Knoxville Police Department Removes Bible Verse on Station Due to Atheist Group's Pressure

Open Bible w/ Cross
Open Bible w/ Cross (photo: Pixabay.com)
By M. GraceAugust 7th, 2017

The Knoxville leaders bowed down to the pressure of an atheist group by removing the Bible verse that has been hanging in the city police department for five decades.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has threatened to sue the city unless they remove a plaque displaying a New Testament verse. The plaque cites Romans 8:31 saying, "What shall we then say to these things? If God before us, then who can be against us?"

According to a report, some city leaders agreed to take the Bible verse plaque down because they did not have money to fight against a legal battle. However, according to Knoxville Communication Director Jesse Mayshark, other officials were already determined to let the plaque go and said that the Freedom From Religion Foundation was correct.

"As our founders recognized when they wrote the Constitution, the best protection for religious liberty is to restrict the government's role in promoting or endorsing any particular faith," Mayor Madeline Rogero said.

"As Christians, we may not always realize that our co-workers or our constituents do not all see the world the same way we do. We may not understand that a Bible verse that gives us strength and comfort may send an entirely different message to someone else: That you are not welcome here, that this governmental body does not represent you," Rogero reportedly added.

The mayor went on saying that in attempt to avoid singling-out Christianity, the police station is creating a hall of inspiration wherein it is a section or part of police department building which is devoted to all faiths. Plaques with messages from Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism were selected.

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