[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Judgment Day may not have come in court on Thursday, but Owen Sound farmer and Christian fundamentalist George Bothwell is convinced he’ll soon be held accountable for his earthly actions, albeit in a much higher court than the one he graced during the afternoon.
That’s why he’s adamantly rejected attempts to have his photograph taken and stored by the Ministry of Transportation for his driver's license. Bothwell believes such an act is tantamount to receiving the “Mark of the Beast,” which would in turn threaten his very salvation.
Bothwell and his lawyer, Clayton Ruby, continued to plead their case as the controversial proceedings wound down. And while a decision is still pending, Bothwell stands firm in his stance - he wants an exemption due to religious beliefs.
“In the old Testament, Exodus, Deuteronomy, it talks about the Second Commandment, where we are not to create images or likenesses and we’re certainly not supposed to serve them,” Bothwell said outside the courthouse.
The reluctant farmer isn’t concerned with his picture being on his licence, he’s worried about the digital technology used to capture and store his image.
“The scripture goes on to say that people that put their peace and security in this system ... will drink the wine of the wrath of God,” he added.
The Ministry of Transportation does allow exemptions for religious purposes, but so far, none have been granted. The department maintains that Bothwell’s case is problematic because his arguments are based on individual beliefs and don’t conform to an organized religion.
Attorney Clayton Ruby isn’t buying it.
“This is the Ministry faking it,” he argued. “They’re pretending to honour religious objections, but in fact if you have never given a single exemption, 8.3 million drivers on the road, not a one qualifies, I tell ya, I don’t believe it.”
Bothwell’s old licence had a Polaroid picture which was never saved to a database and he’s now considering giving up his credit and debit cards, which he labels “identifiers.”
“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” he concluded while ironically facing down a torrent of camera-wielding journalists.
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