OK city funds 3rd attempt for public religious art

[inanna]

Source: AP

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A conservative Oklahoma City suburb with a history of trying to incorporate religious art into public spaces has approved city funds to help pay for a statue of Jesus Christ to be placed downtown for Christmas, likely leading to another court fight.

The Edmond Visual Arts Commission last month approved $3,900 to help pay for the 26-inch-tall bronze statue titled "Come Unto Me." It will be placed in front of a downtown shop called Sacred Heart Catholic Gifts.

The vote was 6-2 with one member abstaining.

Just last year, the arts commission backed down from a decision to use public funds on a $17,500 statue of Moses at Edmond's First Christian Church. After public outcry, the commission unanimously agreed to allow private donors to buy the city's stake in the statue.


Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/J/JESUS_STATUE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-10-15-05-14-26

[Judi Lynn]

1. These clowns will fight anything that stand between them and complete gratification of any and all

their personal whims. An urge, a wish is the same as a royal command in their view, as long as it's THEIRS. Laws can't matter, people can't matter if they interfere with the complete indulgence of there merest yearnings.

Hideous, vile, crude, self-absorbed, ignorant people. They're the salt of the earth, aren't they? Our very own Taliban.

Glad to learn the "Americans United for Separation of Church and State" will be participating.

[OldEurope]

2. Decalogue:

"...You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth..."

Did they never read this book they are talking of?

:eyes:

[14thColony]

3. Probably not, because it also says things (like that) which they don't want to hear

When I was in Afghanistan, an Afghan general was explaining to me that the problem with many of the rural folk there was that they believed whatever the village cleric told them about the Qu'ran - if he only preached the conservative aspects, then they took a conservative view, and vice versa. No one bothered to read it for themselves. I thought at the time, "this reminds me of plenty of people in the US."

[HereSince1628]

4. Religion is big business with retail outlets that won't be off-shored

It is the future of the economy. Series!11

[truthisfreedom]

5. Ok, just so I got this straight... they're using public funds to promote both religion AND help one

commercial religious enterprise make a buck? How many ways wrong is this?

¡ǝɯ ʞsɐ noʎ ɟı 'ʎʌɹnʇ-ʎsdoʇ

[desktop]

6. $3,900 for a statue, at least $390,000 in legal fees, probably more

Even if you are a religious fundie, you should be incensed at this waste of the tax payers dollars. Of course with George W. Bush's stacking of two more rightwing religious wackos on to the court, the Edmond city council probably has four supreme court justices that would not only allow this violation of church and state, but would probably allow preaching christianity in the public school system. A main reason we need Obama elected, to stop McCain for putting one more nut job on to the court.

[desktop]

7. They took our advice and killed the taxpayers funding

Edmond mayor to halt public funding for Jesus statue

Published: October 15, 2008
EDMOND (AP) - Edmond Mayor Dan O'Neil says he plans to secure private funding for a bronze statue of Jesus Christ that a city art panel had approved for public funding.

O'Neil said Wednesday that he is working with a private organization to buy out the city's portion of $3,900 that had been approved for the statue.

The Edmond Visual Arts Commission last month approved matching funds to help pay for the 26-inch-tall bronze statue titled "Come Unto Me."

O'Neil said the city still plans to erect the statue on a public sidewalk in front of Sacred Heart Catholic Gifts, a downtown shop.

The mayor says he does not want the city to be in a position of fighting a lawsuit over the use of city funds to buy the statue.

[vinylsolution]

8. Send Bart in there....

... with a big hammer!