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SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The state Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday there is "substantial evidence" that the Portland School District illegally discriminated against an atheist student by allowing in-school recruiting by the Boy Scouts. The 6-3 decision is the latest development in a long-running battle by an atheist mother to prevent the Boy Scouts from recruiting in Portland schools because the organization requires a belief in God. The new ruling sends the case back to the state school superintendent for conciliation efforts to resolve the dispute. The district, meanwhile, is considering adopting a policy that could ban Scouts from recruiting...

WASHINGTON — On a recent evening, David Barton, a leading conservative Christian advocate for emphasizing religion in American history, stood barefoot on a bench in the rotunda of the United States Capitol Building with a congressman by his side and about a hundred students from Oral Roberts University at his feet. "Isn't it interesting that we have all been trained to recognize the two least religious founding fathers?" Mr. Barton asked, pointing to Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin in a painting on the wall. "And compared to today's secularists these two guys look like a couple of Bible-thumping evangelicals!" Even...

Thank goodness! The ACLU has uncovered a horrendous plot by the Beebe School District. That plot caused "sticker shock" to our ever-vigilant protector of evolution in the public schools. Encouraged by a federal judge's ruling in a "sticker shock" case against the Cobb County School District in Georgia, the local ACLU office is scouring the public schools of Arkansas for similar stickers. The unconstitutional sticker in some of the Cobb County science books stated: "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an...

SAN FRANCISCO-The federal appeals court that ruled the Pledge of Allegiance was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion is being sued for allegedly displaying the Ten Commandments on its seal and courthouse.The case was brought by an attorney who was admintted to practice before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in June. In his lawsuit against the San Francisco-based court, Ryan Donlon said the certificate admitting him contains the court's seal which unlawfully contains what he believes is a tablet object representing the Ten Commandments.

It is because there is a pot of gold hidden under it attracting the ACLU like honey attracts bees. A little-known 1976 federal law called the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act enables the ACLU to collect attorneys' fees for its suits against crosses, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Ten Commandments. This law was designed to help plaintiffs in civil rights cases. But the ACLU is using it for First Amendment cases, asserting that it is a civil right NOT to see a cross or the Ten Commandments.

Businessman wants site for Ten Commandments monument. CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- A man who says he represents an atheist group is planning to bid for a small plot of the county courthouse lawn that a businessman has said he wants to buy as the site for a Ten Commandments monument. Earl Myler, who heads a company that designs and builds churches, has proposed to Montgomery County commissioners a plan to buy the property in order to return a Ten Commandments monument to the lawn, where a previous monument was removed in 2001. Ken Lewis said his atheist group would bid...

GREER, S.C. -- A woman from Greer has taken a complaint to the American Civil Liberties Union, stating that the Commission of Public Works' new calendar is inappropriate for a public utilities company.The calendar in question is given as a free gift to CPW's customers and has a bible verse printed on each day of the year."It is religion creeping in, inch by inch, to government," said Sheila Jackson. Jackson and Mike Cubelo of the ACLU are asking CPW to recognize the changing face of a city."We were informed that Greer CPW handed out Christian calendars this year and that...

The editors at Rolling Stone magazine have determined that an ad promoting a new Bible for "spiritually intrigued 18-34 year olds" is too religious to appear in the historic rock and roll publication. Zondervan had attempted to place an ad in the magazine for its new Today's New International Version Bible. Ad space was initially sold to Zondervan before the ad was ultimately disapproved. The ad reads: "In a world of almost endless media noise and political spin, you wonder where you can find real truth. Well, now there's a source that's accurate, clear and reliable. It's the TNIV –...

PARIS, FRANCE--Notre Dame sits proudly in the middle of the River Seine, which winds its way through this ancient city. It is an impressive Cathedral, with its towering gothic arches and vaults, its captivating chapels, and its rich history. Although the French still celebrate July 14, when a rowdy mob of radicals freed some non-political prisoners from the Bastille, they are still sober about the excesses of the French Revolution. For one, they seem to realize that it was silly for those Revolutionaries to expel the Church from France and turn Notre Dame into the "Temple of Reason." Still, they...

A movement to drag the teaching of science in the United States back into the Dark Ages continues to gain momentum. So far, it's a handful of judges -- "activist judges" in the view of their critics -- who are preventing the spread of Saudi-style religious dogma into more and more of America's public-school classrooms. The ruling this month in Georgia by Federal District Judge Clarence Cooper ordering the Cobb County School Board to remove stickers it had inserted in biology textbooks questioning Darwin's theory of evolution is being appealed by the suburban Atlanta district. Similar legal battles pitting evolution...

An atheist (reminds me of Newdow) who was not allowed to be a Cub Scout den leader after he refused to take the Boy Scout Oath, which has a religious element. He then sued the Mt. Pleasant Schools to bar the BSA from meeting in its facilities. The Michigan Court of Appeals has affirmed the trial court's judgment for Mt. Pleasant Schools and the Boy Scouts, holding that: Mere use of public facilities by Cub Scout groups is not a violation of the establishment and equal protection clauses of the Michigan Constitution. The rules as such in large part because...

The New Intolerance One state allowed license plates that read "2Sexy" and "2Hot4U," yet denied a person who wanted to put "Pray" on her plates, claiming it would violate separation of church and state. Has political correctness, touted to promote tolerance, actually created a new intolerance toward Christianity? by Gary Petty The various Star Trek television shows and movies have reflected and influenced culture in the United States for more than 30 years. The programs feature space travelers who "explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations." These intrepid explorers live by the "prime directive," which...

NEW YORK (Talon News) -- Rock music magazine Rolling Stone rejected an ad on Wednesday for a new Bible translation designed to reach "spiritually intrigued 18- to 34-year-olds" because it was deemed too religious. Zondervan, the largest Bible publisher in the United States, was hoping to purchase space in the popular secular magazine to attract their target consumers for the new "Today's New International Version of the Bible," which is due to hit bookstores in February. Doug Lockhart, who serves as the executive vice president of marketing for Zondervan, said he purchased the ad in Rolling Stone last July in...

TORONTO, January 19, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an editorial appearing on the website of the homosexual activist group, “Equal Marriage,” members of the lobbyist organization, EGALE, (Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere) have revealed their intention to make illegal the public practice of Christianity or teaching of Christian moral doctrine. Bishop Fred Henry, in his recent pastoral letter on homosexuality, openly recognized that the purpose of the “gay marriage” push is the destruction of the traditional family and of any religious opposition. Bishop Henry wrote, “The goal (of changing the definition of marriage) is to acquire a powerful psychological weapon...

Why do so many sit aside, holding their anger inside, as activist secular organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) assault our religious expression? Why do so many do nothing, as activist secular judges rule in favor of these anti-Christian organizations? Why do we stay uninvolved? We have a constitutional right to express our religion. Don’t allow these groups to take that right away under the disguise of a fictional “Separation of Church and State” clause that does not even exist. The answer to the question posed above may lie in the fact that many people don’t know...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — An advertisement for a new translation of the Bible by the nation's largest publisher of the book is gathering moss at the headquarters of Rolling Stone magazine. Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, is in the midst of an aggressive advertising blitz for Today's New International Version, or TNIV. The new Bible, which contains both the Old Testament and the New Testament, is to be on store shelves in early February. Doug Lockhart, Zondervan's executive vice president of marketing, said Wednesday that research by his Grand Rapids company indicates the TNIV would hold particular appeal...

WASHINGTON - Ailing Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist showed he still had some legalistic punch yesterday, squashing an atheist's attempt to knock the traditional prayer out of President Bush's inauguration. Rehnquist, 80, is scheduled to swear in Bush for his second term today; he has not been seen in public since October, when he announced he is battling thyroid cancer. If Rehnquist cannot make it today, 84-year-old Associate Justice John Paul Stevens will pinch-hit for him. Rehnquist set the stage for the swearing-in, however, by rejecting a suit by atheist Michael Newdow to cancel the prayer. Without comment, Rehnquist...

Rejecting an atheist's request, two justices declined yesterday to have the Supreme Court step in and bar the saying of a prayer at President Bush's inauguration. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist had first denied Michael Newdow's contention that a prayer at today's ceremony would violate the Constitution by forcing Newdow to accept unwanted religious beliefs. Newdow later filed an appeal with Justice John Paul Stevens, who turned it down. Rehnquist also rejected Newdow's request that the chief justice withdraw from the case because he was to administer the oath of office for Bush's second term. Newdow argued that Rehnquist had...

WASHINGTON — An atheist lost his bid Wednesday to have the Supreme Court bar the saying of a prayer at President Bush's inauguration. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist denied Michael Newdow's claim that a prayer at Thursday's ceremony would violate the Constitution by forcing him to accept unwanted religious beliefs. In so doing, Rehnquist also rejected Newdow's request to recuse himself from the case because he is scheduled to swear in Bush. Newdow had argued that Rehnquist had become a willing fixture in a government ceremony "infused with sectarian Christian religion" and thus had a conflict of interest. Rehnquist's order...

Washington, DC) – The American Center for Law and Justice, specializing in constitutional law, said today that Michael Newdow’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to bar clergy prayer at Thursday’s inauguration is a legally flawed strategy destined to fail. The ACLJ said it is preparing an amicus brief for the Supreme Court urging the high court to reject Newdow’s challenge. Newdow’s appeal to the Supreme Court comes after two courts – a federal district court and a federal appeals court – rejected Newdow’s challenge. In addition to asking the high court for an injunction to stop the prayer, Newdow...