Posted on 12/04/2012 9:05:59 AM PST by BenLurkin
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — Churches have found a way to keep the decades-old Christmas nativity display alive in Santa Monica following a controversial ban on having the scenes in a public park.
Pastor Keith Magee of Trinity Baptist Church is just one of the organizations Monday night who found a loophole in the ban by putting on a live, temporary nativity scene. Volunteers were on hand to play the roles of Joseph and Mary, among other biblical figures.
“We want to have a positive effect here in the community, because the nativity scenes have been a positive thing for the whole community, anyway, and we want to keep it that way,” Magee said.
This year’s nativity at Palisades Park is allowed because it’s not a permanent display, which is what was banned by the city council.
Each night, a different church will organize a living nativity scene until Dec. 23.
The feud began in December 2010 after a group comprised of 13 churches and the Santa Monica Police Officers Association were prevented from erecting all but three of 21 total dioramas in Palisades Park depicting the birth of Jesus Christ.
In June, the Santa Monica City Council voted to prohibit any private displays in the park overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Monica Pier after atheist groups complained of religious displays on public property.
“It’s a legal principle. It’s our Constitution that, in order for the religious groups and people like me, who are not religious, to be free, we need to separate the church and the state. It’s good for all of us,” an atheist told CBS2/KCAL9 over the weekend.
Starting Sunday, the permanent nativity scenes that used to be at Palisades Park will be on display in a private space outside Clover Park.
Meanwhile, several churches have filed a lawsuit arguing the ban, and have asked a judge to allow permanent nativity displays until the case is resolved. The city is asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit entirely.
Live people can have fantastic success anyway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnt7euRF5Pg
;-))))))
We need to engage in much more of this!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess with a living set, when Annie Geller shows up they can pick up baby Jesus and run across to the ‘safe’ side of the street.
Dear Moron, please show me where in the Constitution there is the phrase or phrasing that mentions anything about separation of church and state. Also, from the phrasing, and without using pretzel logic, explain to me how a city council allowing for these displays "establishes" a religion, or magically becomes "Congress" in doing so.
***21 total dioramas in Palisades Park depicting the birth of Jesus Christ. ****
A local town near here used to do that each Christmas and Easter. Then, back in the mid 1960s, some crank protested and it was stopped.
One crank, why do so many allow ONE CRANK to thwart the will of thousands.
There’s an easy way around that ban. Just put up the Nativity set in your own front yard. That’s what we do.
BTTT!
That would be nice as a thread of it’s own :)
I wonder if Houston area Democrat leaders are going to celebrate Jesus’ birth at an abortion clinic AGAIN this year??
As said above, this is a totally false statement. The 1st Amendment, aka "The Freedoms Amendment", in reference to religion, enjoins (forbids) the Federal Government from restricting religion either by an established church or by impeding the free exercise of religion. This being the US Constitution, these controls descend down to the lowest governmental levels. None of this activity from prior years has violated the Constitution.
What this game becomes, is the 'right' of the most easily offended, not to be offended. So this means that atheism, which is practiced in this case as a religion, in order to be freely practiced, must never see other religious practices because it is their right not to be offended. Obviously, they have a very jealous non-god whom they do not worship except in the absence of worship.
displaying “nothing” is a private display endorsing the religion of atheism.
Read it again, Moonbat!
Your comment reminded me of this post about “BTTT”!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1311823/posts
Cheers!
LOL in finding the loophole.
God bless all these churches and church members.
>> “to be free, we need to separate the church and the state. It’s good for all of us,” an atheist told CBS2/KCAL9
The Constitution does not say that, stupid bigot.
A little hut with animals and a baby in a crib put there by private indiviuals. Which church do they represent? They aren’t a church, they are regular people.
Isn’t it great? Individual Free Speech! :)
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