant with lighter hearts and heavier wallets >(the Mormons couldn't get enough of those bridges we were selling). We also >left with perhaps a greater understanding of the almost limitless capacity >for human credulity. > >[To receive a free Book of Mormon, check out the Latter-Day Saints' web site >at .] > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "More humor" Some random quotes that might help you appreciate this issue: "Making fun of fundamentalists is like hunting dairy cows with a high-powered game rifle with telescopic sights." - P.J. O'Rourke "Organizing atheists is like herding cats." -- unknown ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Questionable Taste" The is so bad I had to share it with everyone. A recipe: "Obtain one Lamb o' God. Garnish with about 90 vegetables and seal up tightly with Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. Allow them to stew in their own juices for 51 days, then sear quickly using a wood fire. Serves one media circus." -----------------------------------------------------------------------------