The mayor of Lancaster is being criticized for urging residents in his high desert town to help "grow a Christian community."While living in a Christian community might have its advantages, I'm not in favor of laws like this that not only fail a constitutionality test, but are unnecessarily divisive. Every community has a wide range of religious (or even anti-religious) interests and all get a seat at the table. We see that every year in my town with the holiday displays from a variety of local religious groups and I'm sure in Lancaster there are a lot of fine citizens who don't share the mayor's religious beliefs.
Mayor R. Rex Parris made the remarks at the end of his annual State of the City address last week.
He urged residents to support a city ballot measure that would authorize daily prayers invoking a specific diety, such as Jesus, at city council meetings. Parris explained that anyone who leads a prayer in a city meeting should be able to invoke any diety he or she chooses.
In his speech, Parris said 'we are growing a Christian community and don't let anybody shy away from that."
The Greater Los Angeles area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has denounced the comments. The chapter says it plans to file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Justice Department.
Executive Director Hussam Ayloush says elected officials shouldn't be using their public positions to impose their religious beliefs.
According to legal experts, such a law as proposed by Parris would conflict with established constitutional law which bans excessive entanglement with religion by governments in the United States.
Parris expressed surprise that some religious leaders object to prayers to Jesus at city meetings, and blamed opposition on activists who "want ... a fight," according to a report in the Antelope Valley Press. "They want their 15 minutes of fame."
Kamal Al-Khatob, head of the Islamic Institute of the Antelope Valley, told the Daily News that the mayor's belief that Lancaster is a Christian community alienates Muslims. "This is not what America is all about. America is for everybody."
Parris told the Los Angeles Times that he had no such intentions and says he won't apologize.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Is Lancaster, CA a "Christian Community"?
The mayor would like to make it so:
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11 comments:
While I support efforts to promote a safe and welcoming environment in which to live and to do business in a city such as Lancaster, This mayor overstates his case a bit too much at times, creating unneeded controversy.
I ought to know, since Mayor Parris lives in my geographic region. I've been observing him my entire life.
The church he attends and/or is a member at, Lancaster Baptist Church, is one of those independent "Landmark" style of churches that take no prisoners, so to speak. Black and white thinking here, no shades of gray. The mayor imho takes his cues from his church on his rhetoric. To top it off, he is also a lawyer, and a locally well known one at that.
With that kind of combination for his background, I doubt this mayor will back off the rhetoric anytime soon.
I think the mayor has gone a bit to far, however,
I find it almost comical that Mr. Ayloush is so against Christians praying to the one in whom they believe in, because in a Islam community or country you can only pray to Allah. Give the muslims enough time and we here in America will find if we don't take a stand on some things Sharia Law will become the law of the land which is what the muslims want.
Herman,
I think you did not bother to read my quotes at all. When did I ever say anything about prayers?
I have no problem with my Christian brethren praying to God any time of the day. I do so many times a day and I am proud and happy to see others do so too (as long as no one imposes it on others). BTW, Allah is the name of God in Arabic. It is not a different god. Arab Christians and Jews pray to Allah too.
The issue of concern to me and many other Christians, Jews and Muslims is simply the upholding of our U.S. Constitutional requirement of separation of Church and State. Mayor Parris is not a private citizen anymore. He is a public official elected to public office serving Americans of diverse faith backgrounds. He is expected and required to uphold our Constitution. It is that simple. When he is not in office, he can call for a Christian community as much as he wants. I have no problem with that. I might even choose to take my family and live there (if I am tolerated).
Over the years, I have not had a problem with TRUE Christians. It is fanatic intolerant Christians (as well as fanatic intolerant Hindus, Muslims and Jews) that I have a problem with.
"Constitutional" or not, if you are a Christian, you must recognize that JESUS IS LORD. Sorry, but there are really no shades of grey there. I'm no Arabic expert, but I'm kinda doubting that "Allah" is Arabic for "Jesus" or Yeshua.
This Marquez woman cited in the article seemed scared off making her statements publicly in the media. Do you really think her opinion on Islam had changed... or do you think she is scared?
Hold on a minute, Mr. Ayloush. The notion that Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the "same God" is patently not true. It is a distinctly Muslim idea, not one held by either Christians or Jews.
Close but no cigar. It's true that all three faiths worship one God, that they are "monotheistic" but to derive from that premise that somehow the God they worship is the same is not borne out by an examination of their traditions, their holy books or their long histories of antagonism. Content matters.
It's like we all just arrive at the 21st century and ask "Gee, what's all the fuss?" A quaint notion if the antagonisms were over, but they aren't. Who God is, how He is known, what His characteristics are differs significantly in these three faiths. Wouldn't you agree?
Regarding your other point, the Constitution intends to create freedom of religion, though the practical matter of a person holding office and how that person relates to the community from the vantage point of his faith is complex. Obviously if we ask people to leave their religion entirely at home, only atheists would be truly qualified to run government.
Somehow that option does not protect anyone's religious freedom, though today's atheists would be more than willing to fill in the gap. Just ask them.
For Mr. Ayloush:
If someone were to pray to Allah in public, you would not object. Yet if someone were to pray in public in the name of Jesus Christ, you would call that "imposing," right?
Double standard, my friend, double standard.
If you would bother to read the proposed Lancaster City Ordinance regarding prayer at city council meetings, you will find that the giver of the prayer may choose to pray to whomever they choose to pray to. Is this not the very definition of freedom, my friend? And do not the citizens of the City of Lancaster have the right to vote for the mayor and city council, selecting who will represent their wishes, including who the council chooses to deliver such prayers?
As Ann's New Friend mentioned, the God of Islam is *not* the God of those who follow Jesus Christ. The holy books of these two faiths do *not* agree on the essentials of the faith. Any true follower of Jesus Christ with a grounding in biblical theology would say as much. Both are, however, monotheistic faiths.
Please get an education on the history of the phrase "separation of church and state." Your understanding of the term is nowhere near the historical reality. Hint: the term is nowhere in the United States Constitution. . . it is a term written by Thomas Jefferson in a private letter to the Danbury Baptists.
It may come as a shock to you sir, but the historical reality of this country, the United States of America, was that the Christian faith informed and influenced the lawmakers and officials of this country. There was no "imposing" as you would say. This was the accepted ethos of the age in days gone by. Free and fair discussion, then agreement. We call that FREEDOM.
Mayor Parris is as free to state his beliefs in a public place as anyone, including you. He is not compelled by the US Constitution to check his beliefs at the door when he is acting in the role of a publicly elected official.
Mr. Ayloush, you would be "tolerated" (your term) in our Valley just fine. Witness Mr. Al-Khatib. He lives here just fine. True, committed Christ followers such as myself work to promote true tolerance and understanding of others, letting others believe what they choose to believe, and letting others worship who they choose to worship without retribution or malice. Can you honestly say the same?
I tend to agree with the post that states that a publicly elected official should be upholding our U.S. Constitutional requirement of separation of Church and State. Mayor Parris is not a private citizen anymore. He is a public official elected to public office serving Americans of diverse faith backgrounds. He is expected and required to uphold our Constitution. It is that simple.
So much to respond to, too little time... :)
I will try.
As for "Allah" or "God" being different. I invite you to contact any Arab Christian, and there are millions of them in America, and ask them who do they worship? Ask whose name is mentioned in the Arabic Bible? Ask them the name of the deity worshiped by Christians in the land of birth of Christianity, the Middle East. Christians in the Middle East worshiped Allah, many centuries before Islam started in Arabia.
Read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allah
As for the prayer discussion. I never commented on this issue. As a person of strong faith, as long as all faith groups can worship freely, I have no problem whatsoever. I have given invocations many times at political and public events and have been part of many events where other faith representatives offered their prayer.
As long as no one tries to exclude others from having the same rights and access at/to a government or public venue, I am all in support for more mention of God. My preference is for prayers and invocations that are inclusive.
As for the separation of church and state. I stand by my strong position that no government official or entity should be in the business of promoting or favoring any one specific religion from their official position as an elected public official. We are a secular and pluralistic nation whose Constitution respects the practice of religion (or lack of it for those who choose to). Pastors, Imams, Rabbis, churches, and all private citizens are welcome to work on building any religious community that they wish. (more power to them!)
But I do not agree with any mayor or president using their public/elected office to build a Muslim community nor any other religious community.
How would residents and citizens of other faiths feel? What's next? Can every mayor use his/her position now to work on building sectarian and religious communities across America? For those who support this mayor's speech, are you OK for a congress person in Utah or one from Minnesota to use their office to build a Mormon or Muslim community, respectively?
Being pro-Constitution is not equivalent to being anti-religion, anti-Muslim or anti-Christian.
America's historic success in avoiding Europe and Asia's religious conflicts has been based on our ability to uphold the Constitutional separation of church and state.
Anyway, thank you all for an interesting discussion. I always appreciate and enjoy a good and civil exchange of views. (Although I noticed several people "responding" to matters and issues I never discussed in the first place)
I forgot to say:
Feel free to learn more about what i stand for:
www.hussamayloush.blogspot.com
I cannot improve upon underdog's beautiful commentary. Only I will say this to correct Mr. Ayloush's error: I do not have to consult his example of Christianity, I can consult my own faith. Christianity is a personal faith in God. It is not something that Mr. Ayloush's examples can define, it is instead what we who are believers believe.
I am distraught over our mayor's statements and that he also said any organizations that dispute him are terrorists with ties to the Middle East and israel. Wha?
The bottom line is for ANY community: governments should not be in the business of proclaiming what religious groups of people should rule in the community.
Where does a non-Christian belong?
Let's have a "safe and giving" community instead/
Karen Quesada
Lancaster CA
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