On Tuesday, December 13, 2011, the Grayson County Board of Supervisors conducted a third and final public hearing on the zoning permit for the Peace Pentagon, The Oracle Institute’s proposed interfaith and social justice center in Independence, Virginia. The hearing was part of a multi-staged settlement that had been worked out in advance between Oracle’s attorneys and the County.

Earlier today, I drove down to the New River to meditate on what message I would like to convey tonight to the Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors, my immediate neighbors, and those in attendance, as we collectively participate in this final stage of a settlement worked out between the County’s legal counsel and Oracle’s lawyers. As I turned off my car, the song “Little Pink Houses” by John Cougar Mellencamp was playing.

In June 2010, the Grayson County Board of Supervisors denied Oracle’s permit to build an interfaith and social justice center – the Peace Pentagon – along the New River in Independence, Virginia. A dozen or so Evangelical churches strenuously opposed the project, and I was called a heretic, witch, communist, Satan worshipper, and cult leader.

I read with great interest and respect the letter written by Kathy Isom in response to an editorial in The Roanoke Times and reprinted in The Gazette on August 29, 2011. In her letter, Ms. Isom recites part of the heading to that editorial: “Religion has no place ….” Yet, she chose to delete the last few words “… in zoning dispute.” Unfortunately, these omitted words are the very crux of the Roanoke editorial. Without them, we lose the point of both the original editorial and, I believe, Ms. Isom’s response:

Roanoke Times Editorial: http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/292725

Today, the Washington Post carried the story of the Grayson County government denying our permit to build the Peace Pentagon. The interview took place months ago, so I have had plenty of time to ponder the pros and cons of making this story more public. The article is well-written and balanced … but you can make up your own mind on that score: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/proposed-interfaith-retreat-center-i...

I read this morning that Baptisms in the Southern Baptist Church are at it's lowest point in over 40 years and membership has been steadily declining. I'm not sure if that speaks to the growing apathy of young people as a whole or more to their growing curiosity and intelligence.

The other day, my friend Jim sent me a link to a TED video which so perfectly aligns with the mission of The Oracle Institute, I feel compelled to discuss it and pass it along. This 22 minute video is the work of Dr. David Eagleman, who is a professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. In a nutshell, Dr.

There’s a lot of “fun” in this blog title, but digging a little deeper I have discovered that Evangelical fundraising is serious business … especially in my home state of Virginia. It seems that Virginia leads the pack in raising dollars for Evangelical causes and uses the money to further erode the separation between church and state.

For some time, I have been talking and writing about the “Trickle Down Deity Theory.” For those who are hearing this term for the first time, the Trickle Down Deity Theory postulates that every social ill flows from a culture’s religious belief system. In short, faulty theism perpetuates a lack of personal spiritual awareness, which then leads to such front line symptoms as poverty, bigotry, addiction, apathy, mental disorders, and religious fundamentalism. 

        Prior to his death, President James Madison prepared one final message to the country he had helped found. With the U.S. Constitution as his greatest gift to us, he also left us with a posthumous warning which he entitled “Advice to My Country.” It reads in pertinent part: