Christians look to form 'new nation' within U.S.

World Net Daily ^ | 4/24/04 | Joe Kovacs

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Calling the approval of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts "the straw that broke the camel's back," a group of Christian activists is in the beginning stages of an effort to have one state secede from the United States to become its own sovereign nation.

"Our Christian republic has declined into a pagan democracy," says Cory Burnell, president of ChristianExodus.org, a non-profit corporation based in Tyler, Texas. "There are some issues people just can't take anymore, and [same-sex marriage] might finally wake up the complacent Christians."

Burnell is leading the charge for a peaceful secession of one state from the union, and after originally considering Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina due to their relatively small populations, coastal access, and the Christian nature of the electorate, Burnell says South Carolina has been selected as the target location.

The plan initially calls for at least 12,000 Christians willing to be active in political campaigns to move to the Palmetto State.

"We're not an invading force, we're reinforcements," Burnell tells WorldNetDaily, saying it would be a waste to move to liberal-minded states such as Massachusetts, New York or California where conservative votes would be diluted.

According to the ChristianExodus website, which is slated for a major relaunch next month, "Christians have actively tried to return our entire land to its moral foundation for more than 20 years. We can categorically say that absolutely nothing has been achieved. If you disagree, consider this:

* Abortion continues against the wishes of many states * Children may not pray in our schools * The Bible is not welcome in schools except under strict federal guidelines

* The 10 Commandments remain banned from public display * Sodomy is now legal and celebrated as 'diversity' rather than perversion

* Preaching Christianity will soon be outlawed as 'hate speech' * Gay marriage will be foisted upon us in the very near future

"All these atrocities continue in spite of the fact that we now have the 'right' people in places of power. Indeed, the occupant of the White House is a professing Christian. The U.S. attorney general is believed to be a devout Christian. 'Conservatives' control both Houses of Congress, and Republican presidents appointed seven of the nine Supreme Court justices."

The idea of moving thousands of people to affect the voting in one state is not new. As WorldNetDaily has previously reported, the Free State Project has goals of restoring certain personal liberties and limited government – but without seceding from the union. Last year, a group of 4,500 libertarians decided New Hampshire would be the best state.

S. Carolina state flag

Burnell, a math teacher and cell-phone dealer, stresses he's not looking for bloody battles that took place in the American Revolution and the Civil War, but is rather seeking a "political divorce."

"It's got to be different today," he says. "It has to be peaceful, brokered."

But he admits if the federal government decides to use military force to stop the effort, "Then it can't happen."

Already a dozen people are actively working on the project, and some 1,500 by e-mails of support have been received.

If all goes according to plan, Burnell is hoping to have a constitutional convention by 2014, with a president of the new nation – still to be known as South Carolina – elected in 2016, which is also a presidential election year in the U.S.

He says the nation would be founded on Christian principles, and the people writing its constitution would have to hash out details to safeguard it as a Christian republic.

For now, Burnell prefers to shy away from specifics on the precise laws governing the country.

"Independence first, details later," he says.

[Condor51]

South Carolina?
Awwwww, drat. Couldn't they have picked a place with better weather (too humid) and fewer swamps?

Why not Montana or Wyoming?
(Idaho ceded to the Mormons)

C'mon guys I'm ready to go -- but West, not South.
("I" talk 'funny' down there)

[B4Ranch]

Looks interesting!

[olde north church]

It's the Conservative's and Christian's fault we're in this mess. Why you may fume?
For too many years they have sat out elections because a candidate didn't have the exact same point of view or were one issue voters or supported some "principled" third party candidate. Democrats ALWAYS VOTE, whether or not they make it to polls, sometimes even when death might prevent them from participating in all other activities.
Here is the punishment for each act of hubris:
Bush 1, not closely aligned enough to "Moral Majority" + no new taxes pledge broken. The we're going to show him attitude gave us 8 years of fornication, tax increases a collapse in the moral imperative, gutting of national defense, and a decrease in national security. Oh, yeah, you also had 2 pro-abortion judges added to the Supreme Court not to mention other courts in the national system.
2. Tom McClintock - California Recall. The opportunity to show almost a 65% mandate against the status quo in California. It would have sent a powerful message and changed the course of politics. The threat of being voted out would have meant something. It now does not.
3. Conservative Democrats basically 40% of the rank and file union vote, African-American church-goers and American Catholics have surrendered their power in the party to queers, greens, feminists, and atheists.
So, not being a Leftist, I really don't care about diagnosing their problems, I care about what I can do to improve.
Take responsibility for what you have contributed to create this state of affairs and change it. If you can't do it for your country, do it for your children. Iif you can't do it for your children, do it for your neighbor. If you can't do it for your neighbor, then do it for yourself.

[Central Scrutiniser]

How creepy. But if you guys do it, I want to open a strip club and bar on the border. Figure that will rake in millions.

[BlueLancer]

"For now, Burnell prefers to shy away from specifics on the precise laws governing the country.
"Independence first, details later," he says."

Oh, yeah ... like that worked well with the Articles of Confederation.

[BlueLancer]

"C'mon guys I'm ready to go -- but West, not South."

But, to really have a chance of making a go of it, you need a coastline. Last I looked, there wasn't a lot of beachfront property in Montana and Wyoming.

[Sam's Army]

Thought you'd find this interesting.

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

It's the Conservative's and Christian's fault we're in this mess. Why you may fume? For too many years they have sat out elections because a candidate didn't have the exact same point of view or were one issue voters or supported some "principled" third party candidate.

Shhhhhh. You're talking common sense again. :)

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

How creepy. But if you guys do it

"You guys"...? If someone posts a story about axe murderers, do you similarly leap to the conclusion that said posters are, themselves, maniacs?

Quick refresher in Logic 101: your cat has kittens in the oven. That doesn't make them biscuits. :)

[Keyes2000mt]

If you could get the 15-20 million Evangelicals who don't vote to vote, it'd make a huge difference.

[stainlessbanner]

Thanks Sam's Army.
Many Sunday morning sermons would end in the preacher being jailed on hate crime charges if we lived in Canada.
When the state prevents a man from preaching from the Bible, we are in serious trouble.

[stainlessbanner]

bump

[Keyes2000mt]

If things get too bad, Ireland is an option, although they manage to remain Conservative traditionalists by tight-fisted immigration laws that keep out a lot of people who'd want to come there.

[4CJ]

When the state prevents a man from preaching from the Bible, we are in serious trouble.

Amen.

[stainlessbanner]

Secession might offer us relief, but it's a form of surrender.

1776 was not a surrender.

[sweetliberty]

"If they are serious, I swear my family and I will join them."

Same here. Besides; I like South Carolina. Lots of people there who still have some guts.

[sweetliberty]

"the new conservative republic would need a capitol, and appropriately it should go in the most miserable place possible, to insure lawmakers want to minimize their time there"

Appealing idea. I like it. But then, in my opinion, Washington DC in the summer is one of the most miserable places in the country and it doesn't seem to deter them.

[Godfollow]

I'm afraid that the problem is in all of mankind, the sin nature... our only escape is death from this world and life into the next. God said that the tares would grow with the wheat and that He would separate the two... our job is to call all men to repentance and turn to Christ... Jesus did not defeat the foes of Israel, though many thought that was the job of the Messiah. He came to defeat the foe of mankind... sin that separates us from God.

[sweetliberty]

"But SC could get UN help!"

You seem to be forgetting that they accept a lifestyle of perversion and subscribe to the liberal/socialist/communist agenda of tyranny over the people. The sooner we all recognize that Satan is the commander-in-chief of the liberal army, the sooner the battle lines can be drawn and effective strategy mounted.

[Consort]

What happened to all those people who were going to move to Vermont last year? What was that group called?