Friday, September 01, 2006

Plaintiff In Landmark 1948 Church/State Separation Case Dies At 93

Vashti
McCollum, the woman who in 1948 sued to stop religious instruction on public school grounds, died on August 26, 2006, at the age of 93.

All Supreme Court decisions defending the separation of church and state descend from this one, and all people who value religious freedom should be familiar with the story of this woman who lost her job and received threats of physical violence during the three year court battle.

Any who doubt which side was right in the case need only look to the hypocritical, irreligious, criminal behavior of those that fought against Vashti. At Halloween, her house was pelted with rotten vegetables. She was threatened with bodily harm during the three year course of the case. But this was not enough. Her sanctimonious opponents even lynched the McCollum family cat.

“... by their fruits, ye shall know them.” – Matthew 7:20.

Surely one of the main challenges we each must face in this life is to recognize and reverse such hypocrisy, whether found in ourselves or others, and to protect the most basic of all human rights and responsibilities: the imperative to follow the call of one's own conscience.

Surely one of the main challenges we each must face in this life is to recognize and reverse such hypocrisy, whether found in ourselves or others, and to protect the most basic of all human rights and responsibilities: the imperative to follow the call of one's own conscience.

Read the full article at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/26/obituaries/26mccullum.html.

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