Witch Gets Burned
Posted on October 12, 2005
Via WND
A practicing witch who sought to have her prayers heard at government meetings in a Richmond, Va., suburb had no magic before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Justices rejected an appeal by Cyndi Simpson, a Wiccan priestess and member of the Broom Riders Association, who wanted to offer a generalized prayer to the “creator of the universe” in Chesterfield County, Va.
“I wasn’t going to talk about the goddess,” Simpson said previous to today’s decision. “I was going to call the elements, maybe offer up an invocation to the highest being.”Simpson had argued that Christians and members of other faiths were allowed to provide invocations before county meetings, but she was being excluded because of her pagan, polytheistic beliefs.
Wicca is regarded as a natural religion, “grounded in the earth.” Followers of its many different forms generally believe all living things, as well as stars, planets and rocks, have a spirit.
American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Rebecca Glenberg said the county “issues invitations to deliver prayers to all Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders in the country. It refuses to issue invitations to Native Americans, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Wiccans or members of any other religion.”
The ACLU helped her win in another Federal Court. Isn’t it ironic, that an organization that is usually against prayer at government events were for it in this case? Apparantely their must be exceptions to their seperation of Church and State rule. I guess its o.k. as long as the prayer isn’t Christian. In this case, certain ACLU lawyers have suggested jail. This time she lost. But at what cost did she lose? She lost because jurists found Chesterfield County had amended its policy and directed clerics to avoid any mention of Jesus Christ.
So all is fair now? Before one of the broom riders turns me into a newt, let me just say…While I have no qualms pointing out the hypocrisy of the ACLU opposing Christian prayer, and supporting Wiccan prayer…I also have no qualms in pointing out that both are legitimate freedom of expression. Excuse me if I don’t celebrate this loss for the witch, it not only was a blow to her freedom of expression, it was at the cost of Christians losing theirs too.
But don’t think the ACLU is off the hook with me. My entire point is how the ACLU has an anti-Christian agenda. While they fight for a pagan witch to pray at town meetings, they turn around and fight against Christians doing so. The witch was willing to pray to a generic, politically correct god/goddess. That in and of itself was compromising and restricting on her expression of religion. But before I get lynched, don’t think for a second that I don’t think she had an agenda too. But if we are going to tell others that if they don’t want to hear us pray in Jesus’ name, or that they can just look away from the ten commandments at the Court room, we shouldn’t say they can’t pray to their god/goddess publicly either.
Some people are not giving in:
ANDERSON - The Anderson City Council adopted a policy that apparently permits members to mention Jesus Christ’s name during opening prayers despite a federal court ruling disallowing the mention of a specific deity.
A Wiccan priestess recently won a court battle with the town of Great Falls over whether or not prayer that mentions Jesus favors one religious faith. Darla Wynne’s victory prompted the Piedmont Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to send out letters asking some councils to comply with the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling.But Anderson Mayor Richard Shirley said he wasn’t going to stop mentioning Jesus in council prayers.
“The conditions present in Great Falls, however, do not exist here and never have,” Shirley said Monday.
The council unanimously agreed to continue a practice of rotating the responsibility for offering the invocation to each council member.
“The City Council expressly states that this moment of prayer should not be viewed as an attempt to establish a religion,” the policy states. “Attendance during the prayer by a council member or the general public is not a requirement to participate in the City Council meeting.”The State.com
I think its ironic that witches are being used in a witch hunt for Christians. Everyone pray out loud to the god of their choice, thats called freedom! I’m wondering why the ACLU isn’t worried about the witch’s “invocations” offending some over-sensitive athiest. Could they be under a spell?
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“Excuse me if I don’t celebrate this loss for the witch, it not only was a blow to her freedom of expression, it was at the cost of Christians losing theirs too”…
Well said, in this world of extremes I would much rather keep my own freedoms, and allow others their freedoms too, than for no-one to have anything. We all lost here, all because of the threat power the ACLU holds. Sad, sad day.