By Jessica Ferri | Healthy Living
A federal judge in Santa Monica ruled on Monday against a church group’s right to reopen a nativity scene display in a public park.
The ruling comes after a contentious battle between the church group and one prominent atheist in the area, Damon Vix. Just last year, Vix put up a banner with images of Santa Claus, Jesus, King Triton and the Devil that asked “what myths do you see?” right next to the church group’s nativity display. The large nativity display, which depicts 14 religious scenes, and Vix’s banner, were located in a public city park, not on the private grounds of the church.
The argument between the church group and the atheists last year resulted in a great deal of vandalism and upheaval in the community. This year, anticipating the same result, the city of Santa Monica barred both the church group and the secular groups from displaying anything at all.
In suing the city, the church had hoped to argue to the court that it should have the right to display in the park as part of its first amendment rights. The judge, however, solved the problem by ruling that any kind of unmanned display in the park is illegal, religious or otherwise.
Group Sues Over Calif. Nativity Display
‘It’s a sad, sad commentary on the attitudes of the day that a nearly 60-year-old Christmas tradition is now having to hunt for a home, something like our savior had to hunt for a place to be born because the world was not interested,” said Hunter Jameson, the head of the nonprofit Santa Monica Nativity Scene Committee in an interview with the Daily Mail.
Vix’s display.The argument between the church and Vix goes back nearly three years, when Vix placed a banner next to a booth in Palisades Park belonging to the church that depicted Jesus’ birth. The banner read: ‘Religions are all alike-founded on fables and mythologies,’ a quote from Thomas Jefferson. ( NOTE: This is a bold faced lie. There is no evidence that Jefferson or any other founding Father ever said this. What is all too common today, is for radical Nihilists to make up quotes and start these rumors in order to gain popularity for their quotes while simultaneously throwing our founders under the bus. This quote has also been blamed on Madison- Another falsehood. To the contrary, here is a letter from James Madison concerning religion:
Madison Letter to Bradford, September 25, 1773
William Bradford, having decided not to pursue the ministry as a career, wrote James Madison asking his advice on the choice between law, medicine, and merchandising. Madison’s response expressed disappointment in Bradford’s decision not to pursue the ministry, yet he remained supportive of any choice his friend would make. The advice that follows is an expression of humility and devotion to Christ. Madison seems to say that too often men in positions of great public influence fail to follow Christ in their public lives. According to Madison, no stronger testimony of Christ can be born than for those who have acquired much reputation and wealth to publicly declare their devotion to the cause of Christ.
RJ&L Religious Institutions Group
TO WILLIAM BRADFORD
September 25, 1773
I cannot however suppress [this] much of my advice on that head that you would always keep the Ministry obliquely in View whatever your profession be. This will lead you to cultivate an acquaintance occasionally with the most sublime of all Sciences and will qualify you for a change of public character if you should hereafter desire it. I have sometimes thought there could be no stronger testimony in favor of Religion or against temporal Enjoyments even the most rational and manly than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent Advocates in the cause of Christ, & I wish you may give in your Evidence in this way. Such instances have seldom occurred, therefore they would be more striking and would be instead of a “Cloud of Witnesses.”
Letter from James Madison to William Bradford, Jr. (September 25, 1773), in 1 Papers of James Madison, at 96 (Robert A. Rutland and William M. E. Rachal eds., 1973).
http://churchstatelaw.com/historicalmaterials/8_7_1.asp )
The other side read ‘Happy Solstice.’
http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/christmas-canceled-santa-monica-park-205100437.html
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