"The idea here is to make it so utterly fucking ridiculous. As a Satanic atheist, it's my job to mock, ridicule, and deride the absurdity of having anyone give an invocation to any god at all."For background, read Florida Atheists Sue to 'Pray' at County Meetings
-- Chaz Stevens, local resident, as quoted and printed in the New Times Broward-Palm Beach
UPDATE 10/25/15: 'Minion of Satan' Demanding to 'Pray' is Defied by Florida County Official
UPDATE 4/10/16: Atheists Demand to 'Pray' at Tennessee County Meeting
UPDATE 9/20/15: Only Christian Prayers Allowed by Arizona City
UPDATE 8/7/15: Muslim Prayer Ends Invocation Policy in North Carolina
-- From "Pompano's Exclusion of Satanic Invocations Challenged by the Freedom from Religion Foundation" by Chris Joseph, New Times Broward-Palm Beach 7/17/15
The Freedom from Religion Foundation has challenged the City of Pompano Beach's recent resolution that keeps Satanists and atheists from giving invocations and prayers before their commission meetings. In a letter addressed to Mayor Lamar Fisher, the foundation's attorney Andrew Seidel calls the resolution unconstitutional, and a violation of a Supreme Court ruling, as well as discriminatory.
The resolution, which was passed on Tuesday, puts limits on who can give invocations to only established churches found in the Yellow Pages, certified clergy and the Internal Revenue Service's definition of a nonprofit group. The resolution was prompted, in part, over atheist activist Chaz Stevens, who requested a spot to perform a Satanic invocation at a future commission meeting two months ago.
He called his idea to do a Satanic invocation across Florida "Satan or Silence," in hopes that every city would do what Lake Worth did [reject all prayer entirely]. Delray Beach also went a similar route after Stevens' request, and substituted invocations with a moment of silence before every meeting.
When Pompano Beach received Stevens' request, they were given the choice to accept or go the route of Lake Worth and Delray. But the measure fell through and so, instead of a moment of silence or no invocation at all, Pompano Beach decided to severely restrict who gets to make the invocations.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Satanic prayer still a long shot in Pompano Beach" by Bob Norman, Reporter, WPLG-TV10 (Miami, FL) 7/24/15
The blogger, Timothy "Chaz" Stevens, is anything but a bona fide clergyman. He's an often vulgar public gadfly and church and state activist who hounds local government officials.
On his blog, he often attacks his targets in a very personal manner, with a penchant for photoshopping obscene symbols on their faces.
Notably, Stevens, who routinely refers to himself as a genius, was arrested in 2004 on a charge of violating a domestic violence injunction after a woman claimed he stalked her and threw feces on her porch, among other transgressions. Stevens refused comment for this story.
Stevens, whose efforts are supported by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, formed what he calls the First Pompano Beach of Satan, with an address that comes up to a box in a Parcels Plus store on Atlantic Boulevard. He has advertised the church on Yelp and listed it in the Yellow Pages, a requirement of the city.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
