Scott Burdick has published In God We Trust, free on YouTube, a fascinating two-hour documentary on the town of King, North Carolina, its secular minority, its Christian majority, its religious diversity, a war memorial with one too many flags. Throughout the documentary are in-depth interviews with non-Christians in the area, including Hare Krishnas, Muslims, and “dancers.” These interviews cover not just the flag issue but general questions of faith. Many might find these parts to be most interesting.

How many believe it’s time for America to quit pretending we’re not Christian. And if there’s people in King, North Carolina who don’t like that, then there’s lots of places you can move to. — David Gibbs III of the Christian Law Center speaking at a rally to enshrine the Christian flag at a municipal war memorial.

 Here is what Burdick had to say:

When I was given a DVD of a protest rally in the small town of King, near where I live, I was shocked by the sight of five thousand people waving Christian Flags and cheering one of the speakers when he said that everyone there should “encourage” those who weren’t Christian in the area to move somewhere else.

My first reaction was anger and I told my wife, Susan, we were going to put our house up for sale the next day and move somewhere more tolerant. But the next morning, I decided that I would do something else first. I took my video camera down to the Veteran’s Memorial in King’s Public Park and started interviewing people.

I learned that the rally had been ignited by a returning Afghanistan Veteran who threatened to sue the town if they didn’t remove the Christian Flag from the public Veteran’s Memorial.

I was surprised that most residents believed that Separation of Church and State is a myth and that the Founders intended this to be an officially Christian Nation. They quoted so many historical facts from a man named David Barton to back up their claims, that I really wondered if what I’d taken for granted might be incorrect.

And thus began a year-and-a-half journey in my spare time to find out the truth and source of the idea of Separation of Church and State, as well as interviews with half a dozen different religious groups in the area about what and why they believed what they do. The story quickly became as much about what we believe about God as what we believe about the Founders of the United States — and how we evaluate truth itself.

Although I started the project out of anger, I ended up truly liking the people I interviewed on all sides of the issue and it helped to diffuse my own negative emotions to the point where I felt a responsibility to honestly represent the viewpoints of even those I disagreed with the most. To that end, I have not done any narration, but have simply let the people themselves give their opinions in their own words. I will leave it up to you to decide who you agree with.

This was just me with a camera on my own, so it is definitely not a professionally produced documentary, but I hope some will find it as interesting a subject and as much an education as I did in making it.

 

Is the Bible the “word of God”? Pennsylvania House members apparently think so. They just passed a measure declaring exactly that. (Imagine if they had passed the same declaration about the Quran…)

 

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 535, a resolution designating 2012 the “Year of the Bible.” Introduced by Rep. Rick Saccone (R–Elizabeth Township) and 36 other legislators, the measure insists that “biblical teachings inspired concepts of civil government that are contained in our Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.”

 

It also asserts that “renewing our knowledge of and faith in God through holy scripture can strengthen us as a nation and a people” and declares “our national need to study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures.”

 

The resolution was dubbed “noncontroversial” so it could be brought to the House floor quickly and without committee hearings. It passed unanimously.

 

Scranton Atheism Examiner columnist Justin Vacula questioned the constitutionality of the resolution and wondered what the reaction might be if the wording were a little different.

 

“One should wager that if Pennsylvania lawmakers were to pass a resolution calling 2012 ‘The Year of the Koran,’ noting that the Koran was ‘holy scripture’ that was the word of Allah, such a resolution would be problematic. Why not, then, concerning the Bible?

 

“Governmental entities,” he concluded, “ought to remain neutral on matters of religion.”

 

Vacula is exactly right. If church-state separation means anything at all, it ought to stand for the proposition that government stays out of religious debate. Lots of Americans believe in the Bible, but lots of others don’t. The Pennsylvania House has no constitutional authority to jump into a theological fray.

 

One of the great ironies of this situation is that Pennsylvania was founded as a refuge for those seeking religious tolerance. In his “holy experiment,” William Penn famously welcomed religious dissenters of many different stripes to his colony. He thought God, not government, was the “only Lord of Conscience.”

 

It’s a shame that today the Pennsylvania House has turned its back on that admirable tradition and sent a message of intolerance to those who do not share the majority faith.

 

Update: Let Rep. Saccone know what you think directly on his Facebook page.

 

Contact

 

Speaker of the House Sam Smith
139 Main Capitol Building 
PO Box 202066
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2066
Email: shsmith@pahousegop.com
Phone: (717) 787-3845 

 

House Minority Leader Frank Dermody
Hon. Frank Dermody
423 Main Capitol Building
PO Box 202033
Harrisburg, PA 17120-2033
Email (this is a webpage contact form, not an address): http://www.pahouse.com/dermody/contact.asp
Phone: (717) 787-3566 

 

Find your Pennsylvania State Representative here. 

 

Find your Pennsylvania State Senator here.

And not just Harry Potter. All kinds of earthly influences are apparently tainted by Satan. Role playing games, songs on the radio, television shows, films, books and much more.

If you’ve ever been forbidden to watch a favorite show, read a beloved paperback or buy music from a favorite band because your religious family and culture featured demonic influence, tell us all about it.

And not just Harry Potter. All kinds of earthly influences are apparently tainted by Satan. Role playing games, songs on the radio, television shows, films, books and much more.

If you’ve ever been forbidden to watch a favorite show, read a beloved paperback or buy music from a favorite band because your religious family and culture featured demonic influence, tell us all about it.

 

The Death Cure is the third and final book in the Maze Runner Series. I loved Maze Runner and Scorch Trials.

Thomas knows that Wicked can’t be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they’ve collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It’s up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.

What Wicked doesn’t know is that something’s happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can’t believe a word of what Wicked says.

The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.
Will anyone survive the Death Cure?

There is so much I would love to say about the book but it would be full of spoilers so all I will say is this is a really great series and you should read all three books.

Currently Living Dead Girl By Elizabeth Scott see related

 

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.
Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.
Once upon a time, I didn’t know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.
Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.
This is Alice’s story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

The author does an incredible job of describing Alice’s terror and confusion, as well as her eventual numbness. There are many details worked into the story that have a ring of truth, including the dull repetition of her days watching tv, the anxiety when Ray comes home, the punishments meted out for small infractions, the attempts to keep her small and childlike, Alice’s lank appearance and poor circulation from lack of nutrition, etc. Most importantly, the author touches on the way abuse tends to perpetrate more abuse and the awful resignation that Alice begins to feel to her plight.

I don’t understand why my shell keeps living. Breathing. Why won’t it listen to me, to the little part I have that isn’t Ray, to that tiny once upon a time girl who just wants to close her eyes and never wake up again?

This is not an easy book to read. While it is not explicit, the terrible things that Alice is subjected to are not glossed over. This book will move you. This book will make you mad. This book will cause you to feel something. You might not like the way it makes you feel but you will feel. It is such a haunting and unforgettable story. I think I will find that even though I have finished this book, it’s going to linger with me for some time.  I think it is a cry for help for ALL children trapped in this kind of situation. It’s a cry for everyone to pay attention to what is going on around them, ask questions, don’t just shrug off your suspicions. People in these situations often cannot fend for themselves, or make the move to free themselves, so others need to be more proactive in watching for the signs. I would suggest that everyone above the age of 18 read this book.

I am keeping myself busy. I have 4 book reviews to write in the next two weeks and maybe more to come. Right now I am reading Life As I Blow It: Tales Of Love, Life & Sex . . . Not Necessarily In That Order by Sarah Colonna which should hit stores for Sale 2/7/12. I am half way through it and then need to write the review and get it ready. I have another book to review that also has the same release day.

I enjoy reading so this is fun work but it is keeping me busy. I hope that you are having a wonderful new year.

Currently Life As I Blow It: Tales of Love, Life & Sex . . . Not Necessarily in That Order By Sarah Colonna see related