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Satan Worshipper, Witch Testing Religious Liberty
New York Sun ^ | 12/24/2004 | LUIZA Ch. SAVAGE

Posted on 12/28/2004 8:13:52 AM PST by bedolido

WASHINGTON - A religious liberties lawsuit brought by a Satan worshipper, a Wiccan witch, a white supremacist, and an adherent of an ancient Viking religion is drawing the impassioned support of major national religious groups as it approaches a hearing before the Supreme Court.

The case is potentially the most important religious liberties case on this year's docket, impacting how far a state can go to accommodate the religious practices of its citizens and whether Congress can require states to be more accommodating.

The case was filed by a group of Ohio inmates - Jon Cutter, J. Lee Hampton, John Gerhardt, John Miller, and Daryl Blankenship - who are demanding access to religious books, medallions, and costumes, as well as the right to worship in groups while in custody.

Ohio prison officials have dismissed their religious claims as a cover for gang activities, noting as an example that one of the plaintiffs belongs to a church that has been linked to the Ku Klux Klan. Their lawyer countered that they are sincere: Mr. Blankenship, who practices a polytheistic Nordic religion called Asatru, fasted for weeks in protest of prison rules and was hospitalized.

(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News
KEYWORDS: liberty; religious; religiousliberty; satan; satanism; testing; wiccans; witch; worshipper; wrongforum
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1 posted on 12/28/2004 8:13:52 AM PST by bedolido
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To: bedolido
The case was filed by a group of Ohio inmates ....

End of article for me.

2 posted on 12/28/2004 8:15:26 AM PST by Skooz (My Biography: Psalm 40:1-3)
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To: bedolido

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.


3 posted on 12/28/2004 8:16:18 AM PST by hford02 (I have to go rig my quota of black boxes for the 2006 midterms.)
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To: Skooz
. . . and an adherent of an ancient Viking religion . . .

Yeah, that's the guy you want to get stuck sharing a cell with! LOL

4 posted on 12/28/2004 8:16:21 AM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
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To: bedolido

Viking eh?


5 posted on 12/28/2004 8:17:49 AM PST by Conspiracy Guy (Pray for the millions of lives disrupted by tsunami.)
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To: Bluegrass Conservative
ancient Viking:


6 posted on 12/28/2004 8:19:00 AM PST by Skooz (My Biography: Psalm 40:1-3)
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To: bedolido

"This week, the court received written briefs supporting the law from more than 50 religious and civil rights groups, including the National Association of Evangelicals and the Coalition for the Free Exercise of Religion, an umbrella group that includes the Conference of Catholic Bishops; the Anti-Defamation League; numerous national Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Mennonite, Presbyterian, and Mormon groups; the liberal group People for the American Way, and the conservative Liberty Counsel.
...
The religious groups' position is also backed by the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, which have filed their own briefs before the court."

That's different


7 posted on 12/28/2004 8:20:32 AM PST by PFC
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To: Bluegrass Conservative
Actually the term "viking religion" is inaccurate. Vikings are not an ethnic group but a caste of warriors. Asatru is the name for the cult of the Nordic pantheon, which includes deities like Odin, Freja, Loki, etc. This pre-Christian set of beliefs was dominant throughout Germanic Europe (Scandinavia, Germany, England, etc.).

What surprises me is that the author of the article relates these new-age pagans with the KKK. The Klan espouses a very extravagant form of Christianity, and Asatru (sometimes called Odinism) is inherently anti-Christian.
8 posted on 12/28/2004 8:25:15 AM PST by Kurt_D
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To: Skooz

Well, if I was in a prison cell, I guess I would rather be stuck with a Viking than a Packer. LOL


9 posted on 12/28/2004 8:25:39 AM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
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To: bedolido
A Marine I was stationed with in the Corps was a follower of the Norse Pantheology. When he reenlisted, he actually said "So help me, Odin" when he took his oath. It was quite amusing :)
10 posted on 12/28/2004 8:26:06 AM PST by Antonello
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To: Bluegrass Conservative
... and an adherent of an ancient Viking religion ...
Yeah, that's the guy you want to get stuck sharing a cell with!
"I'm Thor!"

"You're Thor? I'm tho Thor, I can't even move ..."

11 posted on 12/28/2004 8:27:03 AM PST by eastsider
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To: Kurt_D
Actually the term "viking religion" is inaccurate. Vikings are not an ethnic group but a caste of warriors.

But couldn't the "caste of warriors" had a particular religion? Wouldn't that be similar to the Knights Templar?

What surprises me is that the author of the article relates these new-age pagans with the KKK.

The article says that "one" of the plantiffs is associated with the KKK. Unless the Klan has changed a lot lately, I'm betting it is the white supremacist.

12 posted on 12/28/2004 8:29:38 AM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
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To: Conspiracy Guy

Also known as Purple People Eaters. Cannibalism will be the next Civil Right.


13 posted on 12/28/2004 8:30:48 AM PST by massgopguy (massgopguy)
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To: eastsider
"You're Thor? I'm tho Thor, I can't even move ..."

That was Frigga-in' bad!!!

14 posted on 12/28/2004 8:31:14 AM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
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To: eastsider
"I'm Thor!" "You're Thor? I'm tho Thor, I can't even move ..."

that's simply Thor-able!

15 posted on 12/28/2004 8:34:07 AM PST by bedolido (I can forgive you for killing my sons, but I cannot forgive you for forcing me to kill your sons)
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To: PFC; RepCath; Liz; IronJack; Grampa Dave; MeekOneGOP; Iris7; wkdaysoff; ApesForEvolution; ...

Ping!


16 posted on 12/28/2004 8:34:33 AM PST by Jay777
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To: bedolido

we just need the law to spend more time in the donut shops, and let the public settle this stuff


17 posted on 12/28/2004 8:34:48 AM PST by sure_fine (*not one to over kill the thought process*)
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To: Kurt_D
What surprises me is that the author of the article relates these new-age pagans with the KKK. The Klan espouses a very extravagant form of Christianity, and Asatru (sometimes called Odinism) is inherently anti-Christian.

I think the author was referring to two different people there. In the first paragraph, the white supremacist and the pagan were listed separately. I have heard of an allegedly Christian church that is made up of white supremacists, IIRC it is called the First Church of the Creator. (I am not positive, so please do not flame me if I got it wrong!) Separately, a number of neo-Nazi groups are believed to follow a corrupt form of the old pantheistic religion that was common in Germany a few centuries ago.

18 posted on 12/28/2004 8:35:16 AM PST by RebelBanker (To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women!)
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Comment #19 Removed by Moderator

To: All
You can join the fight against the ACLU and their ilk by becoming involved with and supporting the following organizations:

Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) - http://www.alliancedefensefund.org

Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) - http://www.thomasmore.org

American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) - http://www.aclj.org

The Rutherford Institute - http://www.rutherford.org/

Stop the ACLU Coalition - http://www.stoptheaclu.org


Here are a few examples of how two of those organizations are fighting back:

ADF Contacts Over 3,600 School Districts Over Attempts To Censor Christmas

ADF: 700 lawyers ready to fight ACLU lawsuits

ADF: Pentagons' Warning About Boyscouts Is Absurd

Thomas More Law Center: Town of Palm Beach Pays $50,000 In Attorney Fees Apologizes To Women In Nativity Lawsuit


Additional information:

The ACLU must be destroyed: Joseph Farah supports Boy Scouts, urges Americans to fight back

Citizens mobilized to stop ACLU (seeks to consign group to 'ash heap of history')

ACLU fulfilling communist agenda

Revealing FACTS on the ACLU from its own writings

See how YOUR Senator or Representative ranks with the ACLU

This yahoo group just started on December 3, 2004 and is looking for new members


Let me know if you would like to join my ACLU ping list


20 posted on 12/28/2004 8:35:22 AM PST by Jay777
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