Kentucky governor declares 2017 "the year of the Bible"

[True Dough]

So much for the separation of church and state!

As Kentuckians conjure up plans and predictions for the new year, Gov. Matt Bevin has already put his own stamp on 2017 by declaring it the "Year of the Bible" in Kentucky.

In a proclamation he signed this week, the governor promoted a Bible-reading marathon that will be held throughout the commonwealth for the second year in a row starting next month.

Proclamations don't carry the weight or force of the law behind them the way legislation does, said Amber Duke, communications director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. But she still considers Bevin's new proclamation "disappointing."

The governor is "once again using his official position to promote his personal religious beliefs," Duke said. She suggested that the best way to respect Americans' right to religious freedom is for government officials to refrain from promoting specific religious books. "Here in Kentucky, (and) across this country, we’re free to practice religion - or not - without our government officials giving endorsements to some beliefs over other beliefs," Duke said.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/ky-governor/2016/12/22/bevin-2017-also-year-bible/95741578/

[milestogo]

1. 2016 was the year of the raging christian hypocrite, apparently

[Chasstev365]

2. Too Bad So Many in the GOP Don't Follow it's Teachings

[Initech]

5. Especially that part about "do unto others".

[Maru Kitteh]

6. I don't know, isn't having relations with his daughter, he sure wants to

That's pretty biblical.

[Nonhlanhla]

3. Too bad most of them don't know how to read the Bible

Fundamentalism is a distortion of the Bible.

[stopbush]

10. Oh, please. The Buy-bull is a POS book if ever there was one.

[dionysus]

17. What do you mean? Its got war, sex, violence... the ingredients for any

Thrilling story..

[Nonhlanhla]

18. Oh well, thank you for that thoughtful, well-informed opinion

[stopbush]

22. Had you yourself studied the Buy-bull in depth, you would realize

that the opinion I expressed IS both thoughtful and well informed.

[Nonhlanhla]

29. Ph.D. in religion

And I teach the Bible regularly at college level.

But thanks for the condescension.

[stopbush]

30. That's good to know. Do you believe god exists? Did Jesus exist?

If yes, do you have any objective evidence to support the belief?

Just wondering.

[smirkymonkey]

20. Too bad most of them don't know how to read at all.

n/t

[neverforget]

4. Specifically the Book of Revelations

[angrychair]

7. So what his favorite part?

The raping of women and children?

Daughters having sex with their father?

Oh, I know, maybe its that time god ordered mass genocide.

Year of the Bible indeed.

[madinmaryland]

31. The book about two Corinthians. nt

[stopbush]

8. Fuck the fucking Buy-bull and fuck the fucking governor of Kentucky.

Eom

[Grey Lemercier]

9. he is breaking this

[RiverStone]

11. 1+

[Skittles]

12. if republicans actually had to LIVE real Christian values

there would be no republican party

[yortsed snacilbuper]

13. They need something to read when they take a cruise on their boat.

[onethatcares]

37. wtf is a

cubit? Jeez I've been trying to get my crew on the biblical measurements for a long time but the hardest people to convince are my clients.

Ever tell some one their addition will be 7 cubits wide and 14 cubits long?

They look at me like I'm nucking futz and hire the other guy 9 times out of 10.

[DemocraticWing]

14. Governor "Low Turnout" Bevin is an embarassment of biblical proportions.

[NanceGreggs]

15. I can do ya one better, governor ...

How about declaring this the Year of Living Christ's Message!

That would be your cue, and that of your hypocritical "Christian" cohorts, to actually feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, care for the stick and dying, be their brother's .......... oh, I see I've lost your attention already.

Well, it was a thought. I forgot who I was talking to.

[pstokely]

16. thought Raygun declared 83 "year of the bible"

nt

[MineralMan]

19. A Bible Reading Marathon?

I predict few finishers in that race. Most will drop out early, long before they get to the half-marathon.

I've encountered very few people who profess to be Christians who have actually read the whole thing. Mostly, they get spoon-fed a stock set of verses and chapters that are read to them by their pastor on Sundays. Bible study groups in some churches sometimes expand that a bit, but as for reading the book in full, that's a rare, rare thing.

Thomas Jefferson created his own version of the Bible. It left out most of the supernatural, deity stuff, and focused on the actual social meat and ethical teachings contained between its covers. It's a very interesting read, for those who want to take the time. Here is a pdf copy of the actual book:

http://uuhouston.org/files/The_Jefferson_Bible.pdf

[madinmaryland]

33. I have actually read the entire bible...

I was thirteen or fourteen and my parents had bought me one the "new reader" bibles, which modernized the language from the old King James versions. Let's just say that was the last time that ever happened and forty years later, I don't remember a damned thing about!! As most everyone here knows, those who spout off Bible passages have been spoon fed most of the lines by their pastor.

[MineralMan]

38. Over the years, I've read the entire thing half a dozen times.

I pretty much stick to the King James version. I've done that because it is the primary source for the dominant religion in this country. I know it pretty well, actually. Well enough to know that most religious people are unfamiliar with most of it.

[hatrack]

21. 2018 - The Year Of The Necronomicon! 2019 - The Year Of The Lotus Sutra!

2020 - The Year Of The Talmud! 2021 - The Year Of The Mahabaratha!

We can play this all day long . . .

“In battle, in forest, at the precipice in the mountains,
On the dark great sea, in the midst of javelins and arrows,
In sleep, in confusion, in the depths of shame,
The good deeds a man has done before defend him.”

As far as literature goes, I'll take this over the begats any old day.

[Nevernose]

23. In 2016 I heard conservative clergymen say the stupidest shit

About the Bible and biblical passages. At one point I was keeping a list. I replaced that pocket list with "campaign promises Trump has already reneged on," but a couple I remember, one on cable news and the other in NPR:

Apparently the "worrying about specks in other people's eyes when having a giant wooden beam in obe's own eye?" Remember that piece of ACTUALLY GOOD, CHRISTIAN advice?

According to the latest fundamentalist interpretation, that's Jesus telling us that "we've gotta look out for number one." Ourselves being number one, obviously.

My other favorite was the retelling of the parable of the tares. Short version: people are worried that enemies will sneak in with refugees (the more things change, right?). Like weeds mixed in with grain seed, some will turn out bad.

Preacher goes on the radio and uses this to justify rejecting Syrian refugees. Fails to mention the "parable" part of the story, where Jesus says to let the people come, just like the seeds, and if there's any trouble then trust God to work shit out; do the right thing and God will take care of you.

So even if these fools DID read every word, they would still find a way to make it justify their cowardice (which I've come to believe is the defining motive of most hard-core conservatives).

[True Dough]

24. +1

Bravo. The hypocrisy is sometimes incredibly frustrating.

[sarcasmo]

25. I'M so sick of Religion, it makes me ill.

[question everything]

26. Will his state, then, relive the fate of

Sodom and Gomorrah?

[gratuitous]

27. Should I hold my breath?

Will any Republican anywhere begin following Galatians 5:13? Or will they continue in their efforts to prove Jesus wrong about that whole "serving two masters" thing?

[stonecutter357]

28. let's hope it starts with the Rapture.

[superpatriotman]

32. Save for bourbon and racehorses

Wtf do we need Kentucky for?

[True Dough]

34. Bluegrass? n/t

[Generic Brad]

35. Or alternately the year of getting thumped

He sounds so insecure in his faith that he has to thump us all over the head with it. What a sad little man.

[onethatcares]

36. is he going to practice

what he's celebrating? You know, those pesky "meek shall inherit the earth" "easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle", "what anyone does for any one of these lesser they do for me"?

I hate xian hypocrites, I really do.