Atheists in Texas said that Christians holding a prayer vigil ripped up their letter asking for an “amicable solution” to complaints about a cross in a public city park. In a letter to Port Neches city government last week, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) argued that a Christian cross standing in RiverFront Park violated the First Amendment of the United States Constitution…. “The Latin cross is the principal symbol of Christianity around the world, and display of the cross alone could not reasonably be taken to have any secular point,” FFRF attorney Rebecca Markert explained in the letter. Over the weekend, a Facebook group calling themselves “Port Neches Christians and Advocates for The Cross at Port Neches Park” organized a Sunday prayer vigil in support of the cross. Although the city’s legal team was reviewing FFRF’s letter, Mayor Glenn Johnson insisted to KFDM that the cross wasn’t going anywhere.
There are few things I find more tiresome these days than those who proudly and haughtily call themselves Christians even as their actions and attitudes betray anything but a commitment to honoring the teachings of Jesus Christ. In this case, the good, God-fearing Christians of Port Neches, TX, have decided to fight for their religious freedom…when in fact said freedom is under no threat whatsoever.
What these folks need is a refresher course in the Constitution- more specifically, the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment, which is the basis for the separation of Church and State. No one’s telling these good Christian patriots they can’t practice their religion, but they appear to be in need of a reminder that they can’t use tax dollars to support that worship. In this case, a Christian cross erected in a public park is a clear violation of the separation of Church and State. The good Christians of Port Neches don’t have to like that fact, but refusal to acknowledge that reality doesn’t make their support of a blatantly unconstitutional arrangment any less real…or unconstitutional.
The truly sad thing is that the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) exists in large part because of the large number of Christians who feel that freedom OF religion doesn’t necessarily mean freedom FROM (their) religion. FFRF’s mission is not persecuting Christians and attempting to force atheism upon those who merely want to worship their flavor of God. No, their mission is to protect ALL Americans (including those who are good without God) from having religion forced upon them in the public square.
“I want to make it perfectly clear to the citizens of Port Neches specifically that this mayor and this city council will not fold, it will not bend, it will not roll over,” he remarked. “We’re going to fight this all the way. And if it goes to court then it goes to court. And we’ll fight it there as well.”
KBTV reported that a local atheists and agnostics group placed a letter and cookies at the foot of the cross asking for an “amicable solution” to the conflict. Following the prayer vigil, the group said that the letter had been ripped up.
Is it just me, or does it seem as if way too many of the followers of a religion predicated on love, tolerance, and acceptance are far too angry way too much of the time? The good Christians of Port Neches seem an angry, inflexible lot, don’t they? First of all, NO ONE is talking about taking away their right to worship their God. They just don’t get to do it in a publicly-subsidized forum…despite their refusal to recognize and acknowledge the truth.
They can pledge to fight all they want, but the truth is that they will ultimately lose this argument…and they’ll then be claiming to be a persecuted majority. As absurd as that sounds, that’s the card angry, self-entitled Christians too often use. Again, no one’s talking about taking anything that’s rightfully theirs away from them. All FFRF is asking is that public property- which belongs to atheists and agnostics as much as Christians (or any other religion)- not be the site of what’s in effect publicly-subsidized religious imagery.
In America, state-subsidized religion isn’t a thing- except for the whole tax-exempt status for churches thing…which kinda makes state-subsidized religion a thing. Never mind….
“We stand united to fight for what our beliefs are,” prayer vigil organizer Sheila Ackley explained. “They’re our beliefs, they are our constitutional right to do so. If we don’t stand for it, it’s no more.”
Dear Christians; they’re your beliefs, and you have a constitutional right to believe in such theological constructs as you choose if that gives your life purpose and meaning. What you don’t have the right to do is practice your religion on taxpayer-funded property…because strangely enough, not all of us share your religious beliefs. No one’s trying to take that away from you, but you also don’t get to act as if your beliefs are the only ones that matter.
“And it won’t be long and they’re going to take our churches away,” Ackley added. “It’s not going to be long and they’re not going to allow us to have our Bibles. And I was placed on this Earth by God to fight for him, and over my dead body.”
If a persecution complex is what gets you through your days, that’s on you, but the truth is that no one’s going to take your churches or Bibles from you. You’re free to fight for your God as you see fit, but you don’t get to violate the separation of Church and State because you find it inconvenient.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean having the right to do whatever you want wherever you want. The Establishment Clause exists primarily to prevent this country from being turned into a more affluent version of Iran or Pakistan. The separation of Church and State is perhaps the most important aspect of preventing the very tyranny you claim to fear. The truth is that your cross, being on public property as it is, is a violation of the separation of Church and State. No one’s refusing your right to worship as you see fit, only that there’s no right to doing it on the public dime.
How about y’all pick a fight you can actually win? And while you’re at it, you might try lightening up a bit.
