http://www.faithnews.cc/2009/04/09/christian-bashing-is-alive-and-well/The tragic church shooting and death of Rev. Fred Winters, pastor of First Baptist Church, Maryville Ill., has once again raised one of the most under-reported issues within the media today: violence directed at Christians and churches.
While the recent church shooting in Illinois this past March did receive some coverage, the full extent of violence against the church has not been adequately discussed. If this kind of event had happened at a Mosque or Synagogue there would have been non-stop media coverage and a cry for “hate crime” prosecution. Because it only happened to a Christian there is little outcry.
The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission has compiled a partial list of recent church shootings:
- Feb. 18, 2009: A man committed suicide in front of a cross at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif.
- August 12, 2007: A lone gunman opened fire in a Missouri Micronesian church, killing a pastor and two other churchgoers.
- May 20, 2007: A standoff between police and a suspect at a Moscow, Idaho church ended with three dead, including one police officer.
- Oct. 2, 2006: A man in Lancaster County, Pa., killed five girls and then himself at an Amish school.
- May 20, 2006: Four were killed by a man at Jesus Christ Church in Louisiana.
- Feb. 26, 2006: Two people were killed at Zion Hope Missionary Baptist Church in Michigan by a man who later killed himself.
- April 9, 2005: A 27-year-old died after being shot at a church in College Park, Ga.
- March 12, 2005: A man walked into the Living Church of God in Milwaukee and opened fire, killing seven people.
- Oct. 5, 2003: A woman opened fire in Turner Monumental A.M.E. church in Kirkwood, Ga., killing the pastor, her mother, and herself.
- March 12, 2002: During Sunday Mass, Peter J. Troy fatally shot the Rev. Lawrence M. Penzes and parishioner Eileen Tosner.
- Sept. 16, 1999: Seven young people were killed when a man opened fire during a prayer service for teenagers at the Wedgewood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.
Anti-Christian hostility is reaching a new, more violent level. Christians are mocked and our faith and values are increasingly maligned. Anti-Christian bias within the media has played a large part in stirring anti-Christian sentiments.
This is not surprising when you know that 75 percent of major media journalists either seldom or never attend religious services. This is in stark contrast to the rest of America, with 50 percent saying that they attend religious services more than once a month.
