The Stupid! It burns!
"Of course, Bible Park USA is a biblical and historical experience, and is thus not 'religious' in the sense that it places no restrictions on nor does it try to influence how its patrons interpret or react to the historical truths from the Bible that will be depicted at the Park," Bar-Tur states. "Similar to Colonial Williamsburg, the world's largest living history museum in Williamsburg, Virginia, we simply interpret familiar stories from the Bible."
In his letter, Dassaro raises the question: If the county approves the funding for the Bible Park USA, would it have to do the same for any other religion that wants to build a theme park?
"If a developer appealed for a TIF in an effort to develop a Wicca theme park or Santeria theme park, both recognized religions under American Jurisprudence, the county would be required to treat their application no differently than the application of the current developer as long as the projected business model offered commensurate revenue and impact projections," he wrote.
Commissioner Mike Sparks, the commission's official chaplain, said he's not surprised that someone would appeal to the ACLU. He said though he is a Christian, he's more interested in the financial benefit the park would bring.
Sparks said that a Wicca theme park be something to consider "if they can tell me how many jobs they're going to create."
He added that America is overwhelmingly a Christian nation, and there aren't enough Wiccans to make such a park feasible.
The Rutherford County Commission has run afoul of the ACLU on religious issues in the past. In 2006 the county was successfully sued by the ACLU for putting up the Ten Commandments in the Rutherford County Courthouse as part of a historical display, and made to pay legal fees of $50,000.
More here.
One wonders how many tax dollars the town will spend attempting to defend this idiocy?
9 comments:
Idiocy it is indeed, I really dislike the way there seems to be no separation between the protestant church and the state in the US of A.
Can I go running down my street screaming now? A governement funded Bible-based theme park?!? Its just too much!
historical truths of the bible? like that isn't up for debate? maybe someone will want to start a taxpayer subsidized business teaching the historical truths of the koran. and where does it say that rights are based on whether you are a majority or not?
Heh! That's in my backyard! Rutherford County is a suburb of Nashville.
The funny thing is, the locals don't want this thing. They don't want the traffic and the noise, they worry about property values and increasing development in a rural area--the same concerns any neighbors would have. Religion has nothing to do with it.
Now with the developer looking for county tax incentives, the neighbors are even more pissed off. These are the kind of folks who don't think their tax money should pay for a theme park, even a Christian one.
I suspect the ACLU thing is bogus. Some supporter dredged up an ACLU connection to try to get people pissed off. The developer is playing the media.
Bottom line is the locals do NOT want this theme park for the same NIMBY reasons they wouldn't want ANY theme park.
[headdesk headdesk headdesk]
Not my head.
Not my desk.
Wasn't someone trying to build some sort of Biblical Disney World in Israel? One of my favorite tourist spots in OH is a little Stations of the Cross putt-putt course on a back road west of Athens. At least the folks who run it have a sense of scale . . . -- Sparkle Plenty
Given my experience with the Spoutwood Faerie Festival, I think a Wiccan theme park would be popular indeed. On county land? Nope.
hahahahahaha. omg. The stupid it burns indeed. What's really frightening is that I can visualize this.
The only good thing about this really is that it's a good place to waste their money. Better than a stoopid Bible amusement park than giving it to the politicos.
Now, a Wiccan theme park, I could get behind THAT in a big way. Ooooh, I can visualize that too.
Cynthia
http://beweaver.wordpress.com
Good thing no Christians lie.
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