Religion
Related: About this forumCelebrate religious--and personal--freedom
Date published: 1/6/2014
Matt Jordan
Mr. Jordan is media representative for FredCoR.
Once again, the Fredericksburg Coalition of Reason will march in the Jan. 12 Religious Freedom event sponsored by Knights of Columbus.
Respect for the rights of all people to make their own decisions regarding whether or not to worship a deity is every bit as important as all other rights in the Constitution. That some may reject the notion of a spirit world should not hinder the free exercise of those who embrace it, and vice versa.
As in each previous year we have marched, we have requested (not demanded) representation at the ceremony at the Religious Freedom Monument. We consider ourselves guests of the Knights.
This year, the request carried more meaning as we have an invited guest in town for the occasion. A leading advocate of religious freedom, the Rev. Barry Lynn, has agreed to speak.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2014/012014/01062014/813156
http://unitedcor.org/fredericksburg/page/home
longship
(40,416 posts)BTW, Barry Lynn is a UCC pastor.
R&K
rug
(82,333 posts)longship
(40,416 posts)Lynn is such a calm, reasonable guy, but I've seen him take on some real fire breathers. His demeanor totally disarms them. The guy's great.
Probably the best is the creationist debate set up by William F. Buckley on Firing Line. It had Philip Johnson, David Berlinski, Michael Behe, and Buckley on the creationism side and Kenneth Miller, Eugenie Scott, Michael Ruse, and Barry Lynn on the evolution side. It's nice to see Lynn in action along with the biologists, Scott and Miller, and philosopher, Ruse.
It's an interesting thing to watch:
cbayer
(146,218 posts)The event appears to be public. The is an invocation, a couple of speakers and the mayor doing something official.
cbayer
(146,218 posts)The group was approved because the event is a celebration of religious freedom, which includes the freedom not to be religious.
Religious freedom, said William McCarthy, immediate past deputy of the Knights of Columbus State Council, is what its all about.