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Atheists cry foul over Pismo Beach City Council’s Christian invocations

July 2, 2012

Pismo Beach’s City Council may find itself in court if it continues to allow Christian laden invocations to lead its supposed secular meetings.

Members of Atheists United of San Luis Obispo have repeatedly asked the Pismo Beach City Council to stop allowing openly Christian invocations at its meetings. They note that while invocations at public meetings can refer to a God, they are not permitted to include explicit references to any religion including Christianity.

However, Dr. Paul Jones, who regularly gives the city council’s invocations, has made references to “the baby that was born so long ago in Bethlehem’s manger” and calls upon “Christ our Lord.”

Jones has also stated in several of his invocations that civic order is dependent on religious faith.

In a May 15 letter to the council, local atheists argue that the invocations are not only “inherently dismissive of non-religious persons,” but also violate the law.

“Atheists United of San Luis Obispo remains hopeful that an acceptable resolution can be reached with the city of Pismo Beach, but is considering further action should the city continue to be unresponsive,” the group said today in a press release.


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Simple issue


Every member of every different faith community including those communities that are based on logic or skepticism are free to believe what they individually wish to believe. To impose those beliefs on anyone in the secular society is not their right. The Christian who thinks it appropriate to proselytize at a public secular meeting is clearly trying to cram his / her beliefs down others gullets.


Freedom of Religion is also Freedom from Religion


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Is that even coherent? I can never tell.


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Thank god for Charles Darwin.


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This is a very simple issue. The government is in violation of the law. They must comply with the law or face a penalty, just like the rest of us. If you don’t like the law, work to get it changed.


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Roger,


The alleged trolls, and to use your disparaging term, “wack jobs’, at least engage within the topic at hand. What do you do? Make a “run-by inane statement” and run back to your hiding place never to be heard from again.


I’ll take the alleged trolls and wack jobs that have the wherewithal to engage, over an individual that runs from discussion like you. Isn’t there a forum for you that only lets the person post only once? If not, you should start one in your behalf. You’ll feel quite at home there, wouldn’t you?


Good day.


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Nice to see a few quality new comers welcomed whole heartedly by the trolls and wack jobs that first came her from outside to protest Diablo.


Is that over the top, I can never tell?


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The invocation by a ‘minister’ at the Pismo Beach council meetings is just another example of how this SLO community has been changing. With the influx of Central Valley religious hypocrites, the effects of one sided religion is showing itself all over the place. There has been an influx of ‘Christian’ blind date groups advertised on tv, many more ads for religious services on tv, and if you haven’t checked your library lately, please notice all of the religious ‘ fiction of faith’ appearing on the shelves in a prominent place.


(I call hypocrites

that religious family from the Central Valley which comes to Los Osos every year (where fireworks are explicitly NOT allowed) over the 4th of July, puts up at least 50 flags of all sizes on the front lawn and house, and then shoots off fireworks in the driveway and the back yard) They will leave early Sunday a.m. to attend church services in the Central Valley. Like other republicans and many in the religious community, they obey the laws (both by the church and government) that they themselves think are alright. and ignore those that they don’t like.)


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THANK YOU ! Valleybear, I was blown away by this new bunch and couldn’t figure who…. or what, is more like it, had decended upon us.

I walked right into the middle of ’em. The Valley will eat you alive after awhile apparently.

Religion strikes again. The negative aspect of it anyway.


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You know what? !@#$%^&*() the members of Atheists United of San Luis Obispo! They can take THEIR religion (atheism) and ram it!


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Crusader,


SILENCE! For the Christian God’s sake, quit making us true Christians look inept! We have enough trouble explaining our dogma without individuals like you putting us further into a bad light.


Get this into your head; atheism is NOT a religion! Atheism is simply the absence and acceptance of religious belief. An atheist requires no rituals or bible to follow, which is the foundation of religion, that makes them a hypocrite at times, like what continuously happens to us Christians ad infinitum.


There is an old adage that the hell bound atheists like to use; “if atheism is a religion, then not playing baseball is a sport” Get it?


The hell bound Atheist promotes science, reason and reality. We Christians promote our “faith card” in that our Christian God, and especially Jesus, actually exists without absolutely any documented written history of them within their actual lifetime. Comprende?


Now, quit making us Christians look like fools!


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Ted, thank you for your numerous posts. They are highly entertaining. I’m especially enamored of your firm disavowal of reality in the comment above. That says it all!


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Whatever happened to that “pray-in-a-closet” recommendation in Mathew 6-6, KJV?


Or is that considered old-school now?


Mathew 6-6, King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.


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Mary Malone,


Dear, I’ve already addressed this concept of prayer behind closed doors below. At this point, it has fallen upon deaf ears. No, it is NOT old school as I have enlightened the flock regarding that Jesus did not come to destroy the Mosaic Laws, but to fulfill them.


The only thing that the pseudo-christian faction can do upon this godlly commanded topic, is to click on the “dislike” button and run from my post. Watch, they’ll do the same with yours.


Why in the hell are you using the Cambridge Edition Bible?! Did you lose a bet? It’s the King James 1611 bible or nothing! Tsk, tsk.


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Thank you for having brought the “pray-in-the-closet-WILL-YA!?!” verse previously. I will be more diligent in my search for it.


Re: the quote….I chose the version that was closest to what I learned in Sunday School. That would be the King James 1984 version.


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The KJV (particularly the 1611 version) sucks in terms of accuracy. Give the RSV a try.


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Crusader,


The Revised Standard Version? Are you kidding?! Wait, let me compose myself after laughing profusely ……….


…….. okay, I am composed now. Your RSV bible is corrupted by Satan! How ungodly can you get since the RSV has total agreement with the Roman Catholic and Jehovah’s Witness Bible. This is because the RSV is based upon the same “corrupted manuscripts” that they are based on and that includes ALL the other modern versions!


The only version which does not agree with these apostate versions is the King James Bible, which leaves nothing out. If you use the RSV, you are using an apostate version and apostate versions are not blessed of the Lord.


As just one example of the RSV Satanically and blatantly contradicting the King James Bible, to wit;


Matthew 5:44

KJB: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;


RSV: But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,


Do you see how corrupt the RSV is and how “watered down” this passage is compared to the KJV?! Do you see the ramifications of using the RSV when we have inspired passages from our God that states herewith: “For the time will come when men will not put up with SOUND DOCTRINE. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3)


“Sound doctrine” relates to the closest words of our God that were given in an English printed version, KJV, subsequent to the Greek and Aramic transcripts


I will pray for you tonight in the hopes that upon your Judgment Day, you’ll not here the trap doors to Hell springing open in your behalf!


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