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Time for your daily dose of Atheists vs. The States!
Council Splits on Atheist's Invocation (July 30, 2004)
The City Council's opening invocation is usually a quiet moment of peace.
People from all faiths bow heads to hear pastors, rabbis and even poets offer some inspiration.
But Thursday, three council members walked out rather than hear an invocation from a man who doesn't believe in God.
Mr. Kevin White tried to prevent an atheist from delivering the invocation, saying it was inappropriate; the mayor, Pam Iorio, said that the invocation should be reserved for those who believe in God.
The invitation was issued by the (Jewish) John Dingfelder, who "has also invited Baptist and Methodist preachers, as well as a chaplain from MacDill Air Force Base."
When Harvey (the speaker) arrived, White said that he was "going to make a political statement" and should wait for the audience portion, when he would have three minutes to address the council.
Three of the councillors (White, Alvarez, and Ferlita) walked out of the invocation.
The entire text of the speech can be found at the bottom of the page.
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There have been arguments about whether or not Harvey's speech was appropriate, and whether the actions of the councillors was appropriate. Of course, you can guess which side of the line I fall on. It is not mandatory in America to believe in any sort of Supreme Being; to have called to dismiss Harvey on the basis of his atheism is horrifying.
As to whether the speech was appropriate, I suppose it depends on your view of the invocation as a tradition, and what you consider to be the message of the speech. Seeing as I think the invocation is a violation of church and state, I agree with what Harvey said. I do, however, think that Harvey's message is found in the last two paragraphs:
We therefore invoke this council and all of our leaders to be guided and inspired by the invaluable lessons of history, the honest insights of science, the guileless wisdom of logic, and the heart and soul of our shared humanity - compassion and tolerance.
So rather than clasping your hands, bowing your heads and closing your eyes, open your arms to that which truly makes us strong - our diversity. Raise your heads and open your eyes to recognize and fully understand the problems before you and know that ultimately, solutions to human problems can come only from human beings.
Council Splits on Atheist's Invocation (July 30, 2004)
The City Council's opening invocation is usually a quiet moment of peace.
People from all faiths bow heads to hear pastors, rabbis and even poets offer some inspiration.
But Thursday, three council members walked out rather than hear an invocation from a man who doesn't believe in God.
Mr. Kevin White tried to prevent an atheist from delivering the invocation, saying it was inappropriate; the mayor, Pam Iorio, said that the invocation should be reserved for those who believe in God.
The invitation was issued by the (Jewish) John Dingfelder, who "has also invited Baptist and Methodist preachers, as well as a chaplain from MacDill Air Force Base."
When Harvey (the speaker) arrived, White said that he was "going to make a political statement" and should wait for the audience portion, when he would have three minutes to address the council.
Three of the councillors (White, Alvarez, and Ferlita) walked out of the invocation.
The entire text of the speech can be found at the bottom of the page.
---
There have been arguments about whether or not Harvey's speech was appropriate, and whether the actions of the councillors was appropriate. Of course, you can guess which side of the line I fall on. It is not mandatory in America to believe in any sort of Supreme Being; to have called to dismiss Harvey on the basis of his atheism is horrifying.
As to whether the speech was appropriate, I suppose it depends on your view of the invocation as a tradition, and what you consider to be the message of the speech. Seeing as I think the invocation is a violation of church and state, I agree with what Harvey said. I do, however, think that Harvey's message is found in the last two paragraphs:
We therefore invoke this council and all of our leaders to be guided and inspired by the invaluable lessons of history, the honest insights of science, the guileless wisdom of logic, and the heart and soul of our shared humanity - compassion and tolerance.
So rather than clasping your hands, bowing your heads and closing your eyes, open your arms to that which truly makes us strong - our diversity. Raise your heads and open your eyes to recognize and fully understand the problems before you and know that ultimately, solutions to human problems can come only from human beings.
