The picture was taken above the century-old catholic church in Jenkins, KY - St. George's- Father Randall made the stations of the cross out of plaster long before he died. St.George's now has an Indian Priest Fr. Santosh.
I have downloaded Leo Tolstoy's the Kingdom of God is Within You. It is free for kindle on Amazon, so why not? Christian Anarchism and Love are valuable items taken out of the hands of those who think they rule us.
I do this as my little hometown of 2070 people looks forward to getting a Casino through Harrah's, a corporation. It looks so ugly right now, and I am sitting here wondering what will come. I was happy that our county began selling alcohol again, even though I think booze could easily be looked at as a form of chemical warfare. But the next county over in Virginia was getting all of the revenue and we were being left out over here in Kentucky.
Raven Rock Entertainment LLC wants to carve out a lodge of a thing on the side of the naturally beautiful Pine Mountain, above a rock formation called Raven Rock. . . I don't think this mountain wants a casino and a 300 room lodge on its back. There is already a golf course though, and they have converted the original Jenkins high School to be a Housing structure for senior citizens. I am conflicted, because I am working on a historic building down the road that is near to the housing projects and the elementary school, and two churches. What would Jesus Do??
This goes beyond economics for me, into spirituality, gambling and all this business could be a bad thing for the people here in Jenkins. It seems inevitable though, in a weird way, like i know it is probably going to happen and be a success for someone. I don't know whether I should fight it or just try to get my defenses up. If I buck up against the idea, then people in my town are going to say that I am making a stumbling block to progress. This progress is not what I imagined we would see in Jenkins though. i thought we might see some creative solutions to the energy deficit of coal, maybe learn how to generate electricity in some new way since making power has been our thing for so long, but now it looks like we are going to do something with games. . . .
It is so surreal, a guy who works for the Altria Group, which is owned by Phillip-Morris tobacco, is calling me down on comments I made on a local story about the casino. I don't know what this is going to mean for me and my commercial property in the area. I want the work that is done in my community to be thoughtful of the lives that surround me, and i am not sure that this casino thing is in line with what we actually need as a community. The first comments say "I am a Christian, But."
Let me keep my cool please, whatever happens.
There are so many better ideas. . .
follow this link if ya wanna raise some heck or learn about it.
http://www.ekbtv.com/news/developers-planning-casino-jenkins
A casino seems very predatory in your neck of the woods.
I love games, but people are hooked on the lotto enough as it is around. It also worries me that they want to put it on a rock formation that is in the national forest instead of utilizing all this strip-mined land.
Totally agreed. It's a pretty insulting place to put a casino. I'm all for freedom and all of that, but my god, there are better choices to be made not only for the casino owners, but for the populace as well . . .
We should figure out a new way to mske money on games.
As the saying goes, those beautiful casino buildings werent payed for by the public ending up as winners... Many folks cant control it.
Casinos exist for a reason; the house edge.
You are absolutely correct in thinking this could spill over into spirituality. All of us as human beings struggle with the world and the things of this world, however, there is an answer, well for me anyway. The answer for me is prayer. As a Christian who believes in Christ and that I am saved, and a Sinner who would enjoy the things of this world I have to allow prayer to work in my life. Prayer has kept me from a lot of things that a Christian should not be a part of, and if I would take everything to God in prayer I would be so much better off. My personal opinion on the matter is that alcohol and casinos should not be a part of a Christians life, however, I cannot sit here and say I have never drank alcohol or been inside a casino. I believe it all boils down to our convictions and how strongly we believe in our faith. If our faith is strong and our belief in God is strong stand on your convictions regardless of the outcome or what others may think. Yes it may cost you friends, family, your income but we must have faith that God will see us through.
Gambling is one of the worst habits to have imo