NOTE: This is in reference to a law that has been on the books in North Dakota for many years. In the past, it banned business all on Sunday. In 1991, the law was changed to restrict business only until noon on Sunday. This is not a “new” Sunday blue law. This article is interesting…
Category: Church and State
Apple Bids Adieu to ‘Jew or not Jew?’ iPhone App in France (CNN)
EXCERPT: “Jew or not Jew?”: That is just part of the question. An iPhone app bearing this name has been yanked from Apple’s App Store in France amid threats of a lawsuit and demands for its removal. The app, still available elsewhere, pulls together a database of thousands of famous Jews – including movie stars,…
Is Christian “Just War” Just Like Jihad? (Patheos)
EXCERPT: Christian and Islamic views of warfare are closer than we have been led to believe. When it comes to questions of war and peace, is American Christianity more like Muhammad or Jesus? Since 9/11, such a question has seemed outrageous to many Americans. But perhaps the offense is grounded in some unhelpful assumptions. Here…
Theology a Hot Issue in 2012 GOP Campaign (AP)
EXCERPT: The Texas governor, now a Republican presidential candidate, held a prayer rally for tens of thousands, read from the Bible, invoked Christ and broadcast the whole event on the Web. There was no symbolic nod to other American faiths. No rabbi or Roman Catholic priest was among the evangelical speakers. It was a rare,…
Pennsylvania Debates Whether To Hunt On Sundays (Huffington Post)
EXCERPT: Two of the most influential forces in conservative lobbying are poised to go head-to-head this fall over an issue that some Pennsylvania lawmakers dread might be one of the most difficult of the session. It’s the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau vs. the National Rifle Association in a title bout over the legalization of hunting on…
Atheist Group Wants to Stop World Trade Center Cross (CNN)
EXCERPT: A group of atheists has filed a lawsuit to stop the display of the World Trade Center cross at a memorial of the 9/11 terror attacks. The “government enshrinement of the cross was an impermissible mingling of church and state,” the American Atheists say in a press statement. The group says it filed the…
Cosmic Conflict & the Future (of America)
“Sometimes momentous times are seen to be such only in hindsight. I believe we are living in such momentous times.” Sigve Tonstad
Appeals Court Lifts Ban on Texas Graduation Prayer (AP)
EXCERPT: Public prayer will be allowed at a Texas high school graduation after a federal appeals court on Friday reversed a ban won by an agnostic family that claimed ceremony traditions such as invocations were unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an emergency appeal filed by the Medina Valley Independent School District….
Tennesee Senate Approves Bill to Ban Teaching of Homosexuality in Schools (Boston Globe)
EXCERPT: A bill passed yesterday by the Tennessee Senate would forbid public school teachers and students in grades kindergarten through eight from discussing the fact that some people are gay. Opponents deride the measure as the “don’t say gay bill.” They say it is unfair to the children of gay parents and could lead to…
Church, State, and the Postal Service: The Contentious History of Sunday Mail Delivery
Between its inception in 1775 and 1912, postal employees delivered mail seven (7) days a week. In the early 1800s, religious leaders became concerned that employees were forced to work on the “Christian Sabbath,” or Sunday, and began to petition Congress to use its Article I powers to disallow Sunday delivery. This concern reached a fevered pitch in 1810 when Congress required post offices to open at least one hour on Sunday. Outraged that Congress had thus enforced Sunday desecration, religious leaders began to clamor for legislation that would outlaw Sunday operations.