yadkin

Jb2012 (view profile)

Posted 11:32 pm, 12/08/2015

There is going to be a big prayer meeting Saturday morning at 10am at the park. I heard that lots of local preachers are going and hoping for a big turnout. Also the Elkin city council is having a vote on it here soon. Theres lots about it buzzing around facebook. I personally think its ridiculous to remove it all over a bible verse. You hear about these things on the news but this hits close to home

I see the towns point because if you let people put whatever they want it could get out of hand. Without an approval process anything goes. If the next person erected a antichrist memorial with satanic words and images you couldn't stop them. This is one thing Christians never understand. Every other religion and atheist have the same rights. If Christians want to put "In God We Trust" on a government building why wouldn't atheist have the right to put "God Is Not Real" next to it? I use to think it was wrong to take God off government property but any more I think the government needs to avoid all religions. It is a sad story about the boy and I hope they can agree to do something.

Wonder if they think it's fair?

Osmosis (view profile)
Posted 5:55 pm, 12/09/2015
What do you think the local churches think about fairness? The town has a big wine festival every year that promotes drinking and I'd suppose most of the area churches would oppose that yet if you post a bible verse your all wrong. What if you were a christian taxpayer that lived in Elkin wouldn't you feel slighted?

Most of the members of the area churches are AT the wine festival! Seriously, a lot of church members drink.

What do you think the local churches think about fairness? The town has a big wine festival every year that promotes drinking and I'd suppose most of the area churches would oppose that yet if you post a bible verse your all wrong. What if you were a christian taxpayer that lived in Elkin wouldn't you feel slighted?

Just because someone may have heard about the bench, doesn't mean approval was requested.

Also, the family did not put the bench out it was friends of the boy's dad. So to say that someone for the city would know because of the family, is incorrect.

Agreed. I too find it very hard to believe that someone at parks and rec didn't know about the bench ahead of time....just maybe didn't think about it having a Bible verse on it.

Read the article

"We really don't have any religious references in our park at this point," he said. "We had a lot of discussion about that, with ‘In God We Trust' and even at the cemetery. If you have something on the gravesite, you own that, but in the public open areas, it is town property, and the park is that way, too.

The town of Elkin also maintains Hollywood cemetery, so are you not allowed to put Bible verses on your headstone? If anyone will go back and do a little research, they will find that the town didn't even respond until 9pm on the night it was removed and then, only after all of the public posts about the removal. I think they are trying to cover their a**. Knowing the family and the fact that the grandfather served on the school board as well as several other boards for the town, I can't imagine the proper channels not being gone through. This family does not need anymore grief than they have already suffered.

I know that Christians are not always going to be the majority. That's something that we as Christians are going to have to accept. Will that change where I go and what I do? Absolutely. I get that. It's just that if we bow down to the few that are in the minority right now, then where will that leave us?

As long as you are in the majority then it's OK.

Ok so let someone in the Muslim community have a memorial bench, how about a Wiccan, or an atheist and it says "he's dead that's it there's no heaven".

Honestly, I probably wouldn't say a thing. I probably would just not go back. But, I personally think that if public funds are used, then it should represent the MAJORITY of the public. So, let the public decide and if it's just a handful that's going to throw a fit, then they shouldn't expect an entire town to cater to them.

Cemetery is different, you own the gravemarker so you have add whatever you want. But if it is a city funded cemetery then that is the only religious marking in the area. Religious not just Christian.

Ok so let someone in the Muslim community have a memorial bench, how about a Wiccan, or an atheist and it says "he's dead that's it there's no heaven".

Public land, parks, rec areas, cemeteries and such are for the PUBLIC and not just Christians and people need to remember that.

But, they are also FOR the Christians. Sometimes people need to remember that. If you expect me to over look things that might offend me (and I do all the time), then maybe others should just overlook a Bible verse on a park bench.

If they'd received design approval they would have realized that religious symbols/markings are not allowed. So it's not about the bible verse it's about design approval.

If they'd went to the city first, this conversation would not be happening.

or worse...Methodist

1. They did not get permission.

It's going to get nasty before it is over.

Yea. That's what I'm afraid of. Regardless, though, the board meeting is an attempt to get permission albeit after the fact. When it's said and done if permission isn't granted, then it will be due to the Bible verse.

Right now all most people hear is bible verse and not allowed, they don't look at the facts about permission etc. It's going to get nasty before it is over.

I'm not in town, but I keep up with it on my FB feed.

I just hate the backlash that will follow if it isn't allowed simply because of the Bible verse. Elkin is a nice town with a good variety of people- all mostly nice people. With today's environment I'm sure this will make the news and cause a stink. That's not what the family or the town needs.

I've not heard anyone that is particularly against the bench per se and what it stands for but it is going on public property and they don't want to set any sort of precedent.