Baptist Pastor Taken To Task
Popular radio and television commentator Glenn Beck wrapped up the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, Sunday in a wave of anti-Mormonism comments lodged towards GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
The weekend gathering of conservatives provided GOP presidential candidates a platform to present their ideas. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas, was asked by Summit sponsor Family Research Council to introduce Texas Governor Rick Perry. But the Texas pastor captured more headlines than the candidates themselves when, during an interview after the introduction, described Mormonism is a "cult" and said presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is "not a Christian."
Beck, founder of Glenn Beck TV, delivered a 39-minute speech at the conclusion of the event. In a tearful moment, he defended his Mormon faith as he referred to Pastor Jeffress' remarks.
"People have come onto this stage and been for and against, I guess, members of my faith," Beck stated. "I celebrate their right to say those things in America. I am a proud member of the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior -- he redeemed me."
In earlier remarks, William Bennett, who served as Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, also responded to Jeffress' comments, saying the pastor had overshadowed the speeches of Rick Perry and all the GOP candidates who spoke at the conference.
"Do not give voice to bigotry," said Bennett. "And I would say to Pastor Jeffress, you stepped on and obscured the words of Perry and [Rick] Santorum and [Herman] Cain and [Michele] Bachmann and everyone else who has spoken here. You did Rick Perry no good, sir, in what you had to say." -Read More At One News Now
Popular radio and television commentator Glenn Beck wrapped up the Values Voter Summit in Washington, DC, Sunday in a wave of anti-Mormonism comments lodged towards GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
The weekend gathering of conservatives provided GOP presidential candidates a platform to present their ideas. Robert Jeffress, pastor of the First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas, was asked by Summit sponsor Family Research Council to introduce Texas Governor Rick Perry. But the Texas pastor captured more headlines than the candidates themselves when, during an interview after the introduction, described Mormonism is a "cult" and said presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is "not a Christian."
Beck, founder of Glenn Beck TV, delivered a 39-minute speech at the conclusion of the event. In a tearful moment, he defended his Mormon faith as he referred to Pastor Jeffress' remarks.
"People have come onto this stage and been for and against, I guess, members of my faith," Beck stated. "I celebrate their right to say those things in America. I am a proud member of the church of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior -- he redeemed me."
In earlier remarks, William Bennett, who served as Secretary of Education under President Ronald Reagan, also responded to Jeffress' comments, saying the pastor had overshadowed the speeches of Rick Perry and all the GOP candidates who spoke at the conference.
"Do not give voice to bigotry," said Bennett. "And I would say to Pastor Jeffress, you stepped on and obscured the words of Perry and [Rick] Santorum and [Herman] Cain and [Michele] Bachmann and everyone else who has spoken here. You did Rick Perry no good, sir, in what you had to say." -Read More At One News Now
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Supreme Court Still Fuzzy On 10 Commandments
The Supreme Court won't resolve a conflict over a Ten Commandments display in the courtroom of Richland County, Ohio Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese.
Geoffrey Surtees of the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), who represented Judge DeWeese, contends that the "'Philosophies of Law and Conflict' display, which includes the text of the Ten Commandments, is simply not an Establishment Clause violation. It was our hope that the Supreme Court would take the opportunity [to] correct the lower courts on this point of law, but for whatever reason, it chose not to do so."
The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati previously ruled that the display endorsed religious views and was unconstitutional, and appeals judges have rejected DeWeese's contention that the display was a private, religious expression protected by the Constitution.
The display has been covered with a drape and labeled "censored" since a federal judge ordered DeWeese to remove it in October 2009. He admits he knew getting the Supreme Court to hear his case was a long shot. But Surtees points out that the high court's refusal to do so does not necessarily mean that DeWeese is wrong. As he notes, the myriad of different decisions in federal appeals courts has caused confusion in Ten Commandments cases.
"In 2005, the United States Supreme Court on the very same day gave us two different decisions: one upholding a Ten Commandments display, and the other striking down a Ten Commandments display," The ACLJ attorney notes. "So the Supreme Court has just not given us any clear guidelines as to what it thinks to be constitutional and unconstitutional for a government to do when it comes to displaying the Ten Commandments."
In fact, Surtees took DeWeese's case to the Supreme Court in hopes of ending the confusion over the constitutional "do's and don't's" when it comes to displaying the Ten Commandments. –One News Now
The Supreme Court won't resolve a conflict over a Ten Commandments display in the courtroom of Richland County, Ohio Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese.
Geoffrey Surtees of the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), who represented Judge DeWeese, contends that the "'Philosophies of Law and Conflict' display, which includes the text of the Ten Commandments, is simply not an Establishment Clause violation. It was our hope that the Supreme Court would take the opportunity [to] correct the lower courts on this point of law, but for whatever reason, it chose not to do so."
The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati previously ruled that the display endorsed religious views and was unconstitutional, and appeals judges have rejected DeWeese's contention that the display was a private, religious expression protected by the Constitution.
The display has been covered with a drape and labeled "censored" since a federal judge ordered DeWeese to remove it in October 2009. He admits he knew getting the Supreme Court to hear his case was a long shot. But Surtees points out that the high court's refusal to do so does not necessarily mean that DeWeese is wrong. As he notes, the myriad of different decisions in federal appeals courts has caused confusion in Ten Commandments cases.
"In 2005, the United States Supreme Court on the very same day gave us two different decisions: one upholding a Ten Commandments display, and the other striking down a Ten Commandments display," The ACLJ attorney notes. "So the Supreme Court has just not given us any clear guidelines as to what it thinks to be constitutional and unconstitutional for a government to do when it comes to displaying the Ten Commandments."
In fact, Surtees took DeWeese's case to the Supreme Court in hopes of ending the confusion over the constitutional "do's and don't's" when it comes to displaying the Ten Commandments. –One News Now
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