Indiana Blog Review

Reformed in Indiana

via Scott Tibbs, Hoosier Preacher/Blogger Tim Blayly posts on the resignation of "Dan Reuter, the pastor of a PC(USA) church in Nashville [Indiana] who resigned after the PC(USA) abandoned sexual purity in a recent action."

The Fool on the Hill

Baron Hill, "I don't try to wear religion on my sleeve for political gain; that would be wrong."

Scott Tibbs notes some, uh, inconsistencies with that statement.

Collection Box

RiShawn Biddle says clergy asking for crime-fighting dollars need to justify their requests.

JMCC

Advance Indiana does some great original reporting on Jesus Metropolitan Community Church's town hall meeting last Thursday.

O Come All Ye Bloggers

By the way, Dan McFeely had a nice article in the Indianapolis Star this past weekend about religious blogs.

Your Attention Please

The Indianapolis Star has created  a new blog:

Indy Religion

Clergy

Fort Wayne Observed has an audio post on Rev. Michael Latham, who led the United For a Change march last week.

FWOb also points out, "that weblogs written by Lutheran Pastors who studied in Fort Wayne constitute a niche domain in the blogosphere."  No kidding?

Exodus Influx

Bil Browning takes exception to the Indianapolis Star's coverage of the upcoming Exodus International conference at Indiana Wesleyan University.

Apostasy in Afghanistan

Jane Lichtenberg reports that Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), "dropped by The [Indianapolis] Star Editorial Board office Thursday and the conversation quickly turned to the Afghan man who may face the death penalty for converting to Christianity. Pence will introduce a resolution this week urging Afghan authorities to dismiss the case against Abdul Rahman."

Hoosier Holy Places

Amy Welborn notes that the Chicago Tribune recently profiled St. Meinrad's.

via Mitch Harper

Ash Wednesday Prohibitions

No Allelujas in church and still no Jesus in the House -- the US 7th Circuit denied Speaker Bosma's request for a stay of Judge David Hamilton's order yesterday.

The Indiana Law Blog posted excerpts from the ruling and a roundup of links.

Amen!

Straight-thinking from Beth Murphy on prayer in the Statehouse:

The 100 percent fail-safe solution is to stop the public piety. We don't buy it anyway when legislators say, "Our tax-funded pensions -- oh, those are private. No peeking, please. That's between us and God. Our prayers, though, must be performed as public business and put on the record or it's Armageddon."

Heh.

Zach Wendling

Prayer issue won't go away

The Indianapolis Star printed an editorial on the House prayer issue saying:

One of the sloppier arguments raised by critics of Statehouse prayers is that Christian conservatives serving in the legislature are wasting time by continuing to debate the issue. It wasn't conservatives who brought this fuss to the forefront. Even the harshest critics should acknowledge that important questions about freedom of speech and religion have been raised. One side can't expect to start an argument, then try to shut it down when others object to their actions.

Advance Indiana replies:

It is under Speaker Bosma's short tenure as Speaker that this problem arose. He chose to invite clergy who used their prayer time to turn the House of Representatives into the "Old Time Gospel Hour," which several Christian and non-Christian lawmakers, lobbyists and citizens rightfully found to be a constitutional violation of the separation of church. It was completely within Speaker Bosma's power to take steps to avoid the lawsuit which ensued, but he instead chose a political course to ensure a legal fight. He even went so far as to have his name inserted into the titled caption for the case so that any references to the case for historical purposes would identify him individually with the case.

From Taking Down Words:

Rumor has it that House Republicans have been filming all the debate surrounding prayer in their chambers, including getting footage of the huddled mass o' Christians that kicked off the session this week with their own private Jesusfest.

Didn't God give us free will?

Pat Robertson comments on Ariel Sharon's health condition saying it was God's punishment for dividing Israel's land. Reacting are Torpor Indy and Indiana Politico.

Torpor Indy:

This is really getting old .

Indiana Politico:

This man must be stopped.

Does prayer battle distract from real problems?

Deliberate Chaos asks if the prayer battle at the Statehouse is distracting from other issues deserving prayers for guidance.

Sometimes I wonder if we fight about the silly things so that we can avoid the real issues, like those brought up by the negative history being made in our inner cities.

See this post from Random Chaos citing a thought provoking post in David Bole's Urban Semiotic about violence in our urban core:

David Boles at Urban Semiotic raises a thought provoking question that many in urban America ask:

What is happening to the urban core and why is living here making history in the wrong direction? ...

Will there ever be any sustained relief from these kinds of horrific deaths? ...

How can we stop the killings before the trigger is pulled, before the hand becomes a fist, before the knife becomes a weapon and before the first match is struck?

Gary is the "Murder Capital" for 2005.

Instead of fighting over prayer in the Statehouse and if people can say Jesus or Allah or Mother Earth or reference any specific deity, let's say some prayers asking for guidance about what we should be doing to save our people from the death at the hands of their fellow human beings.

Say a little prayer

Legislators gathered to say a prayer before the start of the Indiana House of Representatives session.

Advance Indiana comments:

Avoiding an outright defiance of Judge David Hamilton’s court order that the House refrain from allowing clergy to deliver sectarian prayers during the opening invocation, Speaker Bosma nonetheless chose to flip the finger at Hamilton. In lieu of the formal invocation, Bosma and about 20 other legislators gathered “voluntarily and informally” at the back of the chamber of the House prior to the call to order to pray in accordance with their own beliefs without “censorship” or without “coercion.”

Masson's Blog reports:

According to an article in the Indy Star the Indiana House has complied with the court's order regarding prayer. Rather than making their prayer part of the official business of the General Assembly, some of the lawmakers got together in a corner to pray. Meanwhile some folks decided to make a spectacle of themselves by chanting "Jesus" in the rotunda.

Abdul Hakim-Shabazz at Indiana Barrister writes:

Speaker Brian Bosma told the chamber the informal prayer meets with the spirit and letter of a federal ruling banning specific references to Christ or other deities. Bosma said because the prayer was done before session, by an informal group of lawmakers and in the back of the room, they kept with Judge David hamilton's order. By the way, Christ was mentioned between 3-5 times for those of you counting. He said the informal prayers will continue throughout the session.

Nation of a lot of Christians

Doug at Masson's Blog reacts to an Indianapolis Star column on prayer in the Statehouse and posits:

I think that should be stressed. The United States Government was constituted as being secular in nature, having no theocratic affiliation. The United States is not a Christian Nation. It is a nation with a lot of Christians. That is why Judge Hamilton was correct in limiting government speech.

Annoyed by 'Christianesque'

The recent battle over Statehouse prayer has inspired Doug at Masson's Blog to post some thoughts on the subject of "Christianesque" followers.

Here is a dishonest little rant that illustrates why Christianesque social conservatives annoy me. Certainly not all social conservatives are like this and certainly there are nutjobs on the left who foam at the mouth in a similar fashion. However, from all appearances, this sort of constituency has the ear of those in power who will at least try to placate them if not do their bidding.  ...

So much for rendering unto Caesar. Maybe that's what the Christianesque have in mind -- a merger of God and Caesar so all will be rendered unto GodCaesar -- which is to say, the self-anointed spokesmen for GodCaesar.

Is Jesus still welcome in Indiana?

Advance Indiana examines the battle over prayer in the Statehouse and how groups are using it to push their conservative agendas. Recently, the Indiana Family Institute sent out a fundraising letter asking if Jesus is still welcome in Indiana, reports Advance Indiana.

The use of this issue in (Indiana Family Institute President Curt) Smith’s fundraising appeal letter is further evidence that the Christian right, and its favorite ally in the General Assembly, House Speaker Brian Bosma, are continuing to fight Hamilton’s ruling for partisan, political gain as opposed to any valid religious freedom claim. The prayer issue becomes just another wedge issue to drive voter turnout and to raise money in an election year just like the group has used SJR 7, the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same sex marriages. ...

Remember, the IFI is supposed to be a non-partisan, non-profit organization, and it is subject to restrictions on its lobbying activities. As is case with Advance America and the American Family Association, Smith’s group is nothing more than a partisan special interest group. It is an outrage that taxpayers continue to subsidize their activities year after year.

Judge denies prayer motion

A judge has denied Indiana House Leader Brian Bosma's motion to reconsider his decision enjoining sectarian prayer in the House. Masson's Blog , Advance Indiana , Torpor Indy, and the Indiana Law Blog cover the story.

Doug at Masson's Blog writes:

I too have noted some willful obtuseness on the part of Speaker Bosma with respect to this matter. I expect this latest decision to be followed by more press conferences by the Speaker where he is willfully obtuse about the critical distinction between government speech (which this case addresses) and private speech (which it does not.)

Marcia Oddi at the Indiana Law Blog quotes a warning from the judge:

"If the speaker or those offering prayers seek to evade the injunction through indirect but well understood expressions of specifically Christian beliefs, the audience, the public, and the court will be able to see what is happening. In that unlikely event, the court will be able to take appropriate measures to enforce" the injunction. * * *

Torpor Indy exclaims:

Brian Bosma, you have been warned.

Advance Indiana predicts:

Bosma is now expected to proceed with an appeal to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and, if necessary, to the U.S. Supreme Court. Our hard-earned taxpayer dollars being used to foot the bill.

Intelligent Design battle fizzles

A recent Pennsylvania  federal court's decision against teaching Intelligent Design may have a group in Indiana rethinking its litigation plans, reports Abdul Hakim-Shabazz at Indiana Barrister.

The Pennsylvania federal judge's ruling that booted intelligent design out of the Dover school district has found its way to Indiana. A group that threatened to sue the Hamilton Southeastern School District (HSE) over its refusal to teach intelligent design appears to be calling it quits.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy Kwanzaa

'Tis the holiday season.  Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Merry Kwanzaa.  Let's not forget other celebrations of the season as well.

Taking Down Words reminds us that there are some who celebrate Festivus.

We're a day late, we realize, but nonetheless, let's get started with the "Airing of Grievances," and then dinner will be served.

Random Chaos takes us back into ancient times when the winter celebrations were a little more boisterous than they are today.

According to Religioustolerance.org, there was an ancient Greek celebration of Lenaea, also known as the Festival of Wild Women.

I could go for a Festival of Wild Women during this season of long nights and short days.

It sounds like fun and games until reading that the women had to sacrifice a man as part of their ritual.  "In very ancient times, a man representing the harvest god Dionysos was torn to pieces and eaten by a gang of women on this day," according to Religioustolerance.org.

I'll pass on Lenaea.

Christmas 'war' is over

Now that it's Christmas, is the "War on Christmas" over?  Torpor Indy thinks so:

War is over, if you want it
War is over now

Happy Christmas

Persecution complex?

Are pols fighting against the "foes" of Christmas suffering from a persecution complex?

Doug at Masson's Blog ponders the issue.

One of the things that is so annoying about the "look at me" grandstanding of the Christianesque is that it falsely creates the impression that Christians are mostly occupied with whining about how persecuted they are. The reality is that most Christians are humbly trying to follow the example set by Jesus and to make the world a better place. But you would never know that from the amount of ink spilt on guys like Hostettler and Bosma.

What would Jesus think?

What would Jesus think about the split in the Christian church over "gay rights?"  Masson's Blog has some thoughts on the subject that has been dominating news as debate over the Human Rights Ordinance continues in Indianapolis, see our numerous previous posts covering the issue.

From what I've read in and of the Bible, Jesus wasn't much concerned with peoples' sex lives. ... In any case, from a peace, love and understanding point of view, I think Jesus would come down on the side of homosexuals. Ditto with support of the downtrodden and oppressed. Jesus ministered to lepers and prostitutes. I just don't see him shunning homosexuals.

More from the frontlines of the 'War on Christmas'

Liberal Indiana reprints a modern day Christmas poem read on the floor of Congress by Michigan's John Dingell.

We can pretend that Christmas is under attack
Hold a vote to save it— then pat ourselves on the back;
Silent Night, First Noel, Away in the Manger
Wake up Congress, they’re in no danger!

Meanwhile, Northwest Indiana Filipino-Americans held a Christmas celebration in Dyer, Indiana, reports Deliberate Chaos.

Angels gather around baby Jesus at a nativity scene.

Update: Paula at the HoliBlog of Holiday World weighs in on the perennial point-counterpoint of the Christmas debate.

Children understand Christmas. They know it's about believing. It's about sharing and loving and giving from the heart. ...

It should be celebrated by all who wish to recapture the belief and hope of a small and trusting child.

Lovers, not haters

There's no "War on Christmas," opines Liberal Indiana.

Christmas is a time of giving, receiving, reflecting, and rejoicing for all people. While the name Christmas is from the Christian tradition, it is a holiday that trancends the boundaries of religion.

So, the next time someone wishes you the happiest of holidays, don’t assume they’re Christmas-haters.

Prayer warrior

House Speaker Brian Bosma (R) plans to challenge the federal court decision against sectarian prayer in the Indiana House.  Taking Down Words and Advance Indiana, Belicove.com and the Indiana Law Blog are following the developments.

Writes TDW:

B-Boz is back, and he's angrier than ever about federal judge David Hamilton's declaration that the House chambers be free of religious oppression. But at least he's being sensible about what will happen if the issue isn't resolved by the beginning of the session next year ...

War on Christmas

The so-called "War on Christmas" is getting a lot of attention on Indiana blogs.  Weighing in are In the Agora, Masson's Blog, Entropy Manor, and Deliberate Chaos.

'Happy Holidays' offensive?

Entropy Manor writes about the trend toward replacing Merry Christmas with Happy Holidays:

I have had enough of this genericization of everything to avoid giving offense. For the architects of this trend toward the generic, I have but two words to say:

Merry Christmas