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Fight Over Faith
Aired October 25, 2004 - 20:00 ET
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Carol Lin. And here's what's happening right now in the news. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror group is claiming responsibility for the killing of 44 new Iraqi soldiers. The soldiers and their four drivers were shot execution style at a fake checkpoint near the Iranian border. Tonight at 11:00, we're going to ask the experts: If Iraq cannot protect its own soldiers, how can it protect the country? And Los Angeles police say DNA evidence links a former pizza delivery man to the murder of 12 women. Police say Chester Turner could turn out to be the most prolific serial killer in L.A. history. I'm going to talk to the mothers of two victims. They happen to be best friends. Tonight at 11:00. And George Bush and John Kerry both received endorsements from major newspapers today. On the campaign trail, Kerry concentrated on Florida, while Bush made a campaign appearance in New Mexico. I'm going to talk to our Bill Schneider with election day just nine days away. And be sure to join us for these and other stories tonight on a special time, 11:00 Eastern. Now, CNN PRESENTS. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether you know it or not, eternity's in the balance. CAROL MARIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across the country, across Christianity. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a segment out there that simply is an enemy of the evangelical faith. MARIN: Evangelical Christians, more than 100 million strong. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They started the war, and it's about time that our side fought back. MARIN: Soldiers of the cross in a family feud. DIANE KNIPPERS, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF EVANGELICALS: You see local congregations split. MARIN: Based upon a strict interpretation of the Bible. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it matters the most, you're going to fight about it the most. MARIN: It is a fight over faith. And in the balance, the ultimate reward. ROBIN CARLISLE, EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN, SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA: Jesus will return. And in the blinking of an eye, the saints will be taken. MARIN: For people who don't embrace Jesus, what happens to them? CAITLIN CARLISLE, EVANGELICAL CHRISTIAN, SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA: They go to hell. (END VIDEOTAPE) AARON BROWN, HOST, CNN PRESENTS: They are known as evangelicals, born again Christians. And their power, their influence and ranks are swelling. Welcome again to CNN PRESENTS. I'm Aaron Brown. Not that long ago, the Reverend Jerry Falwell proclaimed that evangelicals control the fate of not only the Republican Party, but also President Bush's re-election. And while such claims are debatable, there is no denying the growing reach and influence of born again Christians in the country. And they are making their presence felt well beyond the pulpit. But even among evangelicals, not everyone agrees. And that's where things start to get a bit contentious. It's the "Fight Over Faith." Here's Carol Marin. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buried in Christ in baptism. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), Christian radio. MARIN (voice-over): Over the airwaves and on the ground. For Christians, this is a time of reckoning. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To believers around the world, reaching individuals and families. MARIN: In a nondescript office building in downtown Washington, a small group of believers is doing nothing less than trying to change the religious landscape of America. KNIPPERS: This is a defining time for the Protestant faith. This is absolutely a defining moment. MARIN: In America's Protestant churches, a fierce battle is underway, promoted by conservative, evangelical Christians and bolstered by a little known but powerful group called the Institute on Religion and Democracy. Diane Knippers is a battle-tested evangelical. (on camera): Is it a war? KNIPPERS: It is. These are conflicts over the things that we believe the most deeply. And feelings run high on both sides. MARIN (voice-over): Evangelicals make up the largest religious group in America across all denominations. By some estimates, they are 100 million strong. KNIPPERS: One of our big concerns these days is the whole debate over marriage and sexuality. And particularly in the so-called mainline denominations, there are substantial groups that really want to abandon Biblical teaching. MARIN: Mostly white and largely conservative, evangelicals believe there is one and only one path to heaven. The Bible is their authority. Salvation is their goal. A hundred miles away in Richmond, Virginia, where statues mark the great Civil War, Presbyterians have come their annual meeting to debate the rules that could change their church. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We talk of knowing and convincing and winning and deciding, and those closed-minded conservatives and those God-forsaken liberals. It is so easy to fill our hearts with hate. MARIN: We have come here to find out exactly what the fight is about, and to meet the man who may be the most polarizing figure in the Presbyterian faith. Paul Rolf Jensen is his name. PAUL ROLF JENSEN, LAWYER AND PRESBYTERIAN: I am called to action within the Presbyterian church to fight back against those who have made war and would destroy our church. The management of the church has shifted so far to the left, so far away from traditional Christianity, that it's turning people off in droves. We lost 48,000 members net last year. MARIN: For the past three years, Paul Jensen, a self-described evangelical activist, has been turning words into actions. He has filed 25 charges of heresy against other Presbyterians who disagree with his strict interpretation of the Bible. The notion of accusing someone of heresy almost sounds like a throwback to Salem and witch trials. JENSEN: I'm not proposing that they be burned at the stake. I am proposing that they be evaluated by their actions. MARIN: Steve Van Kuiken of Cincinnati was one of the first to be charged. In February of 2000, he was pastor of Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, a progressive congregation in the heart of Cincinnati. That year, he presided over the wedding of Cheryl and Jennifer McKettrick, in defiance of church law. In your view, what did Van Kuiken do wrong? JENSEN: He intentionally and deliberately and publicly defied his ordination vows and our constitution in a blatant attempt to destroy the church. STEPHEN VAN KUIKEN, FORMER MINISTER, MT. AUBURN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CINCINNATI, OHIO: We were aware that we were violating the constitution on that, in the tradition of Martin Luther King, you know, who said, look. We have moral obligations to disobey unjust laws. MARIN: Steve Van Kuiken's decision ultimately cost him his job. He left not only Mount Auburn, he left the Presbyterians. His Sundays are now spent in a vacant Catholic church. His flock is called The Gathering - a mixture of straight and gay, some who left his old congregation, some who found solace in his brand of Christianity. VAN KUIKEN: Thanks. Please be seated. Faith is not about taking God in our hands. It's about placing ourselves in God's hands. What's happening is that the Presbyterian Church is becoming a more and more inhospitable place for people who do not interpret the Bible in a literal way. It's a crusading mentality. It's a mentality that sees the world in black and white, good and bad. If you're not with us, you're against us. MARIN: Is sexuality the defining issue here? JENSEN: Sexuality is not the defining issue. It is the most easily identified issue. The dispute is about whether this book means what it says. MARIN: Evangelicals believe the Bible is literally true, or inerrant. And what it says, according to conservative evangelicals like Paul Jensen, is unwavering when it comes to issues such as gay marriage or ordination. Is it Matthew who says, judge not lest ye be judged? JENSEN: That's correct. MARIN: But you're judging. JENSEN: I don't believe I'm judging, because I am not condemning anyone to salvation or damnation. What I am doing is judging actions, and calling people to account for those actions. VAN KUIKEN: Progressive Christians feel like we're being pushed out of the mainline denominations. And we're simply fighting for a place at the communion table. Whenever you eat of this bread and you drink of this cup, ... MARIN: Is there room in the tent for those who disagree? Can that disagreement live inside the church? KNIPPERS: I don't think it can over the long haul. MARIN: So a religious divorce is inevitable? KNIPPERS: In some of the denominations, I believe it is. MARIN: What is happening among Presbyterians is not unique. In virtually every Protestant denomination, similar battles are underway. VAN KUIKEN: There's a lot of fear, and there's a bending over backwards to placate or to please the watchdogs, the conservative watchdogs. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've served this church all of my life. And so I would ask that you find a way to shape a church that is more reflective of a faith in God, who loves us all. MARIN: In 1863, Presbyterians split into two branches over the issue of slavery. It took nearly 120 years for that division to heal. (on camera): Things change, though. Societies change. There was a time when people kept slaves, when there was segregation. And we've seen change and a reinterpretation of both our civil constitutions and our church conduct. Isn't that how an alive democracy should do it? JENSEN: The church is not a democracy. The church is a monarchy. And Jesus Christ is the king. MARIN (voice-over): Next, conservative evangelicals and the strength of belief. C. CARLISLE: There's no other way to heaven except through Jesus. (END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: We now return to CNN PRESENTS, "The Fight Over Faith." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARIN (voice-over): So, what exactly is an evangelical? There are certain beliefs all conservative evangelicals share. (on camera): Is there a heaven? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. MARIN: Is there a hell? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. MARIN: Does Satan exist? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. I believe. MARIN: And is there a clear path into heaven? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. Now, how people get to heaven through Jesus Christ may have a lot of mystery to it. MARIN (voice-over): It's that mystery that's brought us to Spartanburg, South Carolina, the kind of town where even the car wash posts daily Bible passages. We've come here to meet the Carlisle family. There's Cassidy, Robin, 15-year-old Rick, Prissy the dog and 11-year-old Caitlin. C. CARLISLE: We're typical, because, I mean, what kind of house we live in, the kind of cars we have and stuff like that. But we're not typical by being Christian, because Christians aren't typical. They're different. They lead a life that's following Jesus. R. CARLISLE: People always tell me, oh, your kids are so good. And I'm thinking, yes, and this is the same kid who just mouthed off at me for something, you know. So, they're good when they have to be. MARIN (on camera): So, they're normal kids. R. CARLISLE: Oh, absolutely. C. CARLISLE: I'm not perfect. If I was perfect, I wouldn't need Jesus. Scripture is the best interpreter of Scripture. MARIN (voice-over): Robin works part-time at their church, full- time at home. Cassidy is a manager of two chemical plants. It is a mainstream American family. Or is it? Rick loves videogames, but is restricted to ones that don't show gratuitous violence. This is about the only secular music played in the house. And as for television, well, forget MTV and "The Simpsons." (on camera): So, if you said to your mom and dad, I think tonight I'd like to watch "The Simpsons." C. CARLISLE: I wouldn't want to watch "The Simpsons." MARIN: You wouldn't want to watch "The Simpsons." C. CARLISLE: It's like, when I became a Christian, the Holy Spirit came inside me. And when I see something, it's like the Holy Spirit is my second parent. He's always there. And, no, no, no. MARIN (voice-over): Their church is Southern Baptist, the largest of the Protestant denominations. Mike Hamlet is the pastor of First Baptist North, a church with over 6,000 members, including the Carlisles. MIKE HAMLET, PASTOR, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF NORTH SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA: Many times, I've been in discussions with people, and they learn, and they know what my belief is. And they'll look at me and they'll say, well, you're really not like I pictured you to be. MARIN (on camera): How did they picture you? HAMLET: Mean-spirited, hard, ignorant - about points of view. MARIN (voice-over): Among mainline denominations, Southern Baptists are the most conservative. And in the fight over faith, they have all but declared war on American culture. HAMLET: Every sitcom that you watch, every movie that you see, is pushing more and more to the edge, of the sexual content and the sexual innuendo. And if America is one nation under God, then we need to stand and act like again. MARIN (on camera): And so, can there be a Christian perspective in a country where everyone isn't a Christian? HAMLET: I don't know whether that can be the case, but I believe that should be our mission. MARIN (voice-over): In the Carlisle home, practically every decision is Bible based. R. CARLISLE: It defines when I let Rick drive, what hours I let Rick drive. It defines the mundane things. C. CARLISLE: I ask this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, who loves me, died for me. He sits on your right hand. MARIN: Five days a week, there is Bible study. C. CARLISLE: Thank you, God. Thank you so much. MARIN: Salvation comes early here. Rick was just five years old when he says he was born again. And how old were you when you were saved? C. CARLISLE: I was three years old. MARIN (on camera): Can a three-year-old really understand or know enough to ... C. CARLISLE: All you have to understand is, I'm a sinner and I need Jesus, and Jesus died for me. That's all you need to understand. MARIN (voice-over): When the church doors open, the Carlisles are there. Caitlin and Rick, Cassidy and Robin, who have instilled their faith in their children. CASSIDY CARLISLE: We thank you for this food and we ask that you bless it. In Jesus name, amen. MARIN (on camera): For people who don't embrace Jesus, what happens to them? C. CARLISLE: They go to hell. MARIN: For sure? C. CARLISLE: For sure. There's no other way to heaven except through Jesus. If you don't accept Jesus as your savior, and you don't believe it in your hear that he's died for you, then you're going to go to hell. And there's no alternative. REV. DR. C. WELTON GADDY, PRESIDENT, THE INTERFAITH ALLIANCE: I think Christianity is more exclusive now than it was at its inception. MARIN (voice-over): In 1998, Reverend Welton Gaddy quit the church he grew up in and left the Southern Baptist faith, because of its increasingly conservative beliefs. He still, however, calls himself an evangelical. GADDY: Some of my critics would not like me calling myself an evangelical. MARIN (on camera): Why not? GADDY: Because I am open-minded, I believe in the importance of interfaith relations. MARIN (voice-over): He says it's the kind of exclusivity found in Spartanburg that is a danger to America's religious diversity. If you believe in Buddha or Mohammed, in your faith there is no salvation. HAMLET: There may be a lot of things about the Bible that I don't understand. But I'm not really given the choice of what I can believe and what I can't believe. I accept the scripture there, believe that Jesus is the only way to God. GADDY: I don't trust a religion that causes a person to write people off, rather than want to embrace them. Our future will either be marked by inter-religious cooperation, or a conflict that will weaken the nation and destroy the integrity of religion. MARIN (on camera): Are we headed towards the more negative consequence right now? GADDY: We're running toward it. MARIN (voice-over): To be sure, there are many different kinds of evangelicals. But in the past 30 years, the meaning of the word has become synonymous, not only with religion, but with social policies and politics, and where a person stands on issues from abortion to gay rights. GADDY: The impact of the religious right has been that you can pass judgment on another person's spirituality. Not by asking the singular question about your relationship to God and your belief in Christ, but where you are on a variety of socio-political issues. MARIN (on camera): Their litmus test. GADDY: There are litmus tests. HAMLET: The liberals in this country are afraid of evangelicals. Everyone else will compromise. But an evangelical's faith is built on a certain - on a certain principle. A commitment to Christ, a commitment to God's word. And we're not moving. MARIN (voice-over): Such conviction comes from a firm belief in the prophesy of the Bible. For to be an evangelical is to believe, as foreseen in the book of Revelation, that Judgment Day is coming. R. CARLISLE: Jesus will return and the skies will split and the trumpet will sound. And then in the blinking of an eye, the saints will be taken to be with him in heaven. MARIN (on camera): Do you believe that the rapture is near? R. CARLISLE: I believe that I'll see it in my lifetime. MARIN (voice-over): If this is your idea of an evangelical, just wait. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you ever felt God in the middle of Minnesota? (END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) REV. BILLY GRAHAM, EVANGELIST: He said, I'm going to die to this world. This world will crucify me. MARIN (voice-over): It is the summer of 1961, and Billy Graham has come to spread the word at the fairgrounds in Minneapolis, Minnesota. GRAHAM: Jesus offers an adventure. He said, enlist in my kingdom, and let's go out and change the world and turn the world right-side-up. MARIN: Those who are converted quietly come forward. Of course, that was then. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, white folks, brown folks. MARIN: And this is now. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two. MARIN: Four decades later, on the steps of the capital of Minnesota, nearly 200,000 people have turned out for a kind of Christian Woodstock. Two days of music and message - no sex, no drugs. This is how evangelicals spread the word today, part of an aggressive effort to bring new people into the fold. TOBY MATT (ph), CHRISTIAN PERFORMER: Have you ever felt God in the middle of Minnesota? MARIN: And just in case you don't know, his name is Toby Matt (ph). The man behind this rock event is a 69-year-old grandfather named Luis Palau, who was born in Argentina. In 1999, Palau was an old-school evangelist with a shrinking congregation. LUIS PALAU, EVANGELIST: But I always used to think, can't we rev up the songs? Can't we up the tempo? Can't we have a little fun? MARIN: The fun quotient increased, and so did the crowds. PALAU: Jesus Christ calls his own by name. MARIN: As Palau tailored his message to those 25 and under. PALAU: Where (ph) are (ph) the (ph) 25 and unders living (INAUDIBLE)? MARIN: His message is conservative. Yes to sexual abstinence. No to homosexuality and abortion. Yet it's all packaged in a soft serve way to appeal to a younger generation. PALAU: When you're wild, when you're out of control, Jesus Christ says no, no, no. I know you by name. Come and follow me. Fifty-five percent of American kids are the unseeded generation. That is, they don't have the seed of basic Biblical truth in their minds and in their hearts. Most kids have no idea about the creation of the world, about Adam and Eve, about The Fall. MARIN: Palau is a new breed of evangelical, using the tools of today's culture. He created a venue for kids and young adults to combine the outrageous with the religious. Well over 1,000 people have turned out on a sun-baked Sunday to watch an exhibition of extreme sports and to hear what people like Paul Anderson, a born again skater from Portland, Oregon, have to say. PAUL ANDERSON, BORN AGAIN SKATER: He's the king of kings, you guys. He's alive from the dead, dude. He was the most awesome, the most awesome dude that has ever existed. MARIN: And one by one, they come to be saved in a skate park. It may seem unorthodox, but it's effective. The Palau festivals attract nearly a million people a year. For evangelicals, the fight over faith is as much about culture as it is about religion. And in 2004, there was no better example of that than Mel Gibson's controversial movie, "The Passion of the Christ." UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was our kind of movie. When we think about what an evangelical is, the idea of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins is a very central theme. It was a very encouraging thing for evangelicals. MARIN: For a pastor like Mike Hamlet, it was a kind of watershed for a group that feels it is often misunderstood. HAMLET: Our culture is shifting to more of a humanistic culture. We see that in terms of the media, where there is practically no Christian voice in the media. You never see an evangelical Christian portrayed in a favorable light in the mainstream media. Almost never. MARIN: In just six months, "The Passion of the Christ" earned over $370 million in the United States, making it the eighth highest grossing film ever, as the faithful flocked in numbers few had imagined. Among them, Rick Carlisle of Spartanburg, whose mother had no problem letting him watch this R-rated movie. RICK CARLISLE: Yes, I liked it. I mean, it showed a very depiction of how much torture he went through, and all the pain he suffered for us. A very strong, a very strong movie. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to live my life for you, Lord. MARIN: Back in Minnesota, the music is from Third Day. And the evening is as much about redemption as it is rock. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to praise the name of Jesus. MARIN: Experts say evangelicals have become savvier about using popular culture. It's not, says Luis Palau, that the message has changed. It's just how it's delivered and by whom. And the fact, he says, that the very audience he targets is more and more turned off by tradition. PALAU: They don't listen to denominational leaders too much anymore. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are beautiful my sweet, sweet Lord. And we will sing to him. You are beautiful my sweet, sweet Lord. PALAU: The mainline churches are struggling with attendance. Those who don't appeal to the young people are beginning to feel the pinch. If we don't turn a generation to Christ, the church is one generation away from extinction. Go in peace and serve Jesus till we see you again. Good night, Minnesota. MARIN: What's this evangelical doing behind bars? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take the hand of the man next to you, if you would. (END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: We now return to CNN PRESENTS, The Fight Over Faith. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARIN: It's an early Sunday morning along the shores of the Atlantic near Jacksonville, Florida, and Steve McCoy is singing about salvation. (MUSIC) MARIN: Beaches Chapel Church is a non-denominational 800-member- strong congregation of evangelical Christians. STEVE MCCOY, BEACHES CHAPEL CHURCH: We're about seeing people getting made whole. We're about seeing people rescued out of darkness. MARIN: But it's not what he does at church that's brought Steve McCoy into the middle of a constitutional debate. It's what he does behind bars. MCCOY: And all of a sudden, you know, I'm doing interviews, and I have to tell you I'm terrified. MARIN: In December of 2003, Florida Governor Jeb Bush took a page out of the book of his brother, President George W. Bush, and established the country's first faith-based prison. GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: People of all faith, people who believe in a higher power are compelled to take actions in their lives that improve their chances of living a wholesome life that is crime free. MARIN: Under the Jeb Bush plan, religious groups, like Steve McCoy and the Beaches Chapel Church, run the educational programs for inmates at the Lawtey Correction Center. MCCOY: When it was announced by the governor last December, immediately, there were threats by organizations that they were going to file some suits, and they were concerned, and they were suspicious of what was being really done there. MARIN: Perhaps no one is more suspicious than the Reverend Barry Lynn, a United Church of Christ minister and head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. REV. BARRY LYNN, AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE: It's just as inappropriate to set up a faith-based prison as it would be to set up a faith-based school or a faith-based housing project or a faith-based police department. MARIN: Every week, sometimes two and three times a week, Steve McCoy heads out for the 124-mile roundtrip to the small Florida town of Lawtey. (on camera): This is a long way not just in physical distance... MCCOY: Yes, it is. MARIN: ... from your congregation. MCCOY: It is. It is. But I have to tell you the results are well worth it. MARIN (voice-over): Lawtey is a medium-security prison, population under a thousand. Inmates apply to do their time here. No one has committed a violent crime. They are men like Robert Gunter who's serving a five-year sentence for possession of cocaine. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me. This is my second time in a penitentiary. I want to better myself. A lot of the people that are here came from other institutions to get away from rough institutions. That's how I look at it, and they don't want... MARIN (on camera): They think they'll do easier time... UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am. MARIN: if they come here? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am. LYNN: Lawtey is the facility that wants to give you religion and that winks at your and then says, by the way, we'll make sure it's easier time here than if you were in a general population somewhere else. MARIN: I think there are some people who feel that there is an implicit kind of coercion for some inmates. MCCOY: All we do is go out there and present what we present. No one requires you to convert to anything. You can be atheist, but you're required to be involved. MARIN: The argument is the state ought to be doing that, not religious groups. MCCOY: I don't think it's a bad thing to see the private and the public and the faith sector married together. I think it's the missing link. MARIN: Many evangelicals feel that faith has been wrongly banished from the public arena. It's this intersection of religion and government, bringing faith-based programs into state institutions, that's at the heart of a growing national debate. The Bush administration supports faith-based programs, like Lawtey's. Critics consider it a constitutional breach. For evangelicals, it's about time. (voice-over): At Lawtey, Pastor Steve McCoy has come to teach a course on anger management. MCCOY: In Proverbs 15:18, it says, "Hot tempers cause arguments." Oh, boy! How many of you caused an argument because you blew your stack? LYNN: You know, the problem with anger management being conducted in a faith-based facility like Lawtey is that it's not offered at most of the other prisons in the state. MARIN: Since the year 2000, the State of Florida has cut funding for educational programs and prisons by one-third and eliminated nearly 40 percent of the educational staff, leaving programs like Steve McCoy's to fill a very big gap, and congregations like Beaches Chapel to help supplement the cost. Still, there's no evidence here or nationally that faith-based prisons reduce recidivism or are any more successful than those in traditional prisons. LYNN: We know what works. It's just that in most places, we're not willing to pay for it, and there are losers and not just the prisoners outside of Lawtey, but the residents of Florida who are going to find people who are not rehabilitated back on the streets in Miami or Tallahassee. MCCOY: Galatians Chapter 5, Verse 16, "This I say then. Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." MARIN: And while Steve McCoy agrees that it's too early to gauge success at Lawtey, he says he hopes to see faith-based programs in every prison in the country. MCCOY: I believe if my vision comes to pass and we see this kind of programming coming from churches in the State of Florida and around this country, you're going to see a dramatic difference. LYNN: I don't have any problem with churches talking about moral issues, with taking a stand and trying to convince people using moral persuasion that they're right. But when they get the government involved in backing their particular religious beliefs, then I think we have a constitutional problem. MCCOY: He can interpret the Constitution the way he wants to. We don't see it that way. Father, in Jesus name, we come boldly to the thrown of your grace. MARIN: Earlier this year, the State of Florida opened another faith-based prison, this time for women. MCCOY: I just pastor a church. I just got an opportunity, and I seized it. A lot of it's about telling guys, hey, we're for you, man. We love you. MARIN: Next, from the pulpit to the polls. GADDY: Whoever that new president is is going to face a nation that is deeply, bitterly divided. (END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN (voice-over): We now return to CNN PRESENTS, The Fight Over Faith. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARIN (voice-over): At the Carlisle home in Spartanburg, it's Sunday morning and things are in overdrive. (MUSIC) MARIN: In evangelical churches all across America, there's a new phenomenon. Just off the sanctuary at First Baptist North is a table to register voters for the November 2004 election. (on camera): There are people who believe that churches should have nothing to do with registering people to vote. DR. MIKE HAMLET, FIRST BAPTIST NORTH: That's exactly right, and those people are the ones who absolutely fear the evangelical community. They are the ones who would say to us sit down over there and shut up. Be religious. You're not going to have a part in our culture. We'll run that. MARIN (voice-over): Evangelicals now hold enormous political influence. There are an estimated 50 million to 60 million eligible to vote, and they have one of their own in the White House. GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... a constitutional amendment to protect marriage as the union of a man and a woman. DR. RICHARD LAND, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: The low-end figure is somewhere around 33 percent. The high-end figure is just a little over 40 percent of people who are registered -- who are eligible to vote in the United States, are self-described born-again, evangelical Christians. Well, that makes us a very significant voting block. MARIN: So significant that the Southern Baptist Convention launched an all-out effort in the summer of 2004 to drive home that point, literally. In its past life, this 18-wheeler used to ferry around the Charlie Daniels Band. Now it's part of a Christian crusade to get out the vote. This stop was in Asheville, North Carolina. (MUSIC) MARIN: The I Vote Values tour is billed as non-partisan. Dr. Richard Land, the man in the video, heads the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. LAND: Pastor, you need this resource to lead your church during this critical election year. MARIN: On-board computers contain the public positions of George W. Bush and John Kerry on everything from the war in Iraq to abortion. KNIPPERS: Polls show that evangelicals are much like average Americans on a lot of issues. Whether it comes to war and peace or economic issues, they're pretty typical of average Americans. Where evangelicals are different are on value issues, such as the pro-life issue, such as the definition of "marriage." MARIN: It is those two issues that in large part fuel the evangelical vote. HAMLET: Next week, the ivotevalues.com truck will be here. Now you may not be... MARIN: Down in Spartanburg, they're also getting ready for a visit. HAMLET: And it educates people on the importance of voting, the importance of moral issues. I've never made an endorsement in my life. MARIN (on camera): But it would be fair to say that your congregation knows pretty much where you are. HAMLET: Yes, they will know where I am. MARIN: On Sunday, when this church is filled with people, what percentage of this congregation would vote for George Bush? HAMLET: I don't know, but I think it will be very large. MARIN: Is the evangelical vote a given for George Bush? DR. RICHARD MOUW, FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: No, I don't think so. I think that -- I think George Bush recognizes that it is not a given. Many of those evangelicals who on issues like homosexuality and other sexual issues and family value issues may like what George Bush is saying, but are much more inclined to agree with Mr. Kerry on questions of economic policy and international relations. MARIN: Do you worry at all that the terms "evangelical" and "conservative" are now so closely linked, they automatically mean Republican? KNIPPERS: It does worry me because I don't want to see the gospel of Jesus Christ identified in any sort of partisan way. MARIN: (voice-over): But in June 2004, a group of Republicans did try unsuccessfully to pass a bill that would let churches endorse political candidates and keep their tax-exempt status. GADDY: I can't imagine a better way to divide religion in this nation. MARIN (on camera): Red and blue churches? GADDY: Red and blue churches. It scares me to death. (MUSIC) MARIN (voice-over): At the I Vote Values truck, there is a distinct mixture of faith and politics and a music video designed to stir the hearts of every potential voter. But in that video is a reference to only one candidate. Polls show the more a person goes to church, the more often he or she will vote Republican. Religion is a major dividing line in American politics. GADDY: I'm very concerned November the 2nd. In some ways, I'm more concerned about November the 3rd. Whoever that new president is is going to face a nation that is deeply, bitterly divided. The religious community is the best hope for bringing this nation back together. That means the entire religious community. LAND: And I believe that if you look out across the landscape of America tonight, you can see the stirrings and you can hear the rustlings of a long-slumbering giant called the people of God, and they're determined that when they go home to their father, they're going to take their country with them. May it be so. May it begin with you. May it begin now. Let's pray. MARIN: How does someone save a million souls? PASTOR BOBBY WELCH, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: Eternity is in the balance, and you can try! (END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: We now return to CNN PRESENTS, The Fight Over Faith. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARIN (voice-over): Make no mistake about it. Bobby Welch wants you. WELCH: Maybe some of you can get right in here and lay hands on Brother Bobby Welch. MARIN: He is a former Green Beret turned pastor and the current head of the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention. Get your motor running because Bobby Welch is about to cover 20,000 miles in 25 days. WELCH: We're going to each state, including the District of Columbia, and also Canada. MARIN: The goal is to visit churches coast to coast, to light a fire, to save one million souls. WELCH: But I am telling you this, ladies and gentlemen, whether you know it or not, eternity's in the balance and you can try! MARIN (on camera): Is this a fight for faith? WELCH: It is a fight for faith in a world where Satan is moving against us. Our enemy is Satan. Our enemy is not conservatives or liberals, Democrats or Republicans. Those are not our enemy. And the day a person misidentifies the enemy, that's the day they will lose the battle. MARIN: Reverend Bobby Welch is headed into the heartland of a country in which 80 percent of Americans call themselves Christian. But the notion of one nation under God and indivisible, at least from a religious standpoint, is far from true. There is a great battle being fought, dictated in large measure by conservative evangelicals. The issues are both cultural and religious. Is the Bible infallible? Is Christianity inclusive or exclusive? And is a belief in Jesus Christ the only way into heaven? GADDY: I think Protestantism is going through tremendous rigors that will lead to we don't yet know what. KNIPPERS: You see families split. You see local congregations split. People are confused. They don't know what way to turn. MARIN: And now Diane Knippers whose own group is fostering a conservative rebellion in Protestant churches is facing a critical decisions in her own denomination. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet your new bishop. MARIN: In 2003, Gene Robinson, an open homosexual, became the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire. KNIPPERS: My church is now teaching and propagating views that are a violation of my deepest convictions. MARIN (on camera): You're thinking of leaving? KNIPPERS: I am, absolutely. And I am terribly torn, and I am terribly in grief. LYNN: There is a deep division in this country. One of the reasons that religion does tend to divide people is because it's the most powerful influence in a lot of people's lives. If it matters the most, you're going to fight about it the most. MARIN (voice-over): The fights are over cultural issues that divide the nation, such as abortion and gay rights. HAMLET: My position is based on a set of moral absolutes, have been, are and are going to be true. That's the problem that America has. We now have no moral absolutes. GADDY: There are power-hungry people, both in the church and in politics, who are using those issues to divide congregations in order to identify who the true believers are. MARIN (on camera): You seem to describe it almost like a religious McCarthyism. GADDY: There is a religious McCarthyism in our world today. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you accepted Jesus as your savior? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good deal. Good deal, Cameron. MARIN (voice-over): Mainline Protestant churches have since the early 1990s seen a marked decrease in attendance, while the number of evangelicals appears to be growing. In America, 33 percent of 40 percent of the population call themselves born-again Christians. (on camera): Does it work that there is no other way to get to heaven but to be born again? HAMLET: Yes. Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the light. No man comes to the Father except by me. Prophet Muhammad is dead. Buddha is dead. The other leaders are dead. But we serve a risen savior through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. MARIN: Would you ever say that there is one way to the Kingdom of God? GADDY: I will never attempt to play God, and to make any statement that is sweepingly exclusive of other people is to assume that I can make a judgment that I believe only God alone can make. MOUW: It's not up to us to win the battle. God's going to win the battle. It's up to us to be faithful to the gospel. MARIN: Is the Bible the infallible word of God? MOUW: Yes, it is the infallible word of God. That doesn't mean that every one who interprets the Bible interprets the Bible infallibly. Christians have often been wrong in what they believe were their cherished interpretations of the Bible. (MUSIC) MARIN (voice-over): Faith, it is written in the Book of Hebrews, is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For the Carlisle family, there is a certainty to this thing called faith. It is not an intangible, but a given... C. CARLISLE: "Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for everything that"... MARIN: ... was a reward reserved only for those who believe as they do and have been saved, even at the age of 3. C. CARLISLE: I didn't understand completely everything about being a Christian right then, but I understood that I needed Jesus. He went through everything he went through because of me. I killed him, and so that's all I need to understand, that he just died for me, and that's all I need to know. MARIN: What do you hope for your kids in the kind of world that they are going to grow into? R. CARLISLE: I hope that Jesus returns very soon, and that is an honest-to-God statement. I wasn't ready for the rapture back when I was young and in high school or in college and thought, you know, that I had my whole life before me, but the more I see the turn of events, I don't want Jesus to tarry. If he came back in this instant, it would be -- it would not be soon enough for me. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


text:
Holiday Inn Clinton - Bridgewater
Holiday Inn Clinton - Bridgewater
111 West Main Street
111 West Main Street
Clinton, New Jersey
United States
Check In: 3PM
Check Out: 12PM
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IHG takes your privacy seriously and works to protect you. All personal information you provide is encrypted and secure.
Welcome to Holiday Inn Clinton - Bridgewater
We are a full-service hotel with its friendly staff, new Oase Grille overlooking our Waterfall patio, all new One-11 Bar & Lounge, large heated indoor pool, spacious common areas for work or play and Fitness room. Whether you are traveling for business, or visiting friends and family, the Holiday Inn Clinton has something for everyone.
Take our complimentary weekday shuttle to offices in Lebanon, Perryville, Annandale, High Bridge and Whitehouse Station. Merck, Chubb, Intel, Ingersol Rand, Mallinckrodt, Foster Wheeler and Exxon Mobil are all located within 10 minutes. We are convenient to Newark Airport (40 miles E) and Lehigh Valley Airport (35 miles W) and a short distance to downtown with waterfalls, shops and lakeside trails.
When you are the person responsible for putting together a successful social event or business meeting, you'll find our experienced sales team will always go the extra mile to help you be the hero at the office or with the family! Our flexible meeting space can accommodate groups of 1 to 450.
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Kids ages 18 and under stay for free when sharing their parents' room. Up to four kids ages 11 and under eat free any time of the day in any Holiday Inn® on-site restaurant.
*View Terms & Conditions for Details.
Children's Activities Available.
|Kids Stay Free
|Kids Eat Free
Free High-Speed Internet
Standard Wireless Internet service is included for all guests.
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- Car Parking Available
- Complimentary Daily Self-Parking is available
- Self-Parking Fee: 0 USD
- Valet Parking Fee: 0 USD
- Plenty of convenient, FREE, well lit parking, Park at your own risk.
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- Pets allowed
- Service Animals Allowed
- Pets Walking Area Available
- Pet Fee per Night: 25 USD
- We are a Pet friendly Hotel. Pet Fee is 25USD per room night for up to 2 pets No Exotic pets or pets over 80lbs Pets cannot be left unattended in the rooms or public areas Hotel will not be responsible for accidents caused to or by the pet or loss of pet
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- Smoke-Free Facility
- Number of Floors: 5
- Total Number of Rooms: 142
- Number of Suites: 15
- Number of Non-Smoking Rooms: 142
- Number of Accessible Rooms: 9
- Connecting Rooms Available
- Sleeping Rooms, Meeting Spaces, Restaurant, Lounge and Public Space Remodeled
- Public Spaces Renovated in: 2013
- Guest Rooms Renovated in: 2013
- Public Entrance
- Guest Rooms
- Elevators
- Public Restrooms
- Exercise Facility
- Business Center
- Pool
- Number of Accessible Meeting Rooms: 6
Accessible Hotel Areas
- Registration Area
- Accessible Guest Rooms
- Business Center
- Meeting Room
- Exercise Facility
- Pool
Hotel Areas with Accessible Routes from Accessible Public Entrance
- Accessible Self-Parking
- Van Accessible Self Parking
- Ramp Access
- Closed Caption TVs
- Telephone with TDD
- Visual Alarm/Alert in Guest Rooms
- Visual Alarm/Alert in Public Spaces
Provided by Hotel

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The red block at the corner of Beeston Street and Love Lane shows approximately where the house at 49 Beeston Street, the Smedmore family home, was located. My memories of it are as a child and a young teenager. Unfortunately there are no photographs of the exterior of the house. I think the exterior architecture would have been considered in the Georgian style, something like this photograph taken in 2003 in Falmouth, Trelawny, Jamaica.
Colin G. Clarke, in his book, Kingston, Jamaica: urban development and social change, 1692-1962 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975), quotes Michael Scott who wrote of the architecture in Kingston in the 19th century as follows:
The appearance of the town itself was novel and pleasing; the houses chiefly of two stories, looked as if they had been built of cards, most of them being surrounded by piazzas from ten to fourteen feet wide ... On the ground-floor these piazzas are open ... on the floor above, the balconies are shut in with moveable blinds called "jalousies", with large-bladed Venetian blinds fixes in frames....
I don't know when the house at 49 Beeston Street was built. I do know that it was occupied by the family of Louis Cunha in 1878 (of whom more in future).
The house sat on the north side of Beeston Street, and well up from the street itself. There was a set of steps, perhaps about six or so, which led up to the house. There was in front a large piazza open to the air, which was never used by the family. The steps themselves led to a door in a wall ... for the entire property was surrounded by a high cement wall. You entered this door and were immediately completely away from the street outside. A short path led to the open back verandah on the left, and on the right was the courtyard which included a large Jamaican cherry tree, and in the walled garden all sorts of tropical plants mainly crotons, coleus and ferns.
The house itself consisted of two bedrooms on the ground floor, as well as a full bathroom, all off of the back verandah. Across from the back verandah, to the north of the house, was a separate building, connected to the house by a covered walkway. This building contained the dining area, pantry and to the west a laundry room. To the east of the house at the end of the property were other outbuildings, including the kitchen with huge wood burning stove, and servants's quarters.
The second storey, which one reached by a staircase, contained in the centre a large with-drawing room, and off of that four bedrooms with a bathroom. At the top of the stairs was another bathroom, which may have been added later, and another bedroom overlooking the courtyard. When I visited the house as a child, the large bedroom on the ground floor belonged to my eldest aunt Sylvia (and had originally been my grandparents' room), and the other bedroom was that of my youngest uncle, Julian. Two of the bedrooms upstairs were occupied by my aunt Elma and my uncle Owen. Whenever I stayed over I had one of the smaller bedrooms overlooking Love Lane.
My parents, Michael Leopold Levy and Maud Dey Smedmore, were married in 1926 and their wedding pictures were taken in the courtyard of 49 Beeston Street. This picture of them together is taken to the east of the house and one can see the kitchen outbuilding in the background.


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text:
|Sonic State Studio / Analog Mixers /
|Mackie 1604 VLZ-PRO At a Glance
|Released: 1999 Version: 0.00
|Rated: 8.0/10 User reviews: (3)
|Linkssubmit a link
|Albert writes:
The Mackie 1604 VLZ-PRO is a 16 channel compact 4-buss mixer with 16 mic inputs, 16 line inputs, and inserts on each channel. Channels 1-8 have direct outs, and it has 6 effects sends and four stereo returns. Each channel has 3-band eq with sweepable mid, low cut switch, mute, solo, buss assign, and trim controls. The mixer has a headphone output, control room and master mix outputs, tape in/out, and a mono output that sums both left and right master outs together.
The master section has some nice routing capabilities and makes the mixer easy to intergrate into a studio setting.
I have three of these mixers and use them in a non-standard way, i.e. I have them ganged together. The original CR-1604 was designed to be ganged together using Mackies MixerMixer, but the VLZ models were not. I use two MixerMixer's to join the outputs of the three VLZ-PRO's, effectively creating a single 48 channel mixing board with the improved XDR preamps, plus the advantages of all the extra tape and effects inputs.
Good Points
Since both the mic inputs and line inputs are routed through the mixer's preamps, the new XDR preamps do make a difference in how the entire board sounds. I find the mixer to be more open sounding than previous 1604's, with a cleaner and slightly brighter high end. Mackie has included a simple way to set the trim levels correctly for each channel using the onboard metering, and when followed properly this yields good headroom and clean sound. I have found this mixer to be easy to use, and to sound excellent. I personally believe it is the best value on the market in a compact mixer. It is ruggedly built in an all metal enclosure, and based on my experience with my three previous CR-1604's, it should provide years of trouble free service. (knock on wood, of course!).
Bad Points
The only real annoying negative to this board in my opinion is that the effects returns are not pannable. The original CR-1604 had panning controls for the effects returns, and I really miss that feature on the new boards. I contacted Mackie Designs about this and got the response that they dropped the panning because the newer digital effects boxes have panning control inside them. I find this to be a cop-out frankly, as panning effects from within the effects box is not always possible, and at the very least is slow and time consuming. Effects panning is very important for a refined mix, in my opinion. The Mackie eq is workable when used in moderation. For fine tuning of eq and outboard eq is probably a good thing to have.
Mackie 1604 VLZ-PRO Specifications:
Digital IOs:
Analog IOs:
16 mic, 16 line, 16 insert
Midi IOs:
4 busses
Aux sends: 6 fx sends
3-band, sweepable mids
rotopod bracket
1604 VLZ-PRO Links
Electronic Musician review
Try the Analog Mixers links page for more..


text:
Fundamentalism is a movement among Christians in the United States that began in the late 19th century. It was a backlash against Modernism, which the fundamentalists accused of denying such Christian doctrines such as virgin birth and the inerrancy of Scripture. The name comes from a series of pamphlets entitled The Fundamentals that were published between 1910 and 1915.[1] The movement is associated with the 1925 Scopes Trial, which concerned the issue of evolution. It suffered a decline in the 1930s, but revived in the late 1940s. At this time, the words "evangelical" and "fundamentalist" were used interchangeably.
In the late 1950s, the movement split between evangelicals such as Billy Graham (1918-2018) and fundamentalists led by John R. Rice (1895-1980). In the 1920s, fundamentalism was inclusive and involved a diverse set of denominations. In contrast, Rice was a separatist and an Independent Baptist. Although anti-Catholicism had been a core fundamentalist principle, Jerry Falwell (1933–2007), a protégé of Rice, united conservative Protestants and Catholics as the Religious Right. Since the retirement of Bob Jones III in 2005, the fundamentalist movement has lacked notable leadership.
- 1 Name
- 2 Birth of the Fundamentalist Movement
- 3 Eric Kaufmanm on the rise of religious fundamentalism in the 21st century
- 4 Organizing the Fundamentalists
- 5 Fighting evolution
- 6 Post-war reestablishment
- 7 Other states
- 8 Fundamentalism in various religions
- 9 Israel and Christian fundamentalism
- 10 Eric Kaufmann on the future of religious fundamentalism
- 11 See also
- 12 External links
- 13 Further reading
- 14 References
Merriam Webster defines fundamentalism as "a movement in 20th century Protestantism emphasizing the literally interpreted Bible as fundamental to Christian life and teaching."[2]
Author George M. Marsden defines it this way:
A fundamentalist is an American evangelical who is angry about something. That seems simple and it is fairly accurate. Jerry Falwell has even adopted it as a quick definition of fundamentalism that reporters are likely to quote. A more precise statement of the same point is that an American fundamentalist is an evangelical who is militant in opposition to liberal theology in the churches or to changes in cultural values or mores, such as those associated with "secular humanism."[3]
The term is derived from The Fundamentals: A Testimony to the Truth. This was a series of twelve pamphlets published between 1910 and 1915 that critiqued Modernist interpretations of Scripture. The movement was generally called "evangelism" until 1919, when the World's Christian Fundamentals Association was formed.
Birth of the Fundamentalist Movement
The roots of the movement are usually traced to the Princeton Theological Seminary in the 1880s. Principal Archibald Alexander Hodge and Professor Benjamin B. Warfield defended biblical authority against the claims of "higher criticism," a "liberal reinterpretion" of Scripture. They also developed the doctrine of inerrancy. This later became the central doctrine of fundamentalism.
The Fundamentals stressed several core beliefs, including:
- The inerrancy of the Bible
- The literal nature of the Biblical accounts of Christ's miracles, the Creation account in Genesis, and so on
- The Virgin Birth of Christ
- The bodily resurrection of Christ
- The substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross[4]
By the late 1920s, the first two points had become central to Fundamentalism. Thanks to sponsorship, over three million volumes were distributed free to clergy, laymen, missionaries, and libraries. The leaders of the movement founded the World's Christian Fundamentals Association in 1919. The term "fundamentalism" was coined by Baptist editor Curtis Lee Laws in 1920 to designate Christians who were ready "to do battle royal for the fundamentals."
Much of the enthusiasm for mobilizing Fundamentalism came from Bible colleges, especially those modeled after the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. The Bible colleges prepared ministers who lacked college or seminary experience with intense study of the Bible, often using the Scofield Reference Bible of 1909, which had detailed notes explaining how to interpret Dispensationalist passages.
Eric Kaufmanm on the rise of religious fundamentalism in the 21st century
At a conference Eric Kaufmann said of religious demographic projections concerning the 21st century:
| Part of the reason I think demography is very important, at least if we are going to speak about the future, is that it is the most predictable of the social sciences.
...if you look at a population and its age structure now. You can tell a lot about the future. ...So by looking at the relative age structure of different populations you can already say a lot about the future...
...Religious fundamentalism is going to be on the increase in the future and not just out there in the developing world..., but in the developed world as well.[5]
For more information, please see:
Organizing the Fundamentalists
Fundamentalist movements were found in most Protestant denominations by 1919, with the debate between fundamentalists and modernists especially strong in Presbyterian and Baptist churches.
The most important leader in organizing a movement was William Bell Riley, a Northern Baptist based in Minneapolis, where his Northwestern Bible and Missionary Training School (1902), Northwestern Evangelical Seminary (1935), and Northwestern College (1944) produced thousands of graduates.
Riley became the leading organizer of the movement for Fundamentalism. He created, at a large conference in Philadelphia in 1919, the World's Christian Fundamentals Association (WCFA). It became the chief interdenominational fundamentalist organization in the 1920s, and Riley was president until 1929, after which the WFCA faded in importance.
Although the fundamentalist drive of the 1920s to take control of the major Protestant denominations failed at the national level, the network of churches and missions developed and controlled by Riley indicates that fundamentalism was growing in strength, especially in The South. Both rural and urban in character, the flourishing movement acted as a denominational surrogate and aimed at a militant orthodoxy of evangelical Christianity.[6]
Fighting evolution
Fundamentalists in the 1920s devoted themselves to fighting the teaching of evolution in the nation's schools and colleges, both public and private.
Riley took the initiative in the Scopes Trial of 1925 to bring in famed orator William Jennings Bryan as an assistant to the local prosecutor. The trial revealed a growing chasm in American Christianity and two ways of finding truth, one "biblical" and one "scientific." Liberals saw a division between educated, tolerant Christians and narrow-minded, tribal, obscurantist Christians.[7]
Gatewood (1969) analyzes the transition from the antievolution crusade of the 1920s to the creation science movement of the 1960s. Despite some similarities between these two causes, the creation science movement represented a shift from religious to scientific objections to Darwin's theory. Creation science also differed in terms of popular leadership, rhetorical tone, and sectional focus. It lacked a prestigious leader like Bryan, utilized scientific rather than religious rhetoric, and was a product of California and Michigan instead of the South.[8]
Edwards (2000) contradicts the conventional view that in the wake of the Scopes trial a humiliated fundamentalism retreated into the political and cultural background, a viewpoint evidenced in the movie Inherit the Wind and the majority of contemporary historical accounts. Rather, the cause of fundamentalism's retreat was the death of its leader, Bryan. Most fundamentalists saw the trial as a victory and not a defeat, but Bryan's death soon after created a leadership void that no other fundamentalist leader could fill. Bryan, unlike the other leaders, brought name recognition, respectability, and the ability to forge a broad-based coalition of fundamentalist and mainline religious groups to argue for the antievolutionist position.[9]
The American Civil Liberties Union at first had no objection to a general Christian outlook in the public schools, as long as it was that of no particular sect. By the time of the Scopes Trial, however, the ACLU and other advocates of secular humanism insisted that public education must not assume any religious outlook, laying the groundwork, as Bryan feared, for the triumph of materialism.
Post-war reestablishment
While other denominations rebranded as "evangelical," the Independent Baptists continued to describe themselves as "fundamentalist." Their foremost leader, John R. Rice, founded a fundamentalist paper, The Sword of the Lord in 1934 and served as its editor till his death in 1980. Its masthead states, "An Independent Christian Publication, Standing for the Verbal Inspiration of the Bible, the Deity of Christ, His Blood Atonement, Salvation by Faith, New Testament Soul Winning and the Premillennial Return of Christ; Opposing Modernism, Worldliness and Formalism." Noted fundamentalists in that group included H.A. Ironside, Bob Jones, Sr., Bob Shuler, William Culbertson, Harry Hager, R.G. Lee, Hyman Appelman, V. Raymond Edman, Scotchie McCall, E.J. Daniels, W.A. Criswell, Joe Henry Hankins. However, in one illustration of different manifestations of fundamentalism, after the death of John R. Rice some took issue with the direction the new editor of "The Sword" had taken in separating brethren over details about which Godly Bible believers may have differing convictions. Primary among these was defining a true fundamentalist as only an independent Baptist who stood with him. In a letter by Rice's daughter,[10] she noted that her father even considered some evangelical non-Baptists (including Pentecostals) to be fundamentalists, if they also held to and earnestly contended for the fundamentals of the faith. She pointed to his note on Romans 14:l in the Rice Reference Bible which stated, "We then are to receive and have fellowship with all saved people who may differ on minor matters but agree on the great fundamentals of the Christian faith."[11]
Further descriptions of fundamentalism are offered by other writers, such as Joel Carpenter in his book, Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism who writes about "the complexity and contributions of fundamentalism as a faith system whose purposes and beliefs have all too frequently been reduced to caricature."[12] Reviewer William Martin,[13] notes how author Joel Carpenter acknowledges the value of "fundamentalism" as a generic label for militant religious and cultural conservatism. But he focuses on that particular, identifiable strain of evangelical Christianity that is persistently revivalistic, emphasizes dispensationalist premillennialism and biblical inerrancy, militantly opposes theological modernism and cultural secularity and feels a strong sense of "trusteeship" for American culture.
Other states
Webb (1991) traces the political and legal struggles between strict creationists and Darwinists to influence the extent to which evolution would be taught as science in Arizona and California schools. After Scopes was convicted, creationists throughout the United States sought similar antievolution laws for their states. These included Reverends R. S. Beal and Aubrey L. Moore in Arizona and members of the Creation Research Society in California, all supported by distinguished laymen. They sought to ban evolution as a topic for study or, at least, relegate it to the status of unproven theory perhaps taught alongside the biblical version of creation. Educators, scientists, and other distinguished laymen favored evolution. This struggle occurred later in the Southwest than in other US areas and persisted through the Sputnik era, which inspired increased faith in evolutionism.[14]
Fundamentalism in various religions
The term slowly came to mean all movements within religions that reject modernizing/liberalizing influences and attempt to stay true to the word of that religion's scriptures. The term has been applied to Christians, Muslims, and Hindus. Christian fundamentalism differs from Orthodoxy in its sole reliance on the Bible and disregard for previously established tradition. Similarly, within Islam, the "fundamentalist" movements (such as Wahhabism) seek to remove perceived impurities in Islam and return it to the believed roots. Unlike Christianity, however, these uncovered roots have spawned incredible amounts of violence. "Fundamentalist" Hinduism is, in a way, a contradiction in terms. Hinduism has no one sacred holy book, and thus no original scriptures to return to, and so the term is instead used to describe those Hindus who are intolerant of the existence of other religions (and occasionally non-Indians) in their communities.
The term "fundamentalist" is also self-applied by a breakaway movement from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, calling itself the "Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." This group, which practices polygamy and whose leader was convicted on charges relating to child rape, claims to continue the original revelations of Joseph Smith who was a polygamist. It is considered to be an apostate group by the older church and cannot truly be called fundamentalist, in the Mormon context, because it ignores the doctrine of continuous revelation to the leaders of the church. It was one such revelation that caused the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to renounce polygamy approximately sixty years after the church's founding.
There are no fundamentalist Jews, as all movements to return to the basic tenets of Judaism simply result in increased orthodoxy. Judaism may be unique in this regard. Though according to scholars such as Samuel C. Heilman, Menachem Friedman, and Werner Backeberg, there are "truly fundamentalist Jews" who are "a minority of a minority of a minority (that is, approximately 30 percent of Orthodox Jewry, which itself is only about 15 percent of the approximately twelve million members of world Jewry)."[15][16]
In recent times, the media has taken to describing any conservative non-denominational church or conservative evangelical church as fundamentalist. Indeed, these churches do strive to return to the basics of Christianity—its fundamentals.
Israel and Christian fundamentalism
Historically speaking, the majority of American Fundamentalists have been and remain zionists. Fundamentalist-evangelicals rejoiced when part of Jerusalem was annexed after the 1967 six day war, whereas the National Council of Churches denounced Israel. Liberal Christianity called for the "internationalization" of Jerusalem throughout the 1960s, while Fundamentalists expressed their hope for Biblical prophecy: God promised Jerusalem to Israel.[17]
Differences between liberal and fundamentalist Christians
There are three main differences between liberal Christian theology and fundamentalism-evangelicalism that affect their respective attitudes toward Jewish people. These differences[17] are:
- Fundamentalism's literal interpretation of prophecy versus Liberalism's spiritual interpretation.
- Fundamentalism's equal weighting of the Old and New Testaments versus Liberalism privileging the New, especially the liberal tendency to interpret critical remarks against Judaism.
- Fundamentalism's belief in unconverted Israel over against Liberalism's conversion requirement (i.e., so-called replacement theology).
Eric Kaufmann on the future of religious fundamentalism
See also: Growth of religious fundamentalism
Religious fundamentalism has risen to worldwide prominence ever since the 1970s.[18]
Eric Kaufmann is a professor of politics at Birkbeck College, University of London and author. His academic research specialty is how demographic changes affect religion/irreligion and politics.
According to Kaufmann:
|It will be a century or more before the world completes its demographic transition. There is still too much smoke in the air for us to pick out the peaks and valleys of the emerging social order. This much seems certain: without a new [secular liberal] ideology to inspire social cohesion, fundamentalism cannot be stopped. The religious shall inherit the earth.[19]
At a conference Kaufmann said of religious demographic projections concerning the 21st century:
| Part of the reason I think demography is very important, at least if we are going to speak about the future, is that it is the most predictable of the social sciences.
...if you look at a population and its age structure now. You can tell a lot about the future. ...So by looking at the relative age structure of different populations you can already say a lot about the future...
...Religious fundamentalism is going to be on the increase in the future and not just out there in the developing world..., but in the developed world as well.[5]
See also
- John Gresham Machen
- Southern Baptist Convention
- Theory of Fundamentalist anti-Semitism
- Revelation, Book of (historical exegesis)
- Great Apostasy
External links
- Online copy of The Fundamentals
- Online copy of The Fundamentals from Internet Archive
Further reading
- Almond, Gabriel A., R. Scott Appleby, and Emmanuel Sivan, eds. Strong Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms around the World (2003) excerpt and text search
- Hankins, Barry. God's Rascal: J. Frank Norris and the Beginnings of Southern Fundamentalism (1996)
- Marsden, George M. Fundamentalism and American Culture (2nd ed 2006), the standard scholarly history (by a fundamentalist) excerpt and text search
- Marsden, George M. Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism (1991) excerpt and text search
- Ruthven, Malise. Fundamentalism: A Very Short Introduction (2007) excerpt and text search
- Sandeen, Ernest R. The Roots of Fundamentalism (1970)
- Trollinger, William V. God's Empire: William Bell Riley and Midwestern Fundamentalism (1991) excerpts and text search
- Witherup, Ronald D. S.S. Biblical Fundamentalism: What Every Catholic Should Know (2001), 101pp excerpt and text search
- Richard Thomas Hughes, The American quest for the primitive church (1988) 257 pp excerpt and text search
Primary sources
- Trollinger, William Vance, Jr., ed. The Antievolution Pamphlets of William Bell Riley. (Creationism in Twentieth century America: A Ten-Volume Anthology of Documents, 1903-1961. Vol. 4.) New York: Garland, 1995. 221 pp. excerpt and text search
- ↑ "Fundamentalism", Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals
- ↑ fundamentalist
- ↑ Marsden, George M., Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism (1991), p. 1
- ↑ The Fundamentals A Testimony to the Truth (1910-1915)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Eric Kaufmann - Religion, Demography and Politics in the 21st Century
- ↑ William Vance Trollinger, Jr. "Riley's Empire: Northwestern Bible School and Fundamentalism in the Upper Midwest". Church History 1988 57(2): 197-212. 0009-6407
- ↑ David Goetz, "The Monkey Trial". Christian History 1997 16(3): 10-18. 0891-9666; Burton W. Folsom, , Jr. "The Scopes Trial Reconsidered." Continuity 1988 (12): 103-127. 0277-1446, by a leading conservative scholar
- ↑ Willard B. Gatewood, Jr., ed. Controversy in the Twenties: Fundamentalism, Modernism, & Evolution (1969)
- ↑ Mark Edwards, "Rethinking the Failure of Fundamentalist Political Antievolutionism after 1925". Fides Et Historia 2000 32(2): 89-106. 0884-5379
- ↑ http://www.biblicalevangelist.org/index.php?id=282&view=Guest+Editorial
- ↑ Also cited were two chapters in Rice's book, I AM A FUNDAMENTALIST (1975), that of Be a Fundamentalist, But Not a Nut, and Fundamentalists Should Love All Christ's Other Sheep.
- ↑ From Library Journal review
- ↑ "How the Fundamentalists Learned to Thrive", by Rice University professor of sociology, William Martin in The Christian Century, September, 23-30, 1998, pp. 872-875
- ↑ George E. Webb, "The Evolution Controversy in Arizona and California: From the 1920s to the 1980s." Journal of the Southwest 1991 33(2): 133-150. 0894-8410. See also Christopher K. Curtis, "Mississippi's Anti-Evolution Law of 1926." Journal Of Mississippi History 1986 48(1): 15-29.
- ↑ Fundamentalism, Werner Backeberg (Faculty of Theology) Institute for Missiological and Ecumenical Research (IMER), University of Pretoria, p. 19
- ↑ Fundamentalism Observed, p. 198
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Zionism Within Early American Fundamentalism 1878-1918: A Convergence of Two Traditions, David A. Rausch, Edwin Mellen Press, 1979, ISBN 9-88946-875-3, ISBN 0-88946-976-8, p.4
- ↑ The Rise of Religious Fundamentalism, Annual Review of Sociology, 2006, Vol. 32:127-144
- ↑ The Stork Theory By Allan C. Carlson, February 28, 2018


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|Moral Hazard at Reichenbach Falls
Still, $10,000 is no bag of shells. A year ago, State Representative Stephen Kulik, a liberal democrat from Worthington, Massachusetts, introduced a bill (H.650) that would allow municipal and state governments to recoup emergency response costs attributable to reckless or intentional behavior. Many of the communities that Kulik represents have more vertical topography than Amherst; they also have tighter resources, making costs tougher to absorb.
|A light at the end of the spelunk
But when there's clear negligence, why should the towns foot the entire bill? Consider the 12-hour rescue in 2010, for example, by Amherst responders of 25-year old Maya Hersh from a cave in the hills of nearby Leverett. Ms. Hersh got stuck in a cave's narrow orifice. To her discredit, she confessed to having been stuck and unstuck there before (the first time without emergency assistance).
Whether Kulik's bill becomes law or not, Scott and Maya would do well to read Laurence Gonzales' Deep Survival.
In recent posts, this blog has examined the dangers of other wishful perceptions: viewing interspecies liaisons as central casting in a peaceable kingdom and experiencing what the psychologist Daniel Kahneman calls amnesiac vacations. Happily, we can all learn from Scott and Maya's picaresque adventures. One question does, however, cry out: Given the lightening learning curves and voracious networking skills of this blog's readers, do we still need a Kulik bill to become a Massachusetts law?


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"Port a point. Steady!"
The ship crept through the water; not a sound from the crew, standing tense at their guns — only the faint sweet music of the breeze in the rigging, and the lapping of the water overside. Now they were level with the infantry column, a long dense mass of blue-coated and white-breeched soldiers, stepping out manfully, a little unreal in the haze of dust. Above the blue coats could be seen the white lines of their faces — every face was turned towards the pretty white-sailed ship creeping over the blue-enamel water. It was a welcome diversion in a weary march, during a war when every day demanded its march. Gerard was giving no orders for a change of elevation at the moment — here the road ran level for a half a mile, fifty feet above the sea. Hornblower put his silver whistle to his lips. Gerard had seen the gesture. Before Hornblower could blow, the centre main-deck gun had exploded, and a moment later the whole broadside followed with a hideous crash. The Sutherland heeled to the recoil, and the white, bitter-tasting smoke came billowing up.
"God, look at that!" exclaimed Bush.
The forty-one balls from the Sutherland's broadside and cannonades had swept the road from side to side. Fifty yards of the column had been cut to fragments. Whole files had been swept away; the survivors stood dazed and stupid. The gun trucks roared as the guns were run out again, and the Sutherland lurched once more at the second broadside. There was another gap in the column now, just behind the first.
This, of course, is from C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novel, Ship of the Line, and is a graphic depiction of what a ship of the line could do to ground troops under the right combination of circumstances. Hornblower's actions are fiction, could this happen in real life? Continue reading


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Save for a bespoke suit from Savile Row, few things will make you feel as gentlemanly as a classic English shave with a badger brush and straight razor. This legendary cream, direct from London's ultrasuave West End, is your chance to recreate a professional British cut throat at home and add a bit of old-fashioned elegance to your morning routine. It's backed by over 150 years of experience, so you know you've got history on your side.
I have been a double-edge safety razor shaver for about a year now, and I've tried a number of different creams, soaps, blades, and preparation supplies.
I can say without a doubt that I prefer TOBS (all of the scents, really...try a sample pack) for shave creams. The lather is excellent, and a tub like this lasts me for months.
My boyfriend really enjoys this purchase. I love the sandalwood scent, and it compliments his favorite aftershave lotion (also a sandalwood, though slightly sweeter.) The packaging negates need for a separate shaving bowl, which is great for travel and nice in compact vanity situations. He says he just barely dips the tips of his shaving brush in and that gives him enough lather to shave his entire face. I imagine his head requires another dip! Nonetheless, he says this amount of product will last him a very long time.5
I am a sucker for sandlewood... I don't know what it is about it - but that's why I bought this and it didn't disappoint.
I apply it both with my hands and sometimes with a brush - it's perfect for either. The container is kind of like a shaving soap bowl with a screw on lid, which is nice when I do use a brush.
It's a little big to throw in my dopp bag for travel, but perfect for at home.


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by Kevin Dicciani
The Philadelphia Police Department Northwest Detectives Division is seeking to identify the suspect responsible for robbing the Pathmark supermarket located at 7700 Crittenden Street.
According to a release by the police, the robbery occurred on Jan. 30, 2013 at 1:25 a.m. The suspect broke into the Pathmark by prying open the front doors. Once inside, the man went behind the customer service counter and was confronted by an employee. When the employee approached him, the man attempted to stab him with the tool he used to pry open the doors. He stole the entire cash register which contained an undetermined amount of cash, then fled in an unknown direction in a dark-colored, four-door vehicle with a broken passenger rear window.
The suspect is described by the police as an African-American male with a dark complexion, 30-40 years-of-age, with a heavy build and a scruffy beard. At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, dark-colored pants and a long white t-shirt.
The police urges anyone who sees the man to call 911 immediately. Under no circumstances should you approach him.
To submit a tip to the police, call 215-686-8477, or text 773847. You can also use this electronic form to submit a tip anonymously.
You may also contact the Northwest Detectives Division, Detective Azzarana, at 215-686-3353 or 215-686-3354.


text:
Deep in a subterranean shelter, hidden from the insect-like alien invaders known as Skitters that ruled the surface, we began dissecting a recovered alien corpse. The shelter was still in construction when the aliens fell from the skies, so a gaping hole to the next level up hung above our heads instead of a ceiling. I was nervous about the utter darkness of that hole beyond the illumination of our shop lights, but my two companions didn't seem to mind. Both were women; one a qualified doctor doing the operation, and the other the love of my life.
The deceased subject lay on a metal table in the center of the large room. The doctor gingerly moved aside some slimy tentacles from its body and the puckered mouth in the center of the carapace reluctantly opened with the aid of her forceps. She placed a small cloth disk inside to keep it open. I stood off to the side against the wall with my girlfriend.
The doctor was engrossed in her work. A few alien tentacles twitched where they draped over the table to the floor. Again they twitched, this time a little more. It slowly dawned on me that the alien was not dead, and worse, it was sending out some kind of signal for help.
I grabbed my machine gun and my girlfriend did the same with hers. We sprinted out the door into the hallway. The hall turned left and proceeded straight, sloping gently upwards to end in a set of steep stairs leading to the distant surface. The ceiling here was unfinished as well and alien bugs the size of dogs spilled out of holes into the hall. I squeezed the trigger and swept the barrel side to side, unleashing a stream of armor piercing bullets. Bug after bug erupted into a fountain of green and yellow gore that plastered the ceiling and walls. Egg pods began to drop from the ceiling and hatch. We kept firing and they just kept coming.
I threw down my gun and unslung the flamethrower from my back. Liquid fire spewed out the end of the barrel and I began to make headway against the alien swarm. Walking slowly up the sloping hallway, I nearly reached the base of the stairs when I heard the chittering of thousands of aliens.
"Get back!" I screamed. "I'm turning on the afterburner!" My girlfriend ran back into the room and I flipped a switch on the flamethrower. The force of the blast nearly knocked me off my feet. A stream of near invisible white hot death ascended the stairway. Countless aliens were incinerated instantly.
The blaze was too much for the shelter. Flames spilled out on the floor and licked up the walls to turn the ceiling into a canopy of fire. The stairs were the only way out. I retreated to the back room to find the doctor and my girlfriend cowering in the center of the room. The flames drew closer. Unable to stand the heat's inexorable advance, the doctor ran for the wall where a bank of large ovens sat. She dove inside one and reached out to turn the knob to max. A brief explosion of flame signaled her quick and relatively painless death.
I drew my girlfriend to me and held her close as the firestorm closed in around us. It ignited our clothing and singed our hair. We embraced with one final kiss as the inferno consumed us.


text:
In This Moment Name New Album
In This Moment have been working away on their fourth studio album and according to frontwoman Maria Brink, "It's the best, dirtiest, most raw material we've ever brought."
Fans got their first taste of the new music at Soundwave Festival in Australia last month when the band premiered the song 'Blood.' Well, in carrying on that theme, the band recently announced on their Facebook page that 'Blood' wasn't just a song, it's also the name of the new disc.The band revealed the title by posting a dictionary definition of the word blood followed by, "Through the blood of the phoenix we are reborn," hinting that this album is a reinvention of sorts for the band.
That doesn't come as much of a surprise considering they lost their drummer and guitarist who both left the band to join American Idol alumnist James Durbin. The lineup change not only fueled their creative fire, but according to Brink, "was meant to be."
Check out some fan-filmed footage of the band performing their new title track at Soundwave Festival here.
'Blood' the album was produced by Kevin Churko who the band has worked with in the past, and is due out this summer on Century Media Records.


text:
It was definitely sad and disappointing when Bethenny Frankel and Jason Hoppy announced their separation, but since they were still living together in their New York City apartment, there was still a small glimmer of hope that maybe they'd try and work things out.
But after hearing that Bethenny took their daughter Bryn to Aspen, Colorado over New Year's for the sole purpose of giving Jason time to move out of their home, it's pretty safe to say divorce is imminent for these two.
A source told RadarOnline, "Jason is in the process of moving out of their $5 million pad. It's not a healthy situation for them to be living under the same roof together because Bethenny doesn't intend on getting back together with him."
And while it sounds like Bethenny is ready to take the next step and move on to her life as a single mom, apparently Jason is a bit more broken up about their marriage falling apart.
The source also said, "Jason didn't want Bethenny to go to Aspen for New Year's and wanted to spend time with his wife and daughter, but she refused. Jason's entire world has been turned upside down, and he is absolutely lost right now."
Aww. It's hard not to feel pretty bad for the guy. I mean, it certainly sounds like he was hoping for a possible reconciliation, if the source's claims are true.
Still, if there really is no hope of them getting back together, then it's probably best that Bethenny skipped town and headed to Aspen in order to get the process moving along a little faster. Dragging things out is only going to make the divorce harder on both of them, not to mention little Bryn. As hard as it is, sometimes parting ways and starting over is best for everyone involved.
Do you think there's any chance that Bethenny and Jason will get back together?
Image via Splash


text:
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text:
>Many business owners in downtown Mount Clemens spent Sunday cleaning up their properties after fans attending an Insane Clown Posse hip hop concert at the Emerald Theatre the night before doused building exteriors with syrupy Faygo soda pop.
CONTRIBUTEStory IdeasSend Corrections
Workers were scrubbing walls and spraying windows to remove the soft drink that was deliberately sprayed on stores along North Walnut and Macomb Place.
- "That's just great — right before the Stars & Stripes Festival," said Mount Clemens Mayor Barb Dempsey.
- The spraying is known in Insane Clown Posse circles as a "Faygo shower," according to one fan who attended the show.
- "A Faygo shower is where you take a 2-liter bottle of Faygo, shake it up, remove the cap and let it spray on everyone," said Ryan Williams of Chesterfield Township.
- Faygo is the beverage of choice for the ICP duo because it's cheap and the two members could easily afford it, Williams said. Faygo is also headquartered in Michigan.
- According to ICP lore, the Detroit-based duo threw an open bottle of Faygo at fans who were making an obscene gesture at a show and the crowd cheered, so the two have continued to spray audiences with the pop. ICP has a hardcore following of loyal fans who refer to themselves as juggalos.
- Larry Moloney, who along with his wife Cecillia own a number of downtown properties, was out Sunday scrubbing the sticky soda pop from windows and steps of his buildings.
- "They sprayed everything around here with Faygo red pop," Moloney said. "They should have to clean up after themselves."
- Workers at Madison's Pub were out picking up trash left behind by the fans. They said some of the "juggalos" had left white and blood-red paint on their walls.
- Witnesses said fans lining the outside of the building began spraying the stores as they waited to get inside of the show on Saturday night. Someone called the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, but no arrests were made.
- Williams, who was attending his first ICP show on Saturday night, said someone from the venue came out and asked fans not to harm the neighboring businesses, but many in the crowd ignored the plea. He said someone pulled up in a van containing $80 worth of Faygo and handed out bottles to people.
- "The guy was telling everyone don't touch the businesses because it will take a long time to get the pop off," Williams said. "They asked us nicely."
- Mike Mitchell, who runs the Emerald with nightclub impresario Ronnie Masters, said theater personnel personally washed off several of the businesses on Sunday morning. He said security agents warned fans outside the venue to stop causing trouble.
- "There were cops out in front of the building but I think everyone was aware the kids were just having fun," Mitchell said. "Honestly, it just got out of hand. We have people out there cleaning the parking lots and the windows of the barbershop next door. We had hoped no one would do that, but they did."
- The Emerald reportedly is in severe financial trouble and the city's Downtown Development Authority has proposed purchasing the building and converting it into a community theater.
- But in the meantime, local bar and shop owners are not happy with the Emerald operators. They hope to arrange a meeting with the Emerald and city officials to talk about what they say is a chronic problem with the venue.
- "They're bringing the city down," said one bar owner who did not want to be identified. "Neither one of them live in the city, they don't contribute to the Downtown Development Authority. We just wish they'd both leave."


text:
These scenes began flashing through my mind just as the Screen Actors Guild Awards began announcing nominations for performance by a cast in a motion picture:
"Birdman" — actors in constricted spaces using dressing rooms and winding corridors to stage an intimate ballet; bodies and egos ever in motion, bumping, bruising, crashing, burning.
"Whiplash"— a war zone, the interplay between professor and prodigy scorching, the afterburn lingering; solitude even for the solitary ceasing to exist.
"Foxcatcher" — the concept of contact, inherent in the physical intimacy of wrestling; alive in intertwining limbs, mingling in breath and sweat, motion...


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To get your home in its best shape ever, call now for a Free, No-Obligation Estimate!