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Freethought Association of West Michigan
We had a report of our third quarter finances; with expenses limited to postage/mailing and the PO Box rental.
In our bulletin, there was a reprinted article from People For the American Way, (Nov. 8, '99), about tv preacher Pat Robertson's call, on his 700 Club program, to "throw off the shackles" of the courts. He feels that the Supreme Court decisions that uphold our freedoms, but do not create the theocracy he craves, dominates our lives, and it's time to take our country back.
November 12-14, Bishop Shelby Spong, controversial author of the book Why Christianity Must Change or Die, spoke at Christ Community Church on themes such as "A God beyond Theism," and "A Christ Beyond the Image of a Rescuing Sacrifice."
On December 8, @ the Wyoming Public Library, we will feature the discussion topic: "The Science & Ethics of Human Cloning." This will be moderated by Paul Huizenga, who teaches biomedical ethics @ GVSU and presented a recent paper to the National Association of Science Teachers Convention on this topic.
Our WINTER SOLSTICE PARTY will be on December 22 @ 6:30PM at Yen Ching restaurant downtown; 57 Monroe Center. Cost is 12.5/person, includes egg roll, soup, entree & tea, cash bar. Please RSVP- by contacting Jeff- faowm@aol.com.
Our first meeting of the new year (for those of us remaining after the Rapture -heh) will be "Women in Freethought, Part II." Part one was a lively discussion, moderated by Lanette Grate. Barb Neumann will moderate this one.
**NOTE: There will be NO MEETING in the second half of this month! Our next regular mtg. will be the Dec. 8h one, mentioned above.
Gordon M. had previously volunteered to review the book God On Trial 2000; Indictment of God for Crimes Against Job by Stuart C. Goldberg; 1999, PROSCOP Press (self-published by the author). Gordon gave us an oral review and passed out copies of his printed version at the meeting. "The book of Job is examined wih every tool of logic, measure of reason, nuance of definitional equivocation, light of morality and expert commentary that is available to this ardent Prosecutor who seemingly is bucking for Supreme Court nomination. Goldberg also establishes 'priors' to construct an M.O. His job- to indict God for crimes against Job." Fom the printed copy Gordon distributed. Website for ordering or dialogue on thi: www.GodOnTrial.com. -------------------------------------------------------------- Our meeting topic was "The ACLU on Vouchers" and was moderated by Lee Weber & Charles Bearden of the West Michigan Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
They began their presenation with two items that might seem surprising to many: They are mostly comprised of non- lawyers and they consider the group to be quite conservative. They are staffed by volunteers who are passionate about conserving our civil liberties. It is the more radical notion that is subscribed to by the extreme Religious Right that seeks to undermine our Constitutional guarantees of individual rights for all groups and freedom of religion.
Contact with them is most often by letters, usually 20-30 per month; there is no waiting office staff to receive calls. These contacts are reviewed at board meetings, and if legal remedy is necessary, then these are passed along as referrals to lawyers who can then handle the cases. The local ACLU is not an enforcement group and does not take people to court.
Often the serve educationally, answering questions of whether an activity is in violation or not of the State or Federal Constitution; sometimes by people who want to make sure they are not going to violate these before engaging in some practice as well as those who think their own rights may have been violated.
Often they are able to resolve matters that come to their attention simply by citing court decisions on these matters, on ACLU letterhead paper, to the offending party. Frequently these violators are truly not aware of the laws of the matter and rectify the situation when it is brought to their attention.
The ACLU was established in 1920 and has historically worked to keep the the rights, freedoms and lawful practices of the minority from being trampled by the tyranny of the majority. A large number of those assisted by them are from "the bottom rungs of society;" those disenfranchised and discriminated against by more powerful groups and individuals.
Cases have ranged from those of mandatory drug testing & excessive force allegations to large data bases of information on citizens and Internet access/ filtering issues. In this area, perhaps not surprisingly, a large volume of the matters brought to the board are Church & State separation issues, especially in the schools. Many people regard the public schools as Christian and believe that to not teach this faith is to promote evil, usher in violence and other societal ills.
This brought us specifically to the topic of school vouchers which is really just a scheme to get public money to promote religious education. This is contrary to both the federal and the even more strict state Constitutions. The myth of this being a way to help poor families have more school choice was brought up. Basically, the same families, regardless of income, who would be sending their children to religious schools, would be assisted by vouchers. The poor "poster child" would still be precluded from involvement by higher costs in transporatation and other areas. Also these schools can discriminate on the basis of religion or other areas.
While there is the pervasive myth that the ACLU is an anti-Christian group, those who work for this organization are profoundly invested in maintaining our religious freedoms. It is difficult for some of those who are in the majority to understand that to not promote one religious sect's doctrines in public accomodations is not the same as denying the free exercise of individual religious beliefs and practices. The imposition of these on others in public settings is the problem.
It was mentioned, in this vein, that when the state gets involved in religion, the authority and control of the denomination is weakened just as freedoms from others' religious practices in the public milieu is compromised. One member said that it is a poor choice to make for religious institutions to take governmental assistance since this never comes without "strings attached."
There was talk of the potential problems that can arise when public schools are owned by corporations, such as with Charter Academies.
Gun control issues were also talked about, including the clout of the NRA and the misinterpretation of the Constitution, permitting the establishment of an armed militia. Problems emerge when the enirety of the amendment isn't read.
We talked briefly about the local situation regarding Betsy DeVos and Governor Engler re: school vouchers, where DeVos tried to not embarrass the governor t still be true to her influencial voucher- proponent husband, Richard. Engler saw this as "unwinnable" if put on the ballot now.
Representatives from the ACLU will discuss the voucher system on December 12 at Fountain Street Church in G.R.; in the Social Hall. The pro-voucher group, "Kids First" ws invited to speak as well but so far has not accepted.
Our speakers (Lee and Charles) passed out a Briefing Paper to the group regarding Church & State issues and frequently asked questions and replies.
The ACLU has stood for principles that worked against them at times, and when their position was unpopular. Sometimes the rights they uphold for all citizens give aid and comfort to those with hate-filled agendas; such as supporting the free speech and peaceful assembly rights of such groups as the Ku Klux Klan. ----------------------------------------------------------- "Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the fredom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." First Amendment in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution.
"The framers designed this amendment to guarantee religious freedom, understanding, as do most church officials today, that once government becomes involved with religion and acquires the power to promote religious beliefs, it also acquires the power to suppress them." From the ACLU Briefing Paper, #3.
Recorder: Charles LaRue
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