Reverend Ricky Allen Friend Jr

03/13/2024

08/16/2023

Do God and Government mix? El Dorado County in California says yes, and they've passed a proclamation to prove it.

El Dorado County just declared July “American Christian Heritage Month,” prompting outrage from residents and secular activists who say the declaration is a blatant Constitutional violation.

Can a county government seriously claim an entire month for Christian heritage?

July is for Jesus

In a vote of 4-1, the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors passed the controversial proclamation on July 18.

“Be it proclaimed,” the proclamation reads, “that the month of July each year is designated as ‘American Christian Heritage Month,’ to recognize the impact of religious beliefs on America’s history.”

The proclamation quotes everyone and everything from Presidents George Washington and John F. Kennedy to an inscription on the Liberty Bell in justification for declaring July for the Christians.

“Religious faith was important in American life during the periods of discovery, exploration, colonization, and growth,” it reads, “but has also been incorporated into all three branches of the American Federal Government from their very beginning.”

“There have been attempts to change and distort our history,” the proclamation says. “Be it further proclaimed that any effort to remove, obscure, or purposely omit such history from our nation’s public buildings and educational resources be rejected in the strongest manner.”

You can read the whole proclamation here:

Declaration of American Christian Heritage

Not only have they retroactively proclaimed this last July as “American Christian Heritage Month,” but also every July from here on out.

By quoting influential figures and moments from America’s past, the proclamation clearly wants to reinforce a version of American history that is explicitly Christian. But secular activists have already not only challenged the proclamation’s legality… but also challenged its factuality.

Secular Activists Step In

It should come as no surprise that the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRM), one of the nation’s most prominent religious watchdog groups, sent El Dorado County a strongly worded letter demanding they rescind the proclamation, demanding that July get demoted from a month celebrating America’s Christian heritage back down to just a run-of-the-mill, regular summer month.

This proclamation is a clear breach of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution,” it reads.

“By issuing this proclamation advancing Christian nationalism and the debunked myth that we are a Christian nation, El Dorado County is ironically violating the country's true heritage of religious liberty based on secular government.”

Interestingly, the FFRF also goes out of its way to try to bust some myths El Dorado County they say El Dorado County is promoting. They say that much of their religious history is anything but, arguing that President Washington adding “so help me, God” to the oath of office is lacking in evidence, and that President Kennedy’s quote is taken out of context.

Ultimately, however, their grudge is that the proclamation is exclusionary. They say that some 31% of El Dorado County is made up of other faith groups, or those of no faith at all. To exclude those groups is simply “rude, ignorant, and unwelcoming.”

What do you think? Is the county simply celebrating America’s heritage, as they say, or was this a sinister attempt to promote Christianity above all other faiths?

08/15/2023

What’s going on everybody

08/09/2022

I believe in God, the father almighty, in Jesus Christ, his son,
He was conceived with God born of the Virgin Mary, I believe in the holy Spirit. The giver of truth. I believe Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead, On the third day he rose again, for our sins He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the God.
Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Universal Life Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting,
And in doing what is right! Amen.

03/08/2022

I would like for everybody to meet up some day soon to hold a public pray for Ukraine and all the troops fighting against Russia. Pray that God will soften Vladimir Putin's heart and he will end this war! I believe that God has the power to do this!

02/25/2022

let's keep Ukraine in our thoughts and prayers!

02/14/2022

I for one support our law enforcement and I also support them stepping up to call for our community to prayer when nobody else will call us to prayer!

There's been a lot of talk recently about "defunding" or reforming the police to better react and respond to different types of conflict.

Now, one police chief is in hot water after proposing his own unique solution to the problem: prayer.

It all began when the Ocala Police Department in Florida posted a letter on its page from chief of police Greg Graham promoting a “Community Prayer Vigil” and stating:

“We are facing a crisis in the City of Ocala and Marion County that requires fervent prayer and your presence to show unity and help in this senseless crime spree that is affecting our communities.”

Critics balked at such blatant promotion of religion from government officials, who they note are supposed to be neutral supporters of the public good. Opponents also argued that prayer vigils would do nothing to address the crime wave.

The American Humanist Association (AHA) sent a formal complaint to the police chief, asking him to remove the call for prayer. He refused.

The AHA followed up with a lawsuit, citing the police department’s clear promotion of the prayer event (written on their letterhead), and the fact that officers in uniform “prayed, sang religious songs and delivered Christian sermons.”

Initially, a judge ruled in the AHA’s favor, writing that “the government cannot initiate, organize, sponsor, or conduct a community prayer vigil.”

And that might have been the end of the story. However, another group called the "American Center for Law and Justice" recently appealed the decision – arguing, among other things, that it was an example of “cancel culture.” The appeal is scheduled to proceed this spring.

What is your reaction? Should the police be de-faithed?

02/14/2022

Does “cancel culture” have Biblical origins? One outspoken House member thinks so.

“We are in another cycle of cancel culture, but this is nothing new. Cancel culture has been around since the beginning of time,” said Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert during a recent interview. “Cain canceled Abel. We had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that were thrown into the fiery furnace.”

She continued: “King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to cancel them but there stood another in the midst of them and he was as of the son of God. And then they tried to cancel Jesus, but you can’t cancel God.”

“Our Lord Jesus certainly didn’t tone it down for anyone,” Boebert added.

Whether Jesus would have supported “canceling” people is the subject of much debate. Some religious leaders believe that there’s nothing wrong with individuals being held publicly accountable for their bad actions. However, others don’t see it that way.

Evangelical pastor David Jeremiah recently delivered a sermon arguing that cancel culture is “unbiblical” and doesn’t align with the teachings of Jesus.

"Cancel culture is laser-focused on judgment and accusation and punishment," he noted. “Christ's goal, on the other hand, is love, mercy and grace."

"Jesus talked about how easily people would be offended in the days leading up to the tribulation," Jeremiah said. "Boy, is that ever true? Have you ever noticed how easy people get offended these days?”

What are your thoughts?

10/16/2021

I don't know who needs to see this but somebody does and just know better days are ahead of you