Group wants Bible quote removed from NC building. Sheriff says: I will not waver

A Bible quote painted in the hall of one North Carolina law enforcement agency has ignited a very public spat between a Christian county sheriff and the national Freedom from Religion Foundation.

The foundation is demanding the New Testament quote be removed and hints legal action could follow.

The sheriff of Columbus County posted an equally pointed statement on Facebook saying he intends for it to stay.

“I am not scared of much, but I am afraid of burning in Hell,” Sheriff Jody Greene says in the post...

Foundation attorney Chris Line says its also a matter of a government agency “appearing to take a position on questions of religious belief,” which is against the law.

“This bible verse display promoting Christianity in a sheriff’s office building is correctly viewed by a reasonable observer as an endorsement of religion, and is therefore unconstitutional,” Line said in the release.

Greene’s Facebook post didn’t contest that observation. He took full responsibility for the quote, noting it was put on the wall after he took office, using private funds.

The quote is intended to be motivational, he wrote, and is part of a office atmosphere that encourages prayer “before we execute a search warrant, or any service that puts our people in immediate harms way.”