TX:African church plans Christian Disneyland (neighbor:"we'll be overrun")

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/071705dnmetrccg.167ab9e.html

The Redeemed Christian Church of God – Africa's largest and most ambitious evangelical church – plans to build a 10,000-seat sanctuary, two elementary school-size lecture centers, a dormitory, several cottages, a lake and a Christian-themed water park across a creek bottom from Ms. Moody's homestead.

The project that one senior pastor described as a "Christian Disneyland" is still in the early stages. So far, the Nigeria-based church has spent between $1 million and $3 million on about 500 acres of pasture – more land than the proposed Dallas Cowboys stadium complex in Arlington.

"I don't like to be called a racist, but I don't like to be overrun, either," Mrs. Moody said recently, sitting under her carport in Mockingbird Estates, a patchwork of modest homes, tree-studded land and rock roads. "They live different, they think different, they have different cultures," she said. "I don't have any problem with black people. ... I just feel uncomfortable in large numbers of them."

Call it redneck, race-baiting, irrational or ignorant, but for many people who live in Floyd, a fading railroad stop on the rural fringes of Hunt County, Mrs. Moody's comments reflect their reality.

[Fenris]

1. "I don't have any problem with black people. ... I just feel uncomfortable

in large numbers of them."


Why are you in black people in the first place, Ma'am?

[Dark]

2. I'd feel uncomfortable with large numbers of evangelicals too. n/t

[Cha]

17. I don't feel comfortable with one

..the types who think Harry Potter is the Devil's tool.

[whistle]

3. Sounds like a concept that Pat Robertson planned back in the

...early 1970's for Orlando Florida called Bible World. It imploided before it ever got off the ground due to lack of funding. Who is Mrs. Moody?

[Dark]

5. I wonder if they're going to have 'Jet-Ski Jesus' or 'Speedboat Savior'.

Does anyone have that picture of the trailer hitch Jesus?

[whistle]

25. Good suggestions send them in for a finder's fee

[Kraklen]

9. Oh, she's just a concerned citizen.

...who's just worried about property values, increased crime rates, and her country lifestyle.

[Gato Moteado]

19. that's the funny part......

....i mean she lives in a trailer park. how much lower could her property values go?

[SlavesandBulldozers]

15. perhaps that's the case

but we in Orlando have no shortage of Christian theme parks here, as you likely know.

And i hadn't heard of that Pat Robertson one but I know the Bakers had a Christian-land idea planned (and subsequently failed) somewhere in the South, in the 70's. It was like a foresty type Opry-land with a Christian-bent, really a frightening concept.

[whistle]

26. The Robertson park was conceptualized as "Bible World"....

....and was planned to be out on I-4 West near U.S. 27 intersection. Chuck Connors the famous TV Western star was also behind a theme park at that same time very close to the Bible World which was going to be a take-off on the Movie West World that had robot type cowboys. Circus World di get built, but eventually went under. These other two super attractions never got off the planning boards for lack of finances. Doesn't Pat Robertson have a themed Christian Park near his headquarters?

[SlavesandBulldozers]

38. wow, Circus World, forgot about that one!

i'm not sure about a Robertson theme-park, where is he based out of - Virginia?

[Book Lover]

4. Congitive dissonance, anyone?

"I don't have a problem; I just have a problem." Yowza.

[phantom power]

6. Yeah. I think I consider her a racist, even if she doesn't like it.

[RageFist]

14. Haha, cognitive dissonance

will probably never die, especially since it was instituted in this country as the norm when George Washington himself was president

[Initech]

7. Wait, how do you build a Christian water park?

The Slide-O-Death-For-Jesus?

[William Seger]

30. Umm....

All the water is only a 1/4 inch deep?

[LiberalFighter]

35. Is that one way with no return??

[Initech]

45. Probably!

[SoCalDem]

8. "Jim Jones-Land" with rides and water features...

:puke:

Why can't churches just be churches..like they used to be..??

Why have churches morphed into "lifestyle coaching centers" and "thinktanks"..:(

[Kraklen]

11. The church waterpark I haven't got a problem with.

Sounds like it's a good idea to me. It's the local yokels that are the problem.

[SoCalDem]

12. Combined with religion is the creepy part

Remember TammyFay & Jim's "theme park"..:puke:

[Kraklen]

13. Eh, just means their pious.

The Jim Baker theme park was creepy because it was Jim Fucking Baker.

This sounds more like Dollyworld. It's a theme park with an actual theme.

I mean, if I were going to build a church it would be a waterslide park. Stuff that boring A-frame bullshit. You'd get there in the morning, do a little praying, listen to a sermon, then have some fun on some kickass waterslides. Party on.

And I'd build the thing right in the middle of some tired old conservative Skeeterville where all the could do is sit there and groove on it.

[kestrel91316]

32. The yokels are a problem, the weird christian ..............

theme park is a problem, and is anybody curious about the NIGERIAN connection here, given that country's history of financial scams?? Just seems kind of hinky, IYKWIM.

[short bus president]

41. Dear friend,

I am heir to a billion-dollar Christian theme park fortune, but I require your assistance in securing the release of these funds...

;-)

[kestrel91316]

49. LOL. You smartiepants, you.

[earth mom]

40. Because...the fundies are looking to separate themselves

from the rest of the country. From the heathens and those of different religions who are all going to hell in a handbasket in their opinion. :eyes:

Let's face it. The Us vs. Them division is growing and growing. It's not getting any better. Frankly, I wouldn't mind being part of the United States of Canada while the rest of the fundie rethugs take over the remainder of the country and turn it into Jesusland.

The way things are going it may be the best solution of all.

[gratuitous]

10. "Some of my best friends are . . ."

You know, I really thought that this kind of overt racism had died out decades ago. Mrs. Moody seems totally unaware of how her comments sound to folks not inside her bigoted little head.

[roguevalley]

16. I would hate to have a circus next door to my house and a Christian

circus, that would really be tough.

[Gato Moteado]

20. me too......

....but it's great to see it happen to white trash freeper types.

[VegasWolf]

18. Guess they are putting the "W" in wonderland, all tax-free. Glad its

Texas, just wish it was crawdaddy or whatever.

[Anakin Skywalker]

21. Texans Should Be Happy. These People

ARE christians, afterall. :) *smile*

[Gato Moteado]

22. this part sounded like a threat.....

"I'd hate to have one of those Jasper, Texas, kind of things," she said, referring to the gruesome dragging death of a black man by three white racists in 1998. "I'd hate for those people to come out here for salvation and redemption and not feel welcome."

[northzax]

42. so instead of going out of my way to welcome them

I'm going to tell them to stay away.

well gee, that's real christian of you Ms. Moody. Just the thing Jesus would have done.

[Sandpiper]

23. I wouldn't want a theme park built next to my home either

But for different reasons than Mrs. Moody's.

[barb162]

31. especially a "Christian" theme park, whatever the heck that is

Maybe they have games set up for the Stations of the Cross? Wha??

[kestrel91316]

34. No, that would never do ...........

aren't stations of the cross some evil, satanic, catholic no-no???
:crazy:

[barb162]

36. As an ex-Catholic, they are one of the most sacred remembrances

about Christ's passion. Actually, Passion, if you practice. But as I go through what it is they could do as a theme park, weird stuff pops in my mind. Like a Sermon on the Mount ride or a Garden of Gethsemane restaurant, or a Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes buffet, etc. I hate to be sacriligeous about it, but somehow "theme park" and "Christianity" don't go together in my head at all.

[kestrel91316]

37. This thing is really about the $$$, not Jesus.

[VegasWolf]

24. So Bush has made the US so friendly for evangelicals that now other

countries are opening up evangelical shops here. Falwell et al
won't like the competition for the tithe dollars one bit.

[maxsolomon]

27. we'll need that 500 acres of pasture

very soon in the future.

don't pave over farmland, african evangelicals!

[booksenkatz]

28. Ack! Which side do I pick?

I cannot side with racists, and yet I also cannot side with tearing up land and trees, pavin' paradise to put up a parkin' lot.
HELP!


edited for typo

[CottonBear]

29. What you said. I'm torn. I don't want the pasture paved over yet

I can't side with the racists and I'm worried about foreign investment in US land.
The Nigerians are not exactly known for their above board business dealings.
I'm so conflicted. :(

[MissB]

33. Damned either way.

Freaky choice.

[noonwitch]

39. The church should give her a good price and buy her homestead

If they've got enough money to build the park, which I have no objection to, then they have enough to give her a fair market price so she can buy a homestead somewhere else.

In a developing country where christianity is spreading fast, this park could be good for the local economy. But the church should offer to buy her home, it's the christian way to do business.

[DS1]

43. A Christian Themed Water park?

Heh, depending on whether it was set in pre or post Moses-writings, that could be one boring mo*********ng log ride!

:bounce:

[girl gone mad]

44. Some thoughts..

First of all, to be fair, some residents of Hunt County interviewed by the paper seemed very welcoming. They rightly pointed out that the church would bring a lot of money into the area. Ms. Moody would be wise to make the best of her situation and start thinking of business ideas which would cater to the needs of her new neighbors.

Secondly, this story goes to the heart of the issue surrounding the recent Supreme Court decision that churches do not have to follow the same community laws the rest of us do. We are all essentially second class citizens in our own country thanks to this ruling. A very Republican friend of mine is also finding this out the hard way. A large Buddhist organization has set up shop (so to speak) directly across from his home. They hold meditation groups and other events well into the night, bringing tons of traffic and noise right into the center of a residential area full of young families, but the neighborhood is completely powerless to do anything about it.

This is Bush's America. Corporations and churches are given full rights to do as they please with no obligations or responsibilities, and the rest of us pay the price through increased taxes, decreased property values, environmental pollution, loss of community space and loss of liberty.

[VegasWolf]

46. "We shall over-run!" nt

[Payne]

47. Aren't there more important things

The Church thats providing the money for this park is base in Nigera,shouldn't they be more worried about the starving childern in there country then a theme park.:eyes:

[VelmaD]

48. I am originally from Hunt County and have some perspective...

on this story. The county is changing and has been changing for the better my whole life. Half the city council in my home town (Greenville) is African-American, including the young man who represents my parents. The black community there is very active. When they had the church fires a few years back and the black panthers and kkk came to town the local leaders, both black and white, told both groups to take a hike...that Greenville could take care of it's own problems thank you very much. It was particularly gratifying to see the locals turn their backs on the klan. The unity rally held back then in the local football stadium was one of the most wonderful moments that town has ever experienced. It has a history of racism that it is trying it's best to overcome and I'm proud of the progress and hoping for more.

The other thing you may not know about Hunt County is that it already has a fair number of Nigerians going to school there at Texas A&M at Commerce. I graduated with several young people from Nigeria.

As much as I don't generally like the idea of this camp, I hope these folks do well in my old home. My experiences with the Nigerians I went to college with was generally positive and I think this group will likely make a fine addition to the community.

[montana_hazeleyes]

50. I think that's great.

But just speaking about what was said by that woman,SHE was saying outrageous racist crap and not so veiled threats in my opinion. I am sooooooooooo tired of racism. And it's getting more and more okay to say this sh*t now in this country.

What I've often wondered, if one of these people badly needed blood and they were told there was only blood available from black people would they refuse? Do they think "heaven" is segregated? Would they refuse to go in if they had to mingle with anyone but white racists?

I can understand not wanting this stupid whatever it is there but that's not what her words are about. It's racism from her and a large segment of this country quite frankly.
Otherwise, we wouldn't be killing and maiming and destroying people of color all over the planet.