The story of the Atheist and Satanic displays next to a nativity scene in Boca Raton, Florida is not going away. I first wrote regarding it in On freedom & logic of Satanic & Atheist holiday displays in Boca Raton, FL
One reason that story is not going away is that the displays were allowed but the Satanic one, erected by Preston Smith, was vandalized and the Atheist one was erected by Dan Barker’s Freedom From Religion Foundation which offered a reward for information on the vandalizer. Around the same time two churches were vandalized in Sumter, SC and so I asked the FFRF if they would likewise offer a reward in that case: shocking I know, but they did not bother replying.
As Mayor Vincent J. “Buddy” Cianci put it when the ACLU suing to have their preferred displays erected, “They’re just jealous because they don’t have three wise men and a virgin in the whole organization.”
The FFRF’s display read “Happy Winter Solstice,” etc.
Smith’s reads, “In Satan we trust…One nation under antichrist…May the children hail Satan,” etc.
The bottom line is that Dan Barker as well as Preston Smith claim to be Atheists with the former not celebrating the Pagan Solstice and the latter claiming to not be a Satanist. They both do that which they do as publicity stunts. They are not interested in having their beliefs in display but rather, are interested in shutting down public Christian displays.
The reason why the Atheist and satanic display in Boca Raton should NOT be allowed is that they do not reflect the beliefs and practices of those who erected them. This is about activism and there are other manners whereby to legally and ethically be an activist.
If they just want to engage in social experiments they can do so for over 300 other days per year. However, they want to take advantage of the freedom of religious expression in order to express religious beliefs in which they claim to not believe: Paganism and Satanism respectively.
It is pretty simple: if a person does not believe in and/or does not practice the religion which is reflected in the display then they should not be allowed to display it as they would be merely abusing freedoms and rights in order to make a point, make money, get attention, seek censorship of those with whom they disagree, etc.
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