Jim wrote:
> True news or not, in light of the recent
> religion/morality/Darwin threads, as well as the
> religious significance this week/weekend has for
> some of us, I find myself being very grateful for
> being on a listserv and living in a country
> where I can contribute my "religious two cents,"
> and my biggest risk is being simply relegated to
> the status of another bible-thumping nut.
Two years ago an entire family of seven were burned to death in their
home in rural Missouri by the residents of the community (encouraged by
their bible-thumping minister) because they were Wiccans.
In Mississippi, a charitable group founded and operated by lesbians were
shot at, threatened, and intimidated so badly by local Christian groups
(including the ministers themselves who denounced them from their pulpits)
that they had to turn to the US government to protect their civil
rights--and were TURNED DOWN by the DOJ because gay bashing wasn't seen as
a civil rights violation even though it was being done in some cases by
local law enforcement. The purpose of the group was to distribute food and
clothing to desperately poor Mississippi families.
In Michigan a family lost custody of their children because they were
reported to have copies of "Satanic" books in their home--and when Child
Protective Services investigated they found such titles as "The Satanic
Bible," "Wiccan Festivals," and other similar materials--ALL of which are
available in any Waldenbooks or Borders Books.
Shall I continue?
I believe in religious freedom too, Jim. But freedom of religion also
must include freedom FROM religion if it is to be valid--and given cases
such as those above, blue laws, anti-gay laws, etc., the US has no
legitimate right to claim that it exists here.
You may only risk being called a "bible-thumper" because of your
religion. Those who practice religions such as Wicca that are OPPOSED by
the Christian churches, however, risk a great deal more--custody of their
children, protection from persecution, and their LIVES to name a few.
Rick
--
Rick Adams
Department of Social Sciences
Jackson Community College
Jackson, MI
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"... and the only measure of your worth and your deeds will be the love
you leave behind when you're gone. --Fred Small, Everything Possible "
