[Vision2020] Kentucky Baptists use gun giveaways to lure unchurched to Christ

Scott Dredge scooterd408 at hotmail.com
Wed Mar 5 10:48:31 PST 2014


Dr. Gier writes:
<Just "take Jesus into your heart" and that's it.  There is no commitment
 to good works or a life of virtue;>

This is my understanding of Christianity as well.  In terms of < indeed, good works in themselves are
 sinful.>, I hadn't heard that.  Can you expand on this?  Seems like 'good works' would be optional and not a penalty.

I believe Jesus of Nazareth walked the Earth.  This was only 2000 years ago even conceding that the records from the time frame lack the proper level of documentation and revision control, there is enough info from various different sources to believe that the existence of Jesus in human form is more than plausible.

In terms of gun toting Bible thumpers, this should be split into simply non-qualified 'gun toting' as 'Bible thumper' is separate stand alone column in the matrix.  Combining them is as bad as combining 'religion & ethics' when the two are mutually exclusive.

Hopefully your 'End of my sermon for the day' statement doesn't equate to Tom's 'nuff said' attempted shutting down a conversion.  I'd be happy to hear your reply.

-Scott


Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2014 09:59:06 -0800
From: ngier006 at gmail.com
To: godshatter at yahoo.com
CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Kentucky Baptists use gun giveaways to lure unchurched to Christ

Hi Paul,
A huge majority of Bible scholars agree that Jesus of Nazareth did in fact exist, and they also agree on some very basic teachings came from his own mouth--one of the them being an ethics of compassion and nonviolence.  Therefore, your agnosticism on these issues is not well founded.

As you can read in the long news item, the main critics are other Christians, who rightly claim that this fascination with guns (even for legitimate killing) is not the way to bring people to the Christian faith. Indeed, it undermines the essentials of the Gospel.  Those who preach the "prosperity" Gospel are in the same boat.  The last thing that Jesus was interested in was the creation of wealth; in fact, he said that it was a barrier to salvation.

Finally, the boasting that so many male gun lovers have been converted is the most galling to me.  Non-Christians believers around the world are shocked that it takes so little to become an evangelical Christian.  Just "take Jesus into your heart" and that's it.  There is no commitment to good works or a life of virtue; indeed, good works in themselves are sinful.  I'll take Buddhism, Hinduism, or Islam any day instead of this cheap and easy grace.

End of my sermon for the day.
Nick

On Wed, Mar 5, 2014 at 7:45 AM, Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:


  
    
  
  
    

      I have no idea what Christ (if he ever existed) would think about
      any of this.  Guns, though they can be used by violent people, are
      not violent in and of themselves.  They can be used for hunting
      (not sure what Christ's views on that would be), as well as target
      shooting and as emergency tools useful for saving your life should
      violence by perpetrated on you.

      

      I do get that many people view them as a symbol of mindless
      violence, but they don't have to be.

      

      Paul

      

      On 03/04/2014 07:37 PM, Nicholas Gier wrote:

    
    
      
        I'm re-sending this because it
            did not show up on the thread.
        

          
        Hi Paul,
            

            
            It's big news because of the juxtaposition of a
              pacifist Christ, who said "No more of this" when a
              disciple attacked the high priest with his sword, and
              gun-totting faux preachers. That's why it is also big news
              for Buddhist monks to be advocating the
              killing of Muslims in Burma. 
            

            
            Millions of Christians around the world would find this
              very, very sad news. They would also cry out "No more of
              this" in Christ's name.
            

            
            One of the conclusions of my book on religious violence
              is that the followers of the Buddha and the Christ have
              been responsible for the most religiously motivated
              violence in human history.
            

            
            Nick

            
          
        

        
      
      

        

        On Tue, Mar 4, 2014 at 1:09 PM, Paul
          Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com>
          wrote:

          
            
              I would
                expect them to follow the applicable law on the
                subject.  If that requires a background check, then I
                would expect them to perform one.  If they are following
                the law, then I support their right to gift their
                property to whomever they choose.

                

                Paul

                

                  
                

                
                
                  
                    
                        From:
                        Moscow Cares <moscowcares at moscow.com>

                        To:
                        Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> 

                        Cc:
                        Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>;
                        Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
                        

                        Sent:
                        Tuesday, March 4, 2014 12:07 PM

                        Subject:
                        Re: [Vision2020] Kentucky Baptists use gun
                        giveaways to lure unchurched to Christ

                       
                    

                      
                        
                          Absolutely no background checks
                            whatsoever!
                          
                          
                          Do you support a church giving away an
                            assault rifle to a mentally unstable person,
                            Mr. Rumelhart?
                            
                            Seeya 'round town, Moscow,
                                because . . .
                            
                              
                            "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you
                                can have with your pants on)
                            http://www.MoscowCares.com
                              
                            
                              Tom Hansen
                              
                                Moscow, Idaho
                            
                            
                              
                            "There's room at the top they are
                                telling you still.
                            But first you must learn how to
                                smile as you kill,
                            If you want to be like the folks
                                on the hill."
                            
                              
                            - John Lennon
                              
                          
                          
                            
                              On Mar 4, 2014, at 11:04 AM, Paul
                              Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com>
                              wrote:
                              
                            
                            
                              
                                
                                  I know it's a strange and sometimes
                                  terrifying world out there, but some
                                  people actually do like to hunt and/or
                                  go target shooting.  Some people
                                  simply collect guns, like others do
                                  stamps or 70's era campaign buttons. 
                                  Others like free stuff, no matter what
                                  it is.
                                  
                                  Presumably they would draw in more
                                  people from Kentucky with guns as a
                                  giveaway rather than, say, Magic the
                                  Gathering cards or ThinkGeek gift
                                  cards.
                                  
                                  I'm not even sure why this is news
                                  other than the "OMG! Guns!" factor, or
                                  the "Ha, Ha!  Rednecks!" factor.
                                  
                                  Paul
                                  
                                    
                                  
                                  
                                  
                                    
                                      
                                          From:
                                          Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
                                          To:
                                          Moscow Vision 2020 <vision2020 at moscow.com>
                                          
                                          Sent:
                                          Tuesday, March 4, 2014 10:41
                                          AM
                                          Subject:
                                          Re: [Vision2020] Kentucky
                                          Baptists use gun giveaways to
                                          lure unchurched to Christ
                                         
                                      
                                        
                                          
                                            You jus' ain't right
                                              with the Lord 'til you
                                              done squeezed the trigger
                                              and discharged a
                                              full-automatic, huh boyz?
                                              
                                              Seeya 'round
                                                  town, Moscow, because
                                                  . . .
                                              
                                                
                                              "Moscow Cares"
                                                  (the most fun you can
                                                  have with your pants
                                                  on)
                                              http://www.MoscowCares.com
                                                
                                              
                                                Tom Hansen
                                                
                                                  Moscow, Idaho
                                              
                                              
                                                
                                              "There's room
                                                  at the top they are
                                                  telling you still.
                                              But first you
                                                  must learn how to
                                                  smile as you kill,
                                              If you want to
                                                  be like the folks on
                                                  the hill."
                                              
                                                
                                              - John Lennon
                                                
                                            
                                            
                                              On Mar 4, 2014, at 10:02
                                              AM, Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
                                              wrote:
                                              
                                            
                                            
                                              
                                                
                                                
                                                  
                                                  
                                                    
                                                    
                                                      
                                                      
                                                        
                                                        
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Courtesy
                                                          of the Courier
                                                          Journal
                                                          (Louisville,
                                                          Kentucky) at:
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20140228/FEATURES10/302280129/Kentucky-Baptists-use-gun-giveaways-lure-unchurched-men-Christ?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

                                                           
                                                          -----------------------------------
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Kentucky
                                                          Baptists use
                                                          gun giveaways
                                                          to lure
                                                          unchurched to
                                                          Christ
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          In
                                                          an effort its
                                                          spokesman has
                                                          described as
                                                          “outreach to
                                                          rednecks,” the
                                                          Kentucky
                                                          Baptist
                                                          Convention is
                                                          leading
                                                          “Second
                                                          Amendment
                                                          Celebrations,”
                                                          where churches
                                                          around the
                                                          state give
                                                          away guns as
                                                          door prizes to
                                                          lure in
                                                          nonbelievers
                                                          in hopes of
                                                          converting
                                                          them to
                                                          Christ.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          As
                                                          many as 1,000
                                                          people are
                                                          expected at
                                                          the next one,
                                                          on Thursday at
                                                          Lone Oak
                                                          Baptist Church
                                                          in Paducah,
                                                          where they
                                                          will be given
                                                          a free steak
                                                          dinner and the
                                                          chance to win
                                                          one of 25
                                                          handguns, long
                                                          guns and
                                                          shotguns.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          The
                                                          goal is to
                                                          “point people
                                                          to Christ,”
                                                          the church
                                                          says in a
                                                          flier. Chuck
                                                          McAlister, an
                                                          ex-pastor,
                                                          master
                                                          storyteller
                                                          and former
                                                          Outdoor
                                                          Channel
                                                          hunting show
                                                          host who
                                                          presides at
                                                          the events as
                                                          the Kentucky
                                                          Baptist
                                                          Convention’s
                                                          team leader
                                                          for
                                                          evangelism,
                                                          said 1,678 men
                                                          made
                                                          “professions
                                                          of faith” at
                                                          about 50 such
                                                          events last
                                                          year, most of
                                                          them in
                                                          Kentucky.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          In
                                                          Louisville, he
                                                          said, more
                                                          than 500
                                                          people showed
                                                          up on a snowy
                                                          January day
                                                          for a gun
                                                          giveaway at
                                                          Highview
                                                          Baptist
                                                          Church, and 61
                                                          made decisions
                                                          to seek
                                                          salvation.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          McAlister’s
                                                          boss, Paul
                                                          Chitwood, the
                                                          Kentucky
                                                          Baptist
                                                          Convention’s
                                                          executive
                                                          director, said
                                                          such results
                                                          speak for
                                                          themselves.
                                                          “It’s been
                                                          very
                                                          effective,” he
                                                          said in an
                                                          interview.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          But
                                                          other clergy
                                                          question what
                                                          guns and gun
                                                          rights have to
                                                          do with with
                                                          sharing the
                                                          Gospel.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “How
                                                          ironic to use
                                                          guns to lure
                                                          men in to hear
                                                          a message
                                                          about Jesus,
                                                          who said, ‘Put
                                                          away the
                                                          sword,’ ” said
                                                          the Rev. Joe
                                                          Phelps, pastor
                                                          of
                                                          Louisville’s
                                                          independent
                                                          Highland
                                                          Baptist
                                                          Church.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “Giveaways
                                                          for God” seem
                                                          wrong, he
                                                          said. “Can you
                                                          picture Jesus
                                                          giving away
                                                          guns, or
                                                          toasters or
                                                          raffle
                                                          tickets? ...
                                                          He gave away
                                                          bread once,
                                                          but that was
                                                          as a sign, not
                                                          a sales
                                                          pitch.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Nancy
                                                          Jo Kemper,
                                                          pastor of New
                                                          Union Church
                                                          in Versailles
                                                          and the former
                                                          director of
                                                          the Kentucky
                                                          Council of
                                                          Churches,
                                                          said:
                                                          “Churches
                                                          should not be
                                                          encouraging
                                                          people in
                                                          their
                                                          communities to
                                                          arm themselves
                                                          against their
                                                          neighbors, but
                                                          to love their
                                                          neighbors, as
                                                          instructed by
                                                          Jesus.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “Second
                                                          Amendment
                                                          Celebrations”
                                                          in church make
                                                          a “travesty”
                                                          of that
                                                          message, she
                                                          said, adding,
                                                          “How terrible
                                                          it would be if
                                                          one of those
                                                          guns given
                                                          away at a
                                                          church were to
                                                          cause the
                                                          death of an
                                                          innocent
                                                          victim.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          McAlister,
                                                          60, who
                                                          pastored
                                                          churches in
                                                          five states
                                                          before taking
                                                          on the role of
                                                          traveling
                                                          evangelist,
                                                          concedes that
                                                          neither guns
                                                          nor gun rights
                                                          are part of
                                                          the Gospel.
                                                          But he said he
                                                          uses the love
                                                          of guns and
                                                          hunting in
                                                          Kentucky as a
                                                          “bridge to
                                                          unchurched men
                                                          so they will
                                                          hear what we
                                                          have to say.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          'Outreach
                                                          to rednecks'
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          In
                                                          an article
                                                          titled “God,
                                                          guns and good
                                                          ol’ boys,”
                                                          Roger Alford,
                                                          the Kentucky
                                                          Baptist
                                                          Convention’s
                                                          communication
                                                          director,
                                                          described
                                                          McAlister’s
                                                          work as
                                                          “outreach to
                                                          rednecks.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          McAlister,
                                                          an avid hunter
                                                          who owns more
                                                          than 30
                                                          firearms,
                                                          describes it
                                                          as “affinity
                                                          evangelism,”
                                                          in which
                                                          preachers
                                                          reach out to
                                                          potential
                                                          converts based
                                                          on their
                                                          common
                                                          interest in a
                                                          sport or
                                                          hobby.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “The
                                                          day of hanging
                                                          a banner in
                                                          front of your
                                                          church and
                                                          saying you’re
                                                          having a
                                                          revival and
                                                          expecting the
                                                          community to
                                                          show up is
                                                          over,” said
                                                          McAlister, who
                                                          hosted the
                                                          religious-themed
                                                          “Adventure
                                                          Bound
                                                          Outdoors” on
                                                          the Outdoor
                                                          Channel for 16
                                                          years.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “You
                                                          have to know
                                                          the hook that
                                                          will attract
                                                          people, and
                                                          hunting is
                                                          huge in
                                                          Kentucky,” he
                                                          said. “So we
                                                          get in there
                                                          and burp and
                                                          scratch and
                                                          talk about the
                                                          right to bear
                                                          arms and that
                                                          stuff.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          He
                                                          said he can
                                                          understand
                                                          that some
                                                          people have a
                                                          problem with
                                                          giving away
                                                          guns at
                                                          churches,
                                                          “given the
                                                          misuse of guns
                                                          and our moral
                                                          decline.” But,
                                                          he said, “we
                                                          certainly
                                                          don’t advocate
                                                          violence. We
                                                          are advocating
                                                          guns for
                                                          hunting and
                                                          protection
                                                          only.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Chitwood,
                                                          a bow hunter
                                                          who
                                                          occasionally
                                                          hunts with a
                                                          gun, said, “I
                                                          don’t think
                                                          hunting is
                                                          inconsistent
                                                          with the
                                                          Gospel in any
                                                          way. A lot of
                                                          guys in
                                                          Kentucky
                                                          hunt.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          He
                                                          also minimized
                                                          the potential
                                                          that one of
                                                          the guns could
                                                          be used for
                                                          harm. “You
                                                          could buy a
                                                          car and run
                                                          somebody over
                                                          with it,” he
                                                          said.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Asked
                                                          what Jesus
                                                          would think of
                                                          the gun
                                                          giveaways,
                                                          McAlister
                                                          said, “I don’t
                                                          know, but he
                                                          was pretty
                                                          handy with the
                                                          whip when he
                                                          ran the
                                                          money-changers
                                                          out of the
                                                          temple.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          The
                                                          guns are
                                                          donated by
                                                          local
                                                          businesses and
                                                          presented
                                                          briefly to the
                                                          winners in
                                                          church, so
                                                          they can be
                                                          photographed
                                                          with their
                                                          prize. For
                                                          legal and
                                                          liability
                                                          reasons, the
                                                          firearms are
                                                          taken back and
                                                          must be
                                                          reclaimed at a
                                                          local gun
                                                          shop, where
                                                          the winner
                                                          must pass a
                                                          federal
                                                          background
                                                          check.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          The
                                                          National Rifle
                                                          Association
                                                          declined to
                                                          comment. So
                                                          did the
                                                          Southern
                                                          Baptist
                                                          Theological
                                                          Seminary,
                                                          whose chief
                                                          spokesman,
                                                          James Smith,
                                                          said only, “I
                                                          don’t think
                                                          we’re a good
                                                          fit for this
                                                          story.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Gun
                                                          enthusiast for
                                                          God
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          The
                                                          events seem
                                                          like political
                                                          rallies/prayer
                                                          meetings,
                                                          according to a
                                                          video on
                                                          YouTube of a
                                                          men’s wildlife
                                                          supper on Feb.
                                                          4, 2013, at
                                                          Silverdale
                                                          Baptist Church
                                                          in
                                                          Chattanooga,
                                                          Tenn.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Wearing
                                                          a camouflage
                                                          shirt and
                                                          frayed cap,
                                                          McAlister
                                                          ambled onto
                                                          the stage,
                                                          where he was
                                                          surrounded by
                                                          stuffed game
                                                          and firearms.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “How
                                                          many of y’all
                                                          own guns?” he
                                                          asked in his
                                                          South Carolina
                                                          accent. “Lemme
                                                          see a show of
                                                          hands.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “That
                                                          is awesome,”
                                                          he said, as
                                                          the hands went
                                                          up. “We’ve got
                                                          an army right
                                                          here!”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          McAlister
                                                          sought to win
                                                          the souls of
                                                          the unchurched
                                                          by appealing
                                                          to their love
                                                          of hunting and
                                                          enmity toward
                                                          gun control.
                                                          For 30
                                                          minutes, he
                                                          mentioned
                                                          nothing about
                                                          God or Jesus.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Instead,
                                                          he leaned on
                                                          his rifle and
                                                          talked about
                                                          his love for
                                                          the outdoors,
                                                          about
                                                          patriotism and
                                                          about his
                                                          “Daddy” and
                                                          “Granddaddy,”
                                                          who he said
                                                          took him
                                                          hunting as a
                                                          child and
                                                          taught him to
                                                          “work hard, to
                                                          be honest and
                                                          to look a man
                                                          in the eye
                                                          when shaking
                                                          his hand.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          He
                                                          derided gun
                                                          control. “It’s
                                                          not the gun,
                                                          it’s the man
                                                          behind the
                                                          gun,” he said,
                                                          “and criminals
                                                          don’t care
                                                          about a bunch
                                                          of rules.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          He
                                                          told hunting
                                                          stories and
                                                          jokes —
                                                          including
                                                          about how he
                                                          had to refer
                                                          to
                                                          “harvesting”
                                                          deer on the
                                                          Outdoor
                                                          Channel to be
                                                          “politically
                                                          correct” but
                                                          now can say:
                                                          “We don’t
                                                          ‘harvest
                                                          deer.’ We kill
                                                          the suckers!”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          He
                                                          spoke without
                                                          notes,
                                                          prowling the
                                                          stage in a
                                                          headset,
                                                          taking the
                                                          crowd back to
                                                          the soybean
                                                          fields where
                                                          he hunted with
                                                          his kin and
                                                          learned
                                                          important life
                                                          lessons.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “I
                                                          remember
                                                          walking across
                                                          a field one
                                                          day when
                                                          Granddaddy
                                                          asked me why
                                                          two bucks
                                                          don’t go off
                                                          to rut and two
                                                          roosters don’t
                                                          form a covey.
                                                          He said, ‘Do
                                                          you know why
                                                          that is? It’s
                                                          because
                                                          animals have
                                                          more sense
                                                          than some
                                                          people.’ ”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          The
                                                          crowd erupted
                                                          in laughter,
                                                          and he moved
                                                          in to close
                                                          the deal.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “There
                                                          is only one
                                                          path to know
                                                          the God who
                                                          made the great
                                                          outdoors, and
                                                          that is
                                                          through his
                                                          son, Jesus
                                                          Christ,” he
                                                          bellowed. “My
                                                          friends, you
                                                          listen to me
                                                          and you listen
                                                          carefully,” he
                                                          said, lowering
                                                          his voice and
                                                          turning
                                                          serious.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “I
                                                          am here to
                                                          tell you there
                                                          is nothing
                                                          more, nothing
                                                          else and
                                                          nothing
                                                          better. Jesus
                                                          is the only
                                                          cure. Jesus is
                                                          the only hope.
                                                          That may not
                                                          be politically
                                                          correct, but I
                                                          don’t give a
                                                          rip about
                                                          political
                                                          correctness,”
                                                          he said.
                                                          “Because it’s
                                                          true.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          His
                                                          hunt for souls
                                                          produced a
                                                          huge bounty —
                                                          103 men
                                                          reportedly
                                                          made
                                                          “salvation
                                                          decisions”
                                                          accepting
                                                          Christ as
                                                          their savior.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          'Camo-casual'
                                                          services
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          At
                                                          Paducah’s Lone
                                                          Oak Baptist
                                                          Church, which
                                                          will host
                                                          Thursday’s
                                                          event, the
                                                          Rev. Dan
                                                          Summerlin said
                                                          there has been
                                                          some “push
                                                          back” from
                                                          people who are
                                                          opposed to
                                                          firearms.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “Any
                                                          time you try
                                                          something
                                                          different
                                                          there will be
                                                          bashers,” he
                                                          said. The
                                                          church, whose
                                                          motto is “Real
                                                          People Serving
                                                          the Real God,”
                                                          will also
                                                          offer a
                                                          “camo-casual”
                                                          service
                                                          Sunday.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Summerlin
                                                          said he has
                                                          received some
                                                          calls and
                                                          notes from
                                                          people who
                                                          lost loved
                                                          ones at Heath
                                                          High School,
                                                          12 miles to
                                                          the west, when
                                                          Michael
                                                          Carneal opened
                                                          fire on a
                                                          group of
                                                          praying
                                                          students in
                                                          1997, killing
                                                          three and
                                                          injuring five
                                                          others.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “My
                                                          heart aches
                                                          for those
                                                          people,”
                                                          Summerlin
                                                          said.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          One of
                                                          Carneal’s
                                                          victims, Missy
                                                          Jenkins Smith,
                                                          who at age 15
                                                          was left
                                                          paralyzed from
                                                          the chest down
                                                          down, said she
                                                          was “shocked”
                                                          when she found
                                                          out about the
                                                          event from a
                                                          reporter.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Smith,
                                                          who has two
                                                          children and
                                                          works as a
                                                          motivational
                                                          speaker and
                                                          counselor for
                                                          at-risk
                                                          students, said
                                                          that while
                                                          people have a
                                                          right to bear
                                                          arms, “I would
                                                          have really
                                                          thought they
                                                          would have
                                                          come up with
                                                          other ways
                                                          besides this.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          For
                                                          years some
                                                          rural Kentucky
                                                          churches have
                                                          given away
                                                          fishing rods,
                                                          hunting gear
                                                          and even a few
                                                          rifles at wild
                                                          game dinners,
                                                          Chitwood said.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          A
                                                          Baptist church
                                                          in Oakwood,
                                                          Ga., last year
                                                          gave away
                                                          .22-caliber
                                                          rifles at
                                                          services to
                                                          attract men
                                                          who don’t
                                                          think going to
                                                          church is
                                                          “manly,” its
                                                          pastor said,
                                                          according to
                                                          news accounts.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          But
                                                          Chitwood said
                                                          McAlister came
                                                          up with the
                                                          idea of
                                                          focusing the
                                                          events on the
                                                          hot-button
                                                          right to bear
                                                          arms, and
                                                          McAlister said
                                                          it was his
                                                          idea as well
                                                          to give away
                                                          firearms in
                                                          larger
                                                          quantities.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “We
                                                          have found
                                                          that the
                                                          number of
                                                          unchurched men
                                                          who will show
                                                          up will be in
                                                          direct
                                                          proportion to
                                                          the number of
                                                          guns you give
                                                          away,”
                                                          McAlister
                                                          said.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          He
                                                          said that when
                                                          he spoke at a
                                                          church in
                                                          Traverse City,
                                                          Mich., in
                                                          February 2013
                                                          that gave away
                                                          80 guns, 382
                                                          nonbelievers
                                                          made
                                                          “professions
                                                          of faith.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          Filled
                                                          pews
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          In
                                                          Kentucky,
                                                          crowds at gun
                                                          giveaways have
                                                          dwarfed
                                                          regular Sunday
                                                          church
                                                          attendance,
                                                          according to
                                                          McAlister and
                                                          local pastors.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          For
                                                          example, at
                                                          Buck Creek
                                                          Baptist Church
                                                          in Calhoun,
                                                          where Sunday
                                                          attendance
                                                          averages about
                                                          350, more than
                                                          600 people
                                                          showed up Feb.
                                                          1, and 86
                                                          accepted
                                                          Jesus, said
                                                          the Rev. Tom
                                                          Webb, its
                                                          pastor.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          McAlister
                                                          said more than
                                                          800 people
                                                          turned out
                                                          last September
                                                          for a gun
                                                          giveaway at
                                                          Christian
                                                          County’s
                                                          Crofton
                                                          Baptist
                                                          Church, which
                                                          has only 75
                                                          members, and
                                                          101 said they
                                                          had found
                                                          Christ.
                                                          Several rifles
                                                          and shotguns
                                                          were given
                                                          away, Roger
                                                          Alford, the
                                                          convention’s
                                                          communications
                                                          director, said
                                                          in a story he
                                                          wrote about
                                                          the event.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          McAlister
                                                          said the
                                                          giveaways have
                                                          wide appeal.
                                                          “We get meat
                                                          hunters who
                                                          hunt just to
                                                          put food on
                                                          the table”
                                                          along with
                                                          “executives
                                                          who think
                                                          nothing of
                                                          paying $10,000
                                                          to hunt bear
                                                          in Alaska,” he
                                                          said. “Guys
                                                          all want to
                                                          receive
                                                          something for
                                                          free.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          But
                                                          Kemper, the
                                                          Versailles
                                                          pastor, said
                                                          offering the
                                                          chance for a
                                                          firearm
                                                          “verges on
                                                          bribery” and
                                                          “makes a
                                                          mockery of
                                                          what
                                                          evangelism, to
                                                          my way of
                                                          thinking,
                                                          ought to be.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “If
                                                          the program
                                                          were just
                                                          about the joys
                                                          of respecting
                                                          nature and
                                                          other
                                                          creatures,
                                                          killing
                                                          animals for
                                                          the sake only
                                                          of food — not
                                                          for sport —
                                                          and how these
                                                          activities
                                                          might deepen
                                                          relationships
                                                          with all that
                                                          is holy ... I
                                                          would not be
                                                          so alarmed,”
                                                          she said. But
                                                          she said the
                                                          proliferation
                                                          of deadly
                                                          weapons has
                                                          created an
                                                          atmosphere of
                                                          fear and
                                                          distrust.
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          “The
                                                          followers of
                                                          Jesus are
                                                          meant to build
                                                          the kingdom of
                                                          God on Earth,”
                                                          she said,
                                                          where
                                                          “everyone can
                                                          live in peace
                                                          with their
                                                          neighbors.”
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          -----------------------------------
                                                          
                                                          Seeya
                                                          'round town,
                                                          Moscow,
                                                          because . . .
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          "Moscow
                                                          Cares" (the
                                                          most fun you
                                                          can have with
                                                          your pants on)
                                                          http://www.MoscowCares.com
                                                            
                                                          
                                                          Tom
                                                          Hansen
                                                          
                                                          Moscow,
                                                          Idaho
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          "There's
                                                          room at the
                                                          top they are
                                                          telling you
                                                          still.
                                                          But
                                                          first you must
                                                          learn how to
                                                          smile as you
                                                          kill,
                                                          If
                                                          you want to be
                                                          like the folks
                                                          on the hill."
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          -
                                                          John Lennon
                                                            
                                                          
                                                          
                                                          
                                                        
                                                      
                                                    
                                                  
                                                
                                              
                                            
                                            
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