St. Louis AU Chapter Receives AU Award from Humanist Leader
News Analysis by Kerry Messer

    Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United For Separation of
Church and State (AU), and former top attorney for the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU), opened this year's AU Awards Banquet with a
story about how "Politically Correct" AU is. Lynn related how he had
been invited to participate in a television show called _Politically
Correct Cooking_. On the show, Lynn would help the host prepare a
"'vegi-meal' while talking about his favorite politically correct
organization"  -- AU.

   Following Lynn's opening remarks, a "Religious Liberty Award" was
presented to the St. Louis Chapter of AU.  Rev. Rudy Pulido, pastor of
Southwest Baptist Church in St. Louis, was the honored recipient of the
award.

   As chapter president, Rev. Pulido was recognized for his "Leadership
in defending the First Amendment's wall of separation." (AU knows the
phrase "wall of separation" doesn't even appear in the First Amendment
but insists that it should.) The banquet program stated: "Since 1952 the
St. Louis Chapter has been the voice of religious liberty in Missouri,
involved in many legal cases over the years from opposing public tax
dollars going to religious schools to _standing up for religious
neutrality in the public schools_." (emphasis ours)

   The award was presented to Pastor Pulido by Albert C. Walker, an AU
Trustee and former head of the San Francisco American Humanist
Association. (I've heard "politics make strange friendships," but who's
influencing whom here?)

   Working with Humanists in advocating AU's radical agenda is nothing
new for Pastor Pulido. The St. Louis Chapter of AU has had their own
Humanist serving on their board of directors since the mid-1950s: James
F. Hornback, a signer of _Humanist Manifesto II_ and former secretary of
the Board of Directors of the American Humanist Association, has served
on the boards of both the St. Louis Chapter and the national
organization.

   AU's ability to deceive Christians is clearly seen in the fact that
for over thirty years, the Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) an
association of 1,900 Baptist churches in Missouri had supported and
funded AU until 1991, when the organization was exposed and abruptly
defunded. Pulido, a Southern Baptist minister, along with numerous other
MBC leaders who have served on both the national and St. Louis boards of
AU have worked hard to keep AU funding alive within the MBC.

   When AU was defunded by the MBC, Mr. Pulido's response was that the
St. Louis Chapter was not the same as the national office and that the
views and policies of the St. Louis Chapter were not tied to the
national AU office.

   However, during this year's AU conference, referring to the agendas
and policies of local AU Chapters, an AU spokesman specifically stated
(and on tape I might add) that: "Americans United's local chapters may
not deviate from the national [policies]." In comparing AU to the ACLU,
he went on to reiterate that while they (the ACLU) allow local
deviations, AU does not. With all this being said, seeing Rev. Pulido
accept an award from the national office -- and from the hands of an
avowed Humanist leader -- was indeed most revealing.

   Upon Rev. Pulido's return to St. Louis, he (along with his AU
chapter) joined with several other liberal groups to try to pressure the
City of Overland to remove a nativity scene from the lawn of their City
Hall. (More of those "strange friendships"?)

   AU's President (Calvin Didier) and Vice-President (Robert J.
Lipshutz) presented the Madison-Jefferson Award (AU's most prestigious
award) to two well-known public figures: former U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Harry A. Blackmun and U.S. Democratic Senator Howard Metzenbaum
of Ohio.

   Justice Blackmun received extended applause from AU supporters and
was highly praised for his concurring opinion to the Supreme Court's
1992 _Lee v. Weisman_ decision which struck down prayer during public
school commencement ceremonies.

   Senator Metzenbaum was praised for leading efforts to keep a school
prayer amendment from ever passing the U.S. Senate. He was also
recognized for work to keep students from benefiting from their parents
taxes unless they attended a public school void of any godly influence.

   I would love to ask Madison and Jefferson what they think about their
names being used to "honor" such people today. While in office, both
Madison and Jefferson were known to use their political influence to
extensively promote Christianity, not suppress it!

From: St. Louis MetroVoice, May 1995, Vol. 5, No. 5.

