Churches join forces calling upon School Board to reverse its decision

By L.A. Williams
Correspondent
Christian Action League of North Carolina, Inc.
January 10, 2008

WHITEVILLE — Receiving a red New Testament from Gideons International had been a rite of passage for Columbus County fifth-graders for nearly three decades until this school year when education officials, fearing legal action from the American Civil Liberties Union, banned the practice.

But more than 550 residents representing at least 30 churches in this close-knit, rural county joined forces late last week to call for the Board of Education to reverse its decision and to let board members know that the Alliance Defense Fund will offer them legal support if they do so.

"We can't just get a letter from the ACLU and roll over and give up our religious liberties," said Kip Godwin, who helped organize the Jan. 3 meeting and called on the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, to address the issue. "I think people left encouraged and believing that their voices could be and would be heard." Read More



By Tomas Murawski
The Alamance News
January 11, 2008-01-10

Supporters of alcohol sales can clink their glasses to a recent decision in Graham, where city officials have rescinded a long-forgotten ordinance that forbade bars and restaurants to serve alcohol on Sunday.

Graham's city council overwhelmingly repealed the old ordinance after a boisterous public hearing on Tuesday night, which pitted supporters of alcohol sales against residents in favor of dry Sundays.

Most of the city's council members conceded that alcohol isn't always a blessing. Even so, they shuddered at the thought of "legislating morality," which the ordinance's opponents insisted the old rule would've done. Read More

Be sure to read the related editorial below written by the editor of The Alamance News



By Rev. Mark H. Creech
Executive Director
Christian Action League of North Carolina, Inc.
January 11, 2008

Monday, the New Jersey Assembly passed legislation that would expand New Jersey's current laws against hate crimes and bullying.

The New Jersey Assembly's recent expanding of its hate crimes statutes is part of both a national and state-wide agenda by homosexual activists. New Jersey certainly seems far away and the passage of similar legislation in the Tar Heel State certainly seems as remote. But its really not! Read More



By Tom Boney
Editor of the Alamance News
January 11, 2008

We sometimes wondered the other night if some Graham residents actually realized the significance of the philosophy they were expressing during a hearing on whether the city council should repeal an old ordinance that prohibited wine and beer sales at area restaurants on Sundays.

We are not as troubled by the final result — the council did, in fact, repeal the ordinance, on a 4-1 vote — as we were by the disconcerting logic that was used throughout much of the debate by those favoring its repeal.

"We don't want government legislating morality," was the essence of the mantra, repeated, almost mindlessly, by several speakers.

Typical was the hyperbole used by Graham city councilman Jimmy Linens, who ultimately voted to repeal the Sunday blue law. "I'm one that's sick and tired of government dictating how we live our lives," which brought applause from many in the audience. "How I live my life is between me and my God." Read More



By Dr. Richard Land
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution says, "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this constitution, but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States" (emphasis added).

Our Founding Fathers prohibited that a person be a person of any particular faith or of no faith to hold public office or public trust in the United States. Instead, we are to select public officials based upon their character, their public policy record, their policy positions, and their vision for our country. Read More

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