you have to read the article to know where the question is coming from. if you already know what's going on in the article, just skip ahead to the question.
i'll
boldface parts of the article that pertains to my question.
Quote:
Justices overrule Moore; monument ordered out
08/22/03
STAN BAILEY
News staff writer
MONTGOMERY - The eight associate justices of the Alabama Supreme Court voted unanimously Thursday to overrule Chief Justice Roy Moore and order a monument to the Ten Commandments removed from the state judicial building rotunda.
The justices directed Graham George, manager of the judicial building, "to take all steps necessary ... as soon as practicable" to comply with U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson's Aug. 5 order to remove the monument from "non-private areas" of the building.
Justice Gorman Houston, the Supreme Court's senior associate justice, said the justices left it up to George's discretion whether to remove the 5,280-pound granite monument from the building or move it elsewhere in the building.
"It has to be left to his discretion because we don't know what areas would bear that load," said Houston. Efforts to reach George were unsuccessful.
Attorney General Bill Pryor notified Thompson of the justices' order Thursday and at a press conference praised them for doing their duty. He said he hopes their action removes the risk that the state will be hit by fines.
Thompson has scheduled a telephone conference with Pryor and lawyers in the case for this morning. The Southern Poverty Law Center, representing plaintiffs who sued to remove the monument, have asked Thompson to hold Moore in contempt of court, and the judge has said he would consider fining the state if the monument was not removed by Wednesday.
Civil disobedience:
Moore's supporters, 22 of whom were arrested for refusing to leave the judicial building Thursday night, plan to gather at the federal courthouse today and find the federal court in contempt of God's court, a spokesman said.
The Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Washington-based Christian Defense Coalition, said his group is prepared to maintain a prayer vigil and rallies at the judicial building steps "for as long as it takes," using civil disobedience to block removal of the monument.
"The world is now watching to see what Montgomery and the state of Alabama are doing about religious liberty," said the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council and one of those jailed on trespassing charges for refusing to leave the judicial building at closing time Wednesday.
Moore made a brief statement to the crowd on the steps of the judicial building Thursday afternoon, saying his fight to acknowledge God would continue.
The chief justice said he was disappointed that the other justices overruled him, and he accused Thompson of putting himself above the law and above God. Moore said he was "ordered to do something I cannot do, and that is violate my conscience."
"If the `rule of law' means to do everything a judge tells you to do, we would still have slavery in this country," said Moore.
He said the Rev. Martin Luther King "is proof enough that great men do follow the rule of law and not the rule of man."
To heavy applause from the crowd, Moore said, "I will not violate my oath. I cannot forsake my conscience. I will not neglect my duty, and I will never, never deny the God upon whom our laws and our country depend."
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http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnew...4374816120.xml
Question :
what do these protestors think they can achieve by praying in front of the courthouse??
is praying their form of civil disobedience? i really dont think it'll get them anywhere and the rock will be removed regardless of their actions.
you can compare this to MLK, but there was something that could be achieved from his actions (and something was achieved).
by these people praying in front of the courthouse, i dont see anything that could be achieved.
anyway, i'm looking @ this thru an the eyes of an atheist and i'm wondering what y'all think.