The Nicest Battle Over Religion in Schools

Supreme Court will hear tranquil case of school that denied Bible club space

The case is relatively simple. Milford Central School in Milford, New York, said that an evangelistic Good News Club couldn't meet on school grounds because it is "the equivalent of religious worship." The club sued for access. Lower courts ruled in favor of the school. Now the Supreme Court will hear the club's appeal. You've heard that story before. But what's really interesting about the case is how friendly everything has been. The Good News Club leaders, who have children at Milford Central, "still maintain a good relationship with the school," according to the Associated Press. The AP reporter notes that "the litigants talked about the case like it was some neighborly disagreement." And their lawyer is praising the school superintendent for maintaining harmony. "No games were played out using the press,'' says attorney Thomas Marcelle, who works with the Rutherford Institute. "Nothing." (Hmmm. Such cordiality hasn't stopped Rutherford Institute president John Whitehead from saying the school has "declared a kind of religious apartheid.") The Second Circuit Court of Appeals decision is available online, as is the dissenting opinion. See more coverage from Reuters and The Washington Times.

Charles Colson gets his rights back

For the last quarter-century, Prison Fellowship founder, author, and Christianity Today columnist Charles Colson hasn't been able to vote, serve on a jury, practice law (he had been a lawyer for nine years), or run for office. In case you've forgotten, he's a felon. He served seven months (of a one- to three-year sentence) for a Watergate-related obstruction of justice, remember? Anyway, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush reinstated ...