When I was a kid, my friend Karl and I illegally snuck into a movie theater to see "The Mark of the Devil" (or words to that effect) then just out. We didn't sneak in because we didn't have the money. We snuck in because we were 13 or so and that was the only way we could see the movie, which we knew, by the way, was fiction.
But some people don't know that this whole "Mark of the Devil" thing is fiction.
There is apparently a lawsuit going on right now by some farmers in Michigan, including but not limited to Amish farmers, claiming that te legally required tagging of livestock with special chips was just another form of this mark of the devil thing.
"Use of a numbering system for their premises and/or electronic numbering system for their animals constitutes some form of a 'mark of the beast' and/or represents an infringement of their 'dominion over cattle and all living things' in violation of their fundamental religious beliefs," according to the farmers' lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
It is astonishing to me that such an argument could get you into an actual courtroom.
Now, we have an even more egregious situation. A kindergarten teacher in, where else, Texas, refuses to be fingerprinted because fingerprinting is, somehow, "The mark of the beast" and thus in violation of her first amendment rights.
In the case of the teacher, the legal argument is based primarily on this passage, which is one of the more over-the-top insane bits in the bible:
He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand and on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.... Then a third angel followed them saying with a loud voice -- if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God.... He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.
They fingerprint the teachers to weed out known child rapists and such. The school district she works for sees nothing wrong with her argument and fully supports her refusal to be fingerprinted on the grounds of this mark of the devil thing.
People of Texas: If you have children, gather them up and get ye-selves the fuck out of there. Seriously.
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To be fair, though, "Mark of the Devil" wasn't about the mark of the beast; the title referred to the "devil's teat," a supposedly insensitive spot found on the bodies of witches. (Isn't there a scene where Reggie Nalder or Herbert Fux repeatedly jabs the young ingenue with a long needle? When she doesn't scream, it's proof she's a witch. I also remember this movie for featuring Udo Kier before he got all creepy.)
Wasn't "Mark of the Devil" the movie that was advertised as providing free airsickness bags to all ticketholders? Too bad you had to sneak in. Those promotional barf bags are worth a lot of money as collectibles.
Sadly, I was too young even to sneak in to the theater when this came out. That happened later, with "Animal House."
Maybe someone needs to explain to the Amish farmers that it's the mark of the beast they need to worry about, not the mark on the beast.
Hey John! don't bother to explain. They are TOTALLY delusional and that is a form of insanity and explanations CAN NOT penetrate insanity. The important thing is this is NOT a 1st amendment violation. They are all welcome to do their BS. They just cant sell their beef when they wont fallow the rules and she dont need to teach if her BS is so very important. The idiot would be the 1st one to stop me from following my religion which says I must be nude. Think they would let me teach the class??? The state HAS to stop bending over and letting these idiots putting the small brain up the states dark place!!!!
But... isn't this standing in the way of God's plan for the End of the World?
The next time Rick Perry suggests that Texas secede from the union, why don't we just ley them go? Look how many wingnuts we could get rid of in one fell swoop, Rick Perry himself, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Dick Armey, George H. W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and many, many more.
In addition, the average IQ of the country would immediately go up a point or two.
I'm not a Texan. I wasn't born and raised her--I mean, there.... Dang.
By the way there is a religion where nakedness is alright.
http://www.religiousworlds.com/mandalam/naked.htm
This story made http://detentionslip.org ! Check it out for all the crazy headlines from our schools.