The vote numbers wound up a bit unreadable: 587 to 1,266 with undecided sitting at 10 votes. Results as of noon today look a lot better, 71,338 votes of yes to 18,309 votes for no. (79.1% vs 20.3%) And gosh, gee willikers I wonder why…

Moving to the story itself, teen student and “outspoken atheist” Jessica Ahlquist succeeded in getting a court to take her side regarding a prayer display on the wall of her school auditorium. The move has “incensed this heavily Roman Catholic city” of Cranston, Rhode Island. And that might be an understatement.

A federal judge ruled this month that the prayer’s presence at Cranston High School West was unconstitutional, concluding that it violated the principle of government neutrality in religion.

In the weeks since, residents have crowded school board meetings to demand an appeal, Jessica has received online threats and the police have escorted her at school, and Cranston, a dense city of 80,000 just south of Providence, has throbbed with raw emotion.

State Representative Peter G. Palumbo, a Democrat from Cranston, called Jessica “an evil little thing” on a popular talk radio show. Three separate florists refused to deliver her roses sent from a national atheist group. The group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has filed a complaint with the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights.

I commend her bravery. I really do. I can’t imagine I would have raised the issue had I been in her shoes. I would have put up with it, ignored it, or even more likely, never make a connection between what the wall sign represented and why it was wrong to be in a school.

The prayer, eight feet tall, is papered onto the wall in the Cranston West auditorium, near the stage. It has hung there since 1963, when a seventh grader wrote it as a sort of moral guide and that year’s graduating class presented it as a gift. It was a year after a landmark Supreme Court ruling barring organized prayer in public schools.

The sign is printed on t-shirts, too, the image of which was used in the article. Jessica was baptized Catholic but quit believing by the age of 10, she reports, and seeing that sign every day started to make her feel like she wasn’t welcome there. She wasn’t the one who raised the red flags, though, some anonymous parent “filed a complaint with the American Civil Liberties Union.” Jessica got involved in the issue once meetings were being held to discuss that. She talked at every one of them.

Last March, at a rancorous meeting that Judge Ronald R. Lagueux of United States District Court in Providence described in his ruling as resembling “a religious revival,” the school board voted 4-3 to keep the prayer. Some members said it was an important piece of the school’s history; others said it reflected secular values they held dear.

If morality, kindness, helpfulness, honesty, good sportsmanship, friendliness, and good conduct truly are “secular values” then they can certainly eliminate mention of god and still promote the message. An “important piece” of history maybe, but not something that should be hung so prominently in the school.

Does she empathize in any way with members of her community who want the prayer to stay?

“I’ve never been asked this before,” she said. A pause, and then: “It’s almost like making a child get a shot even though they don’t want to. It’s for their own good. I feel like they might see it as a very negative thing right now, but I’m defending their Constitution, too.”

Smart of her to reason it out that way. The choice might not be popular but if it’s the right choice, then it’s the one you have to go with. Tough tits, believers. Take your lumps, cry your tears, and get on with your lives the way you want to lead them, just like Jessica no doubt plans to do. Now is the time to be better Christians and turn the other cheek.

The logic of that baffles me, too. Sure, make note of the next host in some grandiose way if they want a show, but can’t they do it in a way that isn’t going to promote a religious icon? The Olympics encompass more than Catholic and Protestant athletes, after all. It’s for all creeds and nationalities (or at least the ones that have the money and/or facilities required to get athletes trained and fit enough to enter).

ArtLyst, a London art magazine, has an article about this. Turns out Brazil’s government would be forking out the money to build it. I find that interesting.

The proposal goes before Camden’s Town Hall planning department in February. The original consultancy was employed by Brazil’s tourist agency who held a public meeting to display the designs and this project was chosen as the most representational of the nation. People living in nearby Hampstead and Belsize Park have called the idea kitsch and completely out of character with the local Georgian and Victorian architecture. Some local residents have commented; “It may be quite upsetting and threatening for the non-christians and non-religious of us, out here.” But my favourite comment was; “This idea can only be described as a proposal for an outrageous act of ‘landscape holiganism’. If erected I only hope Banksy defaces it as soon as possible.”

And I add a link to Banksy’s website in case you’re as clueless as I am.

The short article then quotes a few people from the Friends of Primrose Hill committee, including chairman Malcolm Kafetz’s comments to the Camden New Journal regarding the move. He thought the location was a bad choice. For him, the statue would add nothing of worth to an area already popular because of its view and because he doesn’t think it’s representative of England or the Primrose Hill area itself. Others are willing to at least hear the proposal and find out if builders intend for the fiberglass installment to be permanent. If it’s a limited time only thing, they might let it pass.

Lib Dem councillor Chris Naylor said he wasn’t sure a 30ft statue of Christ with his arms outstretched was quite what the area needed. He added: “If they want to put something on the hill I think they need to get some more original ideas. This sounds a bit like some marketing brainstorm which hasn’t been thought through.”

Camden New Journal reported that some emails had been obtained where residents had been told to keep the proposed plan hushed up so it could be revealed later in a big media splash. Unfortunately for the planners, there were some leaks. Then again, did they actually think it’d be possible to keep something like this a secret?

Judging by the Journal article, it sounds like it’s not a definite Go anyway. The Brazilian Tourist Board and Camden-based designers See Me, Hear Me, Feel Me Ltd. have to fill out applications like anyone else, which leaves a bit of room for requests to be later denied. We shall see, I guess.

Freethinkers have a meeting this weekend so I should be able to provide more details after that.

The controversy with the statue arose when the council last fall filed for a 10-year renewal of the special-use permit for the statue to use a 25-by-25-foot plot of land. The council initially was rejected because of concerns about the statue’s religious nature violating the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause.

“It’s been there for 60 years, and it didn’t bother anybody,” Mr. Glidden said. “Now it’s bothering somebody.”

He has no idea how many people it might have bothered during those 60 years. It could have bothered dozens or even hundreds of people but none of them were in a good position to protest. As FFRF and organizations like them grow, it gets easier to fight against government-sanctioned religious displays. Easier in terms of rallying public support, at least. Winning the cases is not that easy. People think tradition is reason enough to keep pro-Judeo-Christian icons in place. Never mind how wrong it is for a secular government to promote any religion, let alone one above all others…

Nationally, the statue has seen opposition from atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation, but it has strong support from Christian groups American Center for Law and Justice and the Liberty Institute. U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., also sent a letter to forest officials in support of the statue.

“Any time you’re talking religion, you’re going to have that reaction,” said E. Wade Muehlhof, a public affairs officer at Flathead National Forest.

KOC is trying to get the statue relabeled as a historic landmark, which would make its place in the world a lot more permanent. The Forestry Service has had thousands of letters to go through that cover all sides of this issue but within the next couple weeks, they’ll be making the final decision on the statue’s future. I’ll check back.

From the Daily Mail article:

It is reminiscent of one of Christianity’s most significant relics.

But unlike the Turin shroud, this image of Jesus’ face was found on a sock among items of laundry in Kent.

And it’s a wrinkle easily shaken out, not an image painted on a piece of cloth by hucksters aiming to fleece a populace.

Sarah Crane, from Orpington, was stunned when she hung her laundry out to dry and discovered the face of Jesus staring back at her from a crumpled sock.

Miss Crane was so impressed by the clarity of the face she even built a shrine to the sock.

No offense, Miss Crane, but really? I hope that’s a bit of a joke and you’re merely pretending this is actually an important discovery. I can’t tell if the other picture presented in the article is a reenactment of her reaction to the “miracle”, or if she truly marvels over the way the fabric crinkled when it was hung to dry.

“I immediately took some pictures to show our family and friends – they all thought it was hilarious.

‘We think it’s a bit of a sign – but for what we don’t know.’

It’s a bit of a sign all right, a sign of a person desperate for a bit of media attention. No wonder she contacted the Daily Mail. I get the impression they’ll print anything, no matter how daft.

Miss Crane said she began making a shrine to the sock, but when she moved it, some of its delicate creases fell away and the image is now not as clear.

‘But you can still just about make out his face,’ she said.

Never occurred to her to buy some spray starch first, I guess. That would have set the fabric long enough for her to get it framed in a shadowbox…

‘Unfortunately, it’s not quite good enough to donate to our local church, but our friends have all been round to see it.’

Again I say, I really hope she’s joking about that. This is fun to make fun of, but I know there are people who take these kinds of “signs” seriously and if she’s not careful, she’ll wind up with pareidolia-believing tourists invading her yard, intent on getting a glimpse of the new fabric Jesus. Wouldn’t they be disappointed over such a ruse?

(via CBS Local)

The Rev. Jack Ahern of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta at St. Margaret’s church in the city’s Dorchester section says when he arrived at the church Sunday morning the statue’s head was lying on the ground in pieces and the statue had been knocked off its base.

Ahern tells The Boston Globe the statue was right next to the sidewalk and people used to touch it for inspiration as they walked past.

He says the statue is beyond repair and there has been no discussion of replacing it.

I’m sure the community will rally around and help them commission another one at some point. Quoting CBS Local, quoting the radio:

“It’s so disrespectful. There’s no respect any more,” a parishioner told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Wednesday.

“I wonder how people are raised with the lack of morals, that they would even think of doing that.”

Can’t say for sure it was done by people lacking morals. They might be people who are nice to their parents, always say please and thank you and would never rob, cheat, or lie. For all we know it was really an “act of God” that will jumpstart a cavalcade people announcing their miraculous healings just because they walked by the pieces of the thing and now claim to be cured. Then the pieces will get collected as first class relics and others with even worse morals will break up pieces of plaster to sell to people as second and third class relics at exorbitant prices and fleece the really gullible believers…

Or it was just petty vandalism by idiots who’ll brag about it on Facebook and be caught by tomorrow.

–
Edit Jan 27/12 — New article about incident with headline “Boston police seek mystery witness in beheading of Jesus statue at Dorchester church” and my very first thought was, “Finding God’s not going to help them solve this…” Well, it was funny at the time. Actual news is that police have lost track of someone who claims he or she has information and want that person to step up and tell them more.

In one of the most spectacularly mis-prioritized state budgets in recent memory, Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear (D), is suggesting over $50 million in cuts to education – while preserving $43 million in tax breaks for the Ark Encounter, a creationist amusement park centered around a life-sized Noah’s Ark. The park is sponsored by Answers In Genesis, a non-profit organization that promotes a “literalist” interpretation of the Book of Genesis while promoting an anti-evolution (and other sciences) agenda.

There are a number of reasons why this is a bad idea.

Oh my non-existent god, are there ever. The author, Alex Knapp, hit on a few. Cuts to education only work if previous work has been done to reform the system first so standards can still be met even with less funding. Apparently that’s not the case here. Plus, the park is a luxury more than it is a necessity.

in a time of austerity, surely it makes most sense to eliminate wasteful subsidies first, rather than essential public services. Especially subsidies that are of dubious value to begin with, whether its this “Ark Park” or a football stadium.

I add a link because I didn’t know what he meant. Austerity is an economics term, a policy intended for cutting spending and increasing taxes in order to decrease debt. Public services often face cuts when governments go this route and education falls under that, unfortunately.

I agree on the “dubious value” of a creationist theme park (anywhere, not just Kentucky), but I suppose Kentucky is assuming the tourism dollars will make it worthwhile? Knapp notes that the move to give them a tax break is close to crossing a line – maintaining separation of church and state. P.Z. Meyers notes that a further $11 million is going toward infrastructure: “highway improvements for the Ark Park” itself. Hopefully properties other than the Ark Park benefit from that little windfall. That cash isn’t going towards their personal driveway and parking lot, right? Right?

Quoting Friendly Atheist now because he’s so succinct:

In summary, Governor Beshear has basically used $54,000,000 of taxpayer money to help the Biblical Ark Park. And he took $50,000,000 away from the education budget.

In other words, the Governor just took away $100,000,000 that could have gone toward educating people.

There’s no real education to be found at Ark Encounter. Mythology treated as fact is
what they offer. Mythology as entertainment is one thing, and probably a fun thing, but this gets sold as if it’s more true than anything science has taught humanity about our origins and existence. Add to that a government essentially encouraging this business to continue unabated and it equals a very serious problem for the future. It’s a pity education has to take a hit just so this junk heap can stay afloat.

A Florida teenager who called 911 last week asked police to place her in a Christian children’s shelter because she “heard her mother having sex.”

Why? She felt “disrespected” by it.

The mother explained to police that she had invited her boyfriend over and “sometime during the visit, her daughter heard them having sex and became upset.” The woman added that “their bedrooms are next to each other and she didn’t intend to wake her daughter up.”

After speaking with a representative from the shelter, the teen decided that she did not want to leave her home because “it was almost time for school.”

The family admitted no sexual abuse was going on in the household but I gather that for a 15 year old, hearing one’s mother have sex might almost count as psychological abuse. Nobody wants to picture their parents’ sex life…

Q: Do you think Jesus will come again this year? I’ve heard people say that the world is going to come to an end in 2012, and I’ve wondered if maybe they have some inside knowledge about Jesus’ return. — Mrs. E.H.

Some credit to Graham for his answer, though. He reminds readers that the bible never specified a date. Then he blames interest in the Mayans for causing the whole “end is nigh” kerfluffle.

Most of the “predictions” claiming the world will come to an end in 2012 aren’t based on the Bible, but on a calendar from an ancient civilization that actually ended hundreds of years ago. Most experts deny that the calendar even says this — but if it did, why should we believe it instead of the Bible? Jesus warned, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven” (Mark 13:32).

I found an interesting article from 2010 noting research done at UC Santa Barbara about the Mayan calendar and the technique used to sync it up with our own Gregorian version. The people responsible may have gotten it wrong. Mayans excelled at astronomy, often using Venus as their point of reference, which allowed recent scholars to do the same.

Although GMT uses several sources of astronomical, archaeological and historical evidence to correlate the Long Count with our modern calendar, Aldana has cast doubt on the accuracy of some of the astronomical evidence interpreted from ancient Mayan artifacts and colonial texts.

One of the key events described by Aldana is a battle date as set by the ruler of Dos Pilas (a Maya site in the current geographical location of Guatemala). Ruler Balaj Chan K’awiil chose this date by the appearance of Chak Ek’. According to Johan Normark, researcher at the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies at Stockholm University, Chak Ek’ “used to be believed to be Venus but in another study Aldana believes it is a [meteor].”

The author of the piece explains that Gerardo Aldana estimates the “end date” might be 60 days off because of this and other discrepancies. It still doesn’t mean the world will end just because the Mayans didn’t count any higher, of course. There’s no reason to believe the bible’s selling a true upcoming world event, either. Smart of the writers at the time to not pick a definite date to throw in, though, unlike other doomsday authors.

Back to Billy:

Why is Jesus’ return important? For one thing, it gives us hope — hope that someday all the evils of our present world will come to an end, because Christ will rule in glory. It also assures us that God — not Satan — is in control, and someday (as the Lord’s Prayer says) His Kingdom will come, and His will shall be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

He then asks if people are ready to accept Jesus, so we’ll skip that part.

Hope is good, but I think action is better. There are ways we could improve the world now. We wouldn’t have to wait for some future date when someone else might sort it out. If I may pull out a Terry Pratchett quote from one of my most favourite books, Hogfather:

“the phrase ‘Someone ought to do something’ was not, by itself, a helpful one. People who used it never added the rider ‘and that someone is me’.”

Which is my point. It’s a lot easier to sit there hoping Jesus will come down and sort it all out than it is to figure out ways to fix things now and get busy fixing it. I think people who look forward to Christ’s return aren’t necessarily the best people to leave in charge of things that need doing. I think people who do what they can to improve the world even if they think Christ will take over eventually have the right idea. People who do what they can to improve the world because they know there is no savior on the way are also on the right track. It doesn’t matter if Jesus comes tomorrow or he doesn’t. We have to live here now.

Two Riverhead High School football players were suspended for a day because the school said they created a potentially dangerous situation by leading other students in a re-enactment of NFL quarterback Tim Tebow’s kneeling in prayer.

School officials said an estimated 40 students had gathered in the hallway this week to make the gesture

The principal, David Wicks, made the argument that in a school with 1500 kids, having 40 taking up space in a hallway (for what’s essentially a pointless endeavor at that) could constitute a safety hazard. If a smoke alarm had gone off and people needed to vacate in a hurry, there could have been injuries. It also made some kids late for class and had the potential to create aggressive situations.

According to their dad, the brothers who were suspended apparently weren’t told by anyone official at the school to stop the display. Superintendent Nancy Carney, on the other hand, said that the pair were insubordinate and “had been warned not to do it anymore” which makes it sound like this wasn’t the first time they got their friends together for a performance. I guess fairness could be debated. They do ask a good question – why were they penalized when the rest of their classmates got away with it? But, if they were the ringleaders, then maybe without them egging kids on, maybe nobody else would have come up with the idea and gone through with it during school hours. Out on the football field or in the yard, do whatever silly thing you want to do. In a hallway, just use it to get to class.