- Sep 26, 2000
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200..._on_re_us/jesus_statue
OK city funds 3rd attempt for public religious art
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.
A decade ago, the city about 10 miles north of Oklahoma City, was forced to pay more than $200,000 in legal fees after losing a court battle to keep a cross on its city seal.
"This is the third major unconstitutional effort they've engaged in recent years," said Barry Lynn, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "It's a little surprising, because normally people pause to take a breath before they violate the Constitution again."
June Cartwright, the chair of the commission and who supported funding the latest statue, said the sculpture was viewed simply as a piece of art and not a religious endorsement.
"It is a piece of artwork," Cartwright said. "It doesn't state that it is specifically Jesus. It is whatever you perceive it to be."
The Web site of the work's artist, Rosalind Cook, described the image as depicting Jesus with three children, one cradled in his arm. "Every major line leads to the face of Christ who is the focal point and apex of the sculpture," the site says.
With Oklahoma requiring that before an abortion women get ultrasounds and then requiring the doctor to describe the fetus, plus this attempt to use taxpayer money for Jesus, I just have to ask the question:
What the f*ck is going on in Oklahoma????
Well, maybe its not really Jesus, just an intelligent design?
OK city funds 3rd attempt for public religious art
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.
A decade ago, the city about 10 miles north of Oklahoma City, was forced to pay more than $200,000 in legal fees after losing a court battle to keep a cross on its city seal.
"This is the third major unconstitutional effort they've engaged in recent years," said Barry Lynn, executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "It's a little surprising, because normally people pause to take a breath before they violate the Constitution again."
June Cartwright, the chair of the commission and who supported funding the latest statue, said the sculpture was viewed simply as a piece of art and not a religious endorsement.
"It is a piece of artwork," Cartwright said. "It doesn't state that it is specifically Jesus. It is whatever you perceive it to be."
The Web site of the work's artist, Rosalind Cook, described the image as depicting Jesus with three children, one cradled in his arm. "Every major line leads to the face of Christ who is the focal point and apex of the sculpture," the site says.
With Oklahoma requiring that before an abortion women get ultrasounds and then requiring the doctor to describe the fetus, plus this attempt to use taxpayer money for Jesus, I just have to ask the question:
What the f*ck is going on in Oklahoma????
Well, maybe its not really Jesus, just an intelligent design?
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