A piece of artwork called Homeless Jesus that features an image of Jesus lying on a park bench covered in a blanket is drawing outrage from some residents in Davidson, North Carolina.
The sculpture in front of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church was created by the artist as “a representation that suggests Christ is with the most marginalized in our society.” The artwork shows a part of Christ’s face but shows his entire nail-scarred feet.
The sculpture is a duplicate of a piece on display in Vatican City that was blessed by Pope Francis. Reverend Dr. David Buck, rector of St. Alban’s, said the artwork is beautiful and reminds Christians their ultimate calling is to do what they can individually to take care of those in need of shelter, food and clothing.
However, some residents of the area are upset with the Sculpture.
One woman, Cindy Castano Swannack, called police when she drove past it the first time thinking a homeless person was lying on a bench in her neighborhood.
“My complaint is not about the art-worthiness of meaning behind the sculpture,” Davidson resident Jerry Dawson wrote in a letter to the editor. “It is about people driving into our beautiful, reasonably upscale neighborhood and seeing an ugly homeless person sleeping on a park bench.”
The church says they will not remove the sculpture.
A North Carolina license plate that encourages people to “Choose Life” has been ruled unconstitutional by a federal panel.
Pro-abortion activists had sued to have the plates removed saying it was an unconstitutional promotion of religion by the state, but settled for the ruling regarding First Amendment issues.
The three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a lower court judge that said the legislature’s refusal to allow pro-abortion messages to be placed on license plates while allowing the anti-abortion “Choose Life” violated the First Amendment rights of some citizens.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Roy Cooper said he is reportedly reviewing the ruling to see if they will appeal to the full appeals court or to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 4th Circuit had previously ruled that “Choose Life” license plates from South Carolina were also unconstitutional. The ACLU has been pushing the cases against the Choose Life license plates.
Abortion advocates were furious that North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has signed into a law a bill that requires abortion clinics to meet the same standards as outpatient surgical centers.
The critics say the governor’s move breaks a campaign promise to not install new abortion regulations. Continue reading →
Senators in North Carolina have sent a bill to the state House that will impose stronger requirements for doctors who kill babies via abortion in the state. Continue reading →
Residents thought it was a quarry blast or thunder or an attempt to blow up a beaver dam.
Instead, the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a 2.1 magnitude earthquake at 7:04 a.m. Monday. The quake centered about 3.1 miles underground in the Deep Run area of Lenoir County, North Carolina. Continue reading →
