In Texas, Nativity Scenes Are Illegally Popping Up in Front of a Couple Courthouses

… and every single president we’ve ever had — have said they worship Jesus.

Except for Jefferson. 😉

You must be joking. That’s EXACTLY what it’s doing.

it’s not as if it’s affecting governance or anything.

Public lands are owned by everyone, not just Christians.  As stated (okay, I’ve paraphrased it) in the US Constitution the State, and its agents, have no business endorsing one particular faith over another.  If a Nativity is going to go up on public lands then the State must allow any and all other forms of Religious expression on public lands in order to remain neutral and avoid the appearance of endorsing one Religion over another.

Unfortunately many State Agents will utilize public resources to keep the Nativity as the ONLY display possible on public lands, land owned by all citizens (even the non-Christian ones), and be in violation of their very own laws; often the courts must force them to obey the law after an obscene amount of precious public funds have been wasted in defence of the indefensible.

No one is saying that the Nativity has to be taken down only that its display on public lands owned by all citizens, which again includes non-Christians, is not the right place for it.  There are plenty of church lands available, owned by Christians, for the display of the Nativity.

This whole mess affects governance because State Agents are wasting public resources in an effort to have their own personal Religious views take precedence when, legally, they have no business doing so.  Honestly, its not that hard really.  Religion and the State don’t mix, shouldn’t mix, and must never mix because its the only way to ensure the Religious Freedom as guaranteed in the Constitution.

I think that’s what exhausts me most about these people:  They seem completely blind to the fact that the whole “separation of church and state” thing protects THEM too.  It ensures that they don’t wind up oppressed by an official religion which doesn’t happen to match theirs.

I’m all for a pluralistic society, but why not put a nativity scene up on the church lawn? That’s legal and allows for plenty of diversity. Instead, Christians want a privileged showcase to display their religion–and only their religion. They want to seize courthouse property to further advertise their religion, they want to seize government resources to plaster their message on license plates, they want to stamp their religion on our currency, our motto, our history, our education. Their dominionism won’t stop until their Borg-like tendencies have converted everyone.

Texas. It really does seem that it is always Texas. And here is the rub; Texans are the ones who always scream the loudest ’bout following them durn laws, and how their state is the most lawsiest and most ballsiest when it comes to enforcin’ them laws….Except when those laws tell them to keep their myths to themselves, then it is all about defying them for a “greater good”.

Fuck Texas. Give it back to Mexico, seal the borders and let them implode.

This just gets into my craw and festers.

How dare they break the law with seeming impunity.

I think it’s time for Christians to insist on having their baby Jesi on private grounds– in this way they don’t have to worry about sharing their religious symbols with competing points of view. Problem solved! 

The December 25th “birthday” for Jesus was decided on more 300 years after his purported death… and it has nothing to do with anything in the bible (which seems to suggest a spring birth.) 

A baby Jesus on public grounds makes it appear that the December 25th birth date is historical rather than made up long after the fact.  Manger scenes on courthouse grounds seem unnecessarily provocative at a time of year when Christians wish to imagine themselves as charitable and inclusive.  One wonders what they think they are achieving? (Are they unfamiliar with the biblical passage about praying in the closet?) 

Until the Christians encourage their spokespeople to keep their religious paraphernalia in the appropriate places, I hope lots of other viewpoints ask for the same privileges Christians demand for themselves. I rather like the the FFRF’s alternative manger scene as well as festive flying spaghetti monsters. I’m into Christmas trees (pagan in origin) and lights and candy canes too. It’s festive and fun!     

5,000 Texans came out to support the further establishment of a state-run religion. If they get their way, that same 5,000 will be very unhappy with the result. They’ll be showing up at the courthouse again but in smaller factions, protesting one government-mandated dogma instead of some other government-mandated dogma.

But by then it will be too late for protests. The Constitution, that dusty old paper they never understood but always resented, will have been taken out of the National Archives and ceremoniously burned. With the authority of the Almighty now solidly behind them, the well-manned and well-armed Department of True Religion will simply order them to disperse or be rounded up and sent to “faith rehabilitation” camps.

What a beautiful “Christian Nation” it will be.

What seems to me that needs to be done is this:

A citizens group needs to go to the nativity scenes on public land and physically remove them. If and when the “police” show up, a citizen’s group needs to be there with video cameras and every monitoring resource available. When the police try to arrest the people taking down the nativity, citizen arrests need to be made to the police.

Make it a huge fucking deal. The police are enforcing illegal laws, which mean they would be assaulting those enforcing the law (the citizens taking down the nativity).

Make it a HUGE shitstorm. Citizen arrest the cops. Make it such that the courts and federal marshals have no choice but to step in. I guarantee this would bring this illegal activity to an end. Cops would be arrested by citizens more informed of the law than they, and the lawsuits would take money from the state or munis.

Who could organize it? This is not written in jest. Make it happen!

 have you even bothered to think about how exactly citizens are going to arrest the POLICE?

I am not saying it would go peacefully, but legally, if a police officer tries to arrest someone on trumped up or false “law” the officer is guilty of false arrest and assault. Legally, a citizen’s arrest could be issued. What would happen would be a huge shitstorm and chaos, but it would truly show these fuckers we can push back, legally.

News like this always gives my stomach an unhappy flip-flop.  I’m not even going to focus on the various levels of wrong. I’ll simply state, that it is quite a pity that they can show up in force for something like this, and yet not put that effort towards improving the world around them for the better. If every one of these people had simply volunteered that day for a real cause… *sigh*ahh it makes me a bit sad for humanity. I don’t even know if I want to dwell on it. 

keep state and church separate and respect the constitution.

This.  Having agreed though we need to be careful about this one. I’m not sure it’s the battle to pick. The problem is that none of us really care to have our own “display” beside the manger because we don’t have anything really to display. It’s almost as if we have to wait on another religion to try to put up a display and fail. Of course there is always the spaghetti monster.

Except for Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison,  Monroe, John Quincy Adams &, some historians say, Andrew Jackson.

We are supposed to love one another & not to judge one another. But are judging  christians.  May God forgive you, because i have.

I agree and they would find a way to turn it around on them. Assaulting an officer maybe? It would be a mess and just cause bad publicity

Goodson says it how it is.