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Library agrees to allow display of full nativity scene after ADF letter to library officials prompts mayor to make request BARTLETT, Tenn. - Officials with the Memphis Public Library System have agreed to allow figures representing the baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the wise men back into a nativity scene on the Bartlett Public Library's community shelves. News of a letter to the library by an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund apparently prompted the mayor of the city of Bartlett to ask the library to reverse their decision to exclude the figures. "I'm sure just about everyone would rather...

BENTON, La. - In a settlement agreement negotiated by attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund, the American Civil Liberties Union will no longer pursue its legal attack upon the Bossier Parish School District. ADF attorneys represent the district. One of the district's schools displayed a nativity scene during the Christmas season of 2003 and has allowed other forms of religious expression on campus. This prompted the ACLU to file suit against the district and school officials. "The ACLU's case was going nowhere fast," said Mike Johnson, an ADF attorney based in Shreveport. "Stockwell Place Elementary School's display of a creche...

NOVI (AP) - A Christmastime turf battle is being waged in suburban Detroit. A Novi family has been ordered to remove a seven-piece nativity scene from the front yard of their home, or face possible fines of $25 to $100 per week. The order given to Joe and Betty Samona didn't come from the government. It came from their subdivision association, which said they should have sought permission from the board of directors to place the figures outside their home. Michigan courts have said homeowners who join neighborhood or condominium associations must follow the rules set by the group. Dean...

Evangelical Christian pastor Jerry Falwell has a message for Americans when it comes to celebrating Christmas this year: You're either with us, or you're against us.

Somehow Christmas seemed darker last year, bereft of its usual radiance. Like a heroic soldier, it was left alone to fend off a platoon of barrages against it. Shots came from many quarters – all contesting the placement of Christmas symbols in public areas. No protests came, however, from Orthodox Jews, nor those who, while not Orthodox, remain traditionally-valued. And that is because this group understands and appreciates the ameliorating influence that religion provides civic life, so long as the religion does not call for, as in the case of radical Islam, the oppression of “infidels.” What better use of...

Just when I thought merely advertising religion in the newspaper was bad, the fundamentalist forces that be are back at it again, putting billboards up all over the city. In response to the notorious Holiday Vs. Christmas crusade, fundamentalist religious groups have started abusing their right to freedom of speech. Signs with slogans such as "He's what the season is all about - Christ", "Christ: the reason for the season", and most directly "Keep the Christ in Christmas" have flooded the precious advertising space needed for true Christian values: materialism. I have nothing against religious beliefs or freedom of speech,...

Christmas is a time of joy for Christians and, for multitudes around the world, a time of suffering. Last Wednesday, under the auspices of Senator Rick Santorum and the Congressional Working Group on Religious Freedom that he cochairs with Congressman Roy Blunt, some of the world's foremost defenders of persecuted Christians gathered in the U.S. Capitol to draw attention to this suffering. Over Christmas 2000 in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country and one traditionally renowned for its religious toleration, terrorists bombed churches in 18 cities, killing scores and wounding hundreds. At Wednesday's forum, Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver...

On Dec. 25, Rod Shapiro and Pat Wong will exchange Christmas and Chanukah gifts spread under a seven-foot Christmas tree. They will listen to carols sung by Johnny Mathis and Chanukah songs by the Klezmatics. In the evening, this interfaith couple in their mid-50s, married two years, will light the menorah and invite friends to stop by their Long Beach home. Welcome to Chrismukkah 2005, a holiday that offers greeting cards that feature a reindeer with menorah antlers and recipes for Gefilte Goose and Kris Kringle Kugel in “The Merry Mish Mash Holiday Cookbook.” Christmas tree ornaments decorated with Stars...

It's OK to Say "Merry Christmas!" .   Although 96% of Americans celebrate Christmas (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C105272%2C00.html), legal attacks on the public celebration of Christmas continue to accelerate, as evidenced in public schools, in the workplace and on public property. It appears that many of those who have religious beliefs contrary to Christianity -- even atheistic-religious beliefs -- feel that their beliefs are somehow above those who hold to Biblical Christian beliefs. But, the fact is that there is no such thing as a non-religious belief about God, since that becomes a religious belief by definition, and even the US Supreme Court has recognized the fact. .  No, we...

Christmas has been a special time of the year for as long as I remember. People were nicer. Things slowed down a bit so ordinary folks could enjoy the Christmas Season. We had very little when I was growing up. One year when things were especially tight my mother and I walked six blocks on Christmas Eve to purchase a Christmas tree for the two dollars we could afford. I didn’t mind as long as I could open that magical box which contained all of the ornaments, some pre-dating World War I. As little as we had, we always shared...

Once Upon a Time When America Had Christmas by Rabbi Aryeh SperoIt’s December 2030, and I’m shopping with my grandson in a mall in Northern Virginia. We’ve purchased a gift for a relative. “Gift wrap?” inquired the clerk. “Yes, thanks.” “Happy Chanukah, Merry Kwanzaa, or Eid Greetings?” I frowned. The clerk whispered, “Listen, I think there may still be a few rolls of Christmas wrap in the back if you want…” My grandson looked up at me and asked, “Why is the man whispering, Grandpa?” The clerk leaned over the counter: “The store’s Diversity Regulations stipulate that we’re no longer...

Catholic League Denounces Cal State Dept. Head's Holiday Décor Ban(AgapePress) - The Catholic League is criticizing an administrator at California State University - Sacramento who informed her department that decorations for holidays such as Christmas and the Fourth of July are now banned from the office because they "represent discrimination" and "ethnic insensitivity."The Catholic League recently obtained the memo sent out by the school's Director of the Office of Services to Students With Disabilities, Patricia Sonntag. Sacramento State verified that the holiday decorating ban exists in Sonntag's department; however, the university called her memo "well intentioned, but misguided."But Kiera McCaffrey,...