The Brits aren't the only ones licensing religious activity. Reader Pat forwards this story from Boulder, Colorado:
Boulder police and sheriff's officers halted an Indian sweat lodge ceremony Wednesday night because officials didn't know a healing was scheduled.
Robert Cross, a Lakota spiritual leader who lives in Littleton, said he has held ceremonial sweats in a Boulder Open Space land on Valmont Butte for several years with written permission.
The dome-shaped sweat lodge, a permanent fixture of cross-tied logs, is protected by two fences. Cross said Boulder Open Space gave him keys to the fence locks about two years ago.
"I had the papers saying I have the right to be there, but the deputies said we couldn't be there," he said. "They brought canine units and said we were trespassing."
Look at the bright side. If Cross had tried this in my town of Colorado Springs (home to Focus on the Family), he might have been stoned to death for heresy.
Wow. I've been reading this blog for two months now and I had no idea it was coming from where I live.
Awesome. Keep up the good work.
Stephen, I have been reading your blog for over 6 months now. I find you intelligent, articulate, and usually quite sane on the issues... until it comes to religion. Making Focus on the Family out to be some radical, out-to-squash-all-other-religions type organization is a way over the top assessment of an organization that has devoted itself to *gasp* helping to strengthenthen family. I mean, I know we all find it terribly subversive that they wish to have couples love each other and raise their children in a loving environment. The fact that you don't agree with their Christianity clouds your judgement to any good they may be doing.
What I findinteresting is that most people who profess atheism, or say that they believe in "God" but not in any religion, spend the majority of their time bashing Christianity. If all religions are false, then why not devote time to bashing Hindu's, or Muslim's, or Budhist, or any of the other 1000's of religions out there? What do people find so offensive about a religion that, at it's core, is based on love, sacrifice, and giving of yourself in service to others.
"Unknown Blogger", as a blue-eyed white-boy Buddhist who has been living in the area a long time, I can assure you from painful personal experience that the "Focus on the Family" folks reaction to other religions is less than tolerant.
Considerably less.
