Good News for the Upstate

The Christian Exodus folks may have found a new promised land.

From the local news station's story (from AP):

ANDERSON, SC (AP) -Christian Exodus leader Cory Burnell says his group's expansion to Idaho does not mean it is leaving Anderson.

Burnell says the organization's new development in Gem County, Idaho, is a branch of a continually growing group of conservative Christians who want to return to a limited form of government.

Burnell says the group's mission and direction in South Carolina have not changed. The organization plans to move families into Anderson County to influence local elections, then spread throughout South Carolina.

Burnell says about 15 families have moved to South Carolina as part of his organization, but Burnell has not moved here.

I have always loved the fact that the people who want to change the world by changing SC haven't bothered to move to SC.

From their Fall 2007 newsletter (emphasis mine):

Several Christian Exodus members realize that due to commitments to extended family or other reasons, they will not be moving to South Carolina.

They believe in the Christian Exodus philosophy of accelerating the return to self government by Biblical principles through planned migration, local representative government, and the interposition of the lesser magistrate. They withhold blind allegiance to human government as a supreme power, and recognize its proper function as a servant of the people- to protect and preserve their God given civil rights.

Idaho is recognized as a place where individual freedoms are still somewhat respected, and where one might raise up their children in the way they should go, rather than in the way that government indoctrination centers would lead them. Idaho is perhaps the most home-school friendly place in America. No government notification is required, nor any reporting of curriculum or progress in schooling.

As a recommended area of settlement, Gem County strikes a balance in the state between a rural area with economical real estate prices, and yet it is within commuting distance to the metropolitan areas of Boise and Nampa.

If you are interested in settling in Idaho, you may contact the local host-home coordinator...

What other reasons could there be for not moving to SC? How did members "realize" this? Also, for those not as familiar with the lingo, government indoctrination centers are public schools. CE families want do as they please without any accountability for their children's education. Sounds like a great idea -- no government interference with your children's education, but I've seen this work badly in some families we knew in Texas. I imagine that these weren't isolated incidents.

In any case, I cannot imagine that these folks will make a bigger change in Idaho than they did here, which is pretty much nil.

From John 17:15-18

I do not ask that You take them out of the world but that You keep them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As You sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.