Will 2010 be ‘The Year of the Bible?’

I found this at Congressional Bills: 111th Congress Catalog. By itself, it’s relatively harmless. But read through it and see if it disturbs you.

[111th CONGRESS House Bills]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: hc121ih.txt]
[Introduced in House]

111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 121

Encouraging the President to designate 2010 as “The National Year of the Bible”.

__________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 7, 2009

Mr. Broun of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Westmoreland, Mr. Forbes, Mr.
Pence, Mr. Gingrey of Georgia, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mr. Jordan of
Ohio, Mr. Wamp, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Marchant, Mr. Carter, Mr. Akin, and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

___________________________________________________________

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Encouraging the President to designate 2010 as “The National Year of the Bible”.

Whereas the Bible has had a profound impact in shaping America into a great Nation;

Whereas deep religious beliefs stemming from the Old and New Testament of the Bible have inspired Americans from all walks of life, especially the early settlers, whose faith, spiritual courage, and moral strength enabled them to endure intense hardships in this new land;
Whereas many of our Presidents have recognized the importance of God and the Bible, including George Washington; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Harry Truman;John F. Kennedy; Ronald Reagan, who declared 1983 as “The National Year of the Bible”; and especially Abraham Lincoln, whose 200th Birthday Celebration in 2009 highlighted freedom for the slaves;

Whereas shared Biblical beliefs unified the colonists and gave our early leaders the wisdom to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, both of which recognized the inherent worth, dignity, and inalienable rights of each individual, thus unifying a diverse people with the right to vote, and the freedoms of speech and vast religious freedoms, which inspired courageous men like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to lead the Civil Rights Movement;

Whereas the Bible has been the world’s best selling book since it was first published in English in 1526, and has influenced more people than any other book;

Whereas the Bible has been a cornerstone in the development of Western civilization, influencing the nations in the areas of history, law, politics, culture, music, literature, art, drama, and especially moral
philosophy;

Whereas the Bible, used as a moral guide, has inspired compassion, love for our neighbor, and the preciousness of life and marriage, and has stimulated many benevolent, faith-based community initiatives and neighborhood partnerships that have healed and blessed our families, communities, and our entire Nation, especially in times of war, tragedy, and economic and social crisis;

Whereas the Bible has inspired acts of patriotism that have unified Americans, commemorated through shared celebrations such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas; and
Whereas 2010 is an appropriate year to designate as “The National Year of the Bible”: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the President is encouraged–
(1) to designate an appropriate year as “The National Year
of the Bible”; and
(2) to issue a proclamation calling upon citizens of all
faiths to rediscover and apply the priceless, timeless message
of the Holy Scripture which has profoundly influenced and
shaped the United States and its great democratic form of
Government, as well as its rich spiritual heritage, and which
has unified, healed, and strengthened its people for over 200
years.


It’s #2 I have the most problem with. This proclamation is basically calling for everyone to convert to Christianity, or at least acknowledge it as supreme amongst the religions and faiths of the land. This is, I feel, another way that conservatives are blurring the line between church and state. There is freedom of religion in the country for a reason.

If you oppose this, contact your senator and/or representative to register your feelings on the matter.

About WonderGoon

WonderGoon is seeking enlightenment and questions everything.
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4 Responses to Will 2010 be ‘The Year of the Bible?’

  1. Skatha says:

    This whole country makes me sick.

    Like

  2. Skatha says:

    I tried that once and the jerkoff who represents my area is a Republican. Barf.

    Like

  3. Mike says:

    This request is a victim of the “everybody is just like me” syndrome.

    Very little in a politician’s life is more than a tool to use to influence people. As such, you often see things like this because it sounds good to it’s intended audience, while never considering that anyone could find something in it to take amiss. Or else they do see it, but the demographic that would take offence is too small or not vocal enough to worry about it. The tendancy to do this goes across all political parties, not just the Red and Bleu.

    On the surface, to mainstream america, I’m sure a call to “Rediscover the Bible” is a completly innocuous statement, meant at worst to be a jab at Obama’s supposed Islamic leanings or ties. At it’s best, it just another motion in the constant struggle to further ingratiate themselves with their church sponsors and get more ‘campaign contributions’.

    In their zeal to score a sound bite or some kind of political point, they forget or ignore that the country was founded on the ideal of freedom of religion. Of course, the Founding Fathers meant freedom for their religion, and any compatable, suitably christian faith. Weirdo godless pagan faiths need not apply for the freedoms that they obviously do not deserve since they don’t follow the one true god in the appropriate fashion.

    The small portion of the population that is not christian is also a fairly quiet one. It also suffers from the fact that it’s more vocal components are also the ones most likely to fit the negative stereotypes of wierd, drug using cult types. So you get stuck with either looking like a fringe loony out to seduce gullible teenage girls into freaky sex before the ‘special’ Kool-aid unifies us with the universe, or else you are quiet and/or small enough to be told to suck eggs.

    I don’t take anything a politician says or tries to do personally. They are out riding the system for all it’s worth, and everything they do is just to get another buck without having to actually work at it. The sad part is that most people are unthinking enough to fall for it, and keep the same kind of person in office, regardless of political party.

    The fact is that almost all voters (people not voting dont even get consideration in these things) are either christian of one flavor or another, agnostic, or outright atheist. That motion would strike a strong cord in any christian, would pass without notice or perhaps a shake of the head from an agnostic, and would get at most a mild rebuke from an atheist. From the politician’s point of view, that’s all that matters.

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