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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Alabama Chuches Get Torched |
| 2006-02-03 |
| CENTREVILLE, Ala. Feb 3, 2006 — A series of fires damaged six rural Alabama churches overnight, and investigators Friday were trying to determine whether arson was involved. Most of the churches were Baptist, located near major highways, and all but one were in Bibb County, about 25 miles south of Birmingham. In 1996, race was a factor in a series of arsons that damaged rural black churches in Alabama and elsewhere. But Ingram said the fires late Thursday and early Friday destroyed both the churches of predominantly black congregations and predominantly white congregations. The Ashby Baptist Church in Brierfield, Rehobeth Baptist Church in Randolph and Pleasant Sabine near Centreville all burned to the ground, said Bibb County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Kenneth Weems. The other two churches, Old Union Baptist in Brierfield and Antioch Baptist in Antioch, were damaged. Wild speculation here: Is it just coincidence that these churches were set on fire on the International Day of Muslim Seething? |
| Posted by:growler |
| #6 And here I was thinking every day was International Seething Day. |
| Posted by: Phil 2006-02-03 15:47 |
| #5 Unless some seething Muslims were driving along SR 25 and SR 139, it's likely a local nutjob. The line about "located near major highways" is exaggerating a bit, IMHO. Brierfield's about 10 miles away from I-66. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2006-02-03 15:35 |
| #4 Any chance Baptists will be going on a rampage soon over this? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2006-02-03 15:05 |
| #3 Didn't the Mormons get a little miffed at the Southern Baptists awhile back. Possible connection maybe? Lets face it, it only takes a couple of yahoos to do something like this. And I think if it was Muslims they'd be torching St Peter's or St Paul's. |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2006-02-03 13:09 |
| #2 Coincidence I'd say. Muzzie's in Bibb County would stand out purty good. Would take a lot of courage to carry that one off in Larry the Cable Guy country. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-02-03 13:08 |
| #1 The timing probably just is coincidence. Remember back 'bout ten years ago when Billary Clinton got everyone worked up about a supposed epidemic of church burnings? As the debunking progressed, I remember hearing from authoritative sources that most church arson is committed by firebugs. They pick on churches because all that varnished wood in the pews is easy to ignite, and the fire backlighting the stained glass is spectacular. |
| Posted by: Mike 2006-02-03 12:55 |