The owners of Arkansas’s largest statue of Jesus woke up one recent morning to a shocking surprise: a 44-foot banner reading “God Bless Abortions” had been hung across it, from arm to arm.
The banner was put there by the activist group “Indecline” as an act of protest against the anti-abortion laws on the books in Arkansas, which are some of the strictest in the country.
The Jesus statue, known as Christ of the Ozarks, stands an impressive 67 feet tall and sits on private land in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
What Was the Motive?
Apparently, the culprits disguised themselves as construction workers and snuck onto the grounds late at night to hang the banner. In a statement, they wrote:
“We think Jesus would understand the concept of a difficult decision. He supposedly had to make a few of them and understood sacrifice very intimately…. When people have strong beliefs about decisions that don’t affect them, those beliefs are worth questioning. We are just here to ask those questions.”
While the group acknowledges it broke the law, it also insists critics should shift their perspective.
"We believe that walking into a Jesus theme park at night and hanging a banner that was removed the following morning is a far cry from the draconian laws Arkansas politicians are pushing on women in need. If people can't see that, they need their moral compass recalibrated."
What Happens Next?
The curator in charge of maintaining the statue announced that he plans to press charges against the protestors. And he had a few choice words for the folks responsible:
"Lord help them," he said. "Maybe He'll somehow touch them and make them realize how bad that message really is."
We posted about the incident on Facebook, where our followers had a spirited debate over the merits of the protest:
What is your reaction?
62 comments
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Daniel Gray
while they have the right to say what they want, they do NOT have the right to go on private property and desecrate property that does not belong to them. They want to march around with signs, fine. They go onto private property and desecrate it, then they are charged with trespassing and the costs to fix this. case closed.
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Bishop William Dusenberry, DD
The Christian God causes more abortions, than any other of the thousands, or so God’s — but they’re called “still-births” and/or “miscarriages” when done by the Christian God.
It’s interesting, that while the Christian God still performs abortions, his GOP Christian politicians now oppose any abortion, for any reason — even if your 11-year-old daughter, granddaughter, or your 50-year-old wife, needs one — because she was raped and became pregnant — by their pool guy, who is AID’s positive.
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MIKE
Well sir, I'm not one to question God's reasons, any god for that matter;however, doctors are not gods and neither is the government. Abortion issues have no place in politics or the church. It should be strictly the choice of the individuals affected by the situation. One's heart and conscience should be one's guide.
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Teej Johnson
Exactly, people should have the choice to get an abortion if they wish. I find it strange that some people have the idea that pro-choice means you are forced to get abortions. It doesn't, it means you get the choice to have an abortion if you so choose
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John Norris Campbell
I have the exact same feeling about people that piss me off...or otherwise present themselves as an inconvenience...I choose to refer to these people as "late term abortions" and really see no difference in the paticular life stage they are in. But, because I've been taught that killing is a sin...UNLESS you eat what you kill...I've come up with some wonderful meat pies and stews recipies I'd be happy to share with ya'll...after all...who ever came uo with the jingle "I want my babyback ribs" was really on to something.
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Douglas Robert Spindler
Well stated. But Christian’s do not what to hear the truth about their God.
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David A Griffith
They just do not want to hear the truth!
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Robert Philip Ryden
This is to amplify William Dusenberry’s post. When a Christian woman is pregnant she will likely pray for a safe delivery. In doing so, she is acting on the belief that God has the power to protect her. If, as sometimes happens, she has a miscarriage, she must logically accept that God, who had the power to protect her, didn’t do it. He CHOSE to allow the miscarriage, perhaps even caused it. The is the definition of abortion. God is an abortionist.
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John Norris Campbell
Tell that to the baby in the womb....just because you can't hear them scream? THAT makes it 'alright"?
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Raymond Dennis Lams
God does not cause abortions or any other kind of natural event. The human condition is that which causes abortion or any other kind of human condition as well as natural phenomena such as storms, earthquakes, etc. According to christian condition, God created humans. If one follows Genesis, God created everything else having to do with their physical surroundings. Early humans tried to make sense of what was happening to them so they attributed this to en entity they believed to be God as they had nothing else to blame, having no knowledge of science. No matter by what trick of logic or analogy, God has not had nor will have anything to do with abortion any more than God has anything to do with capital punishment. As far as posting the banner, your opinion is Yours. Keep it that way.
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Matthew Mastrogiovanni
Those without a uterus, shalt not legislate the uterus." Fallopians 1:1
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Nikki Tate- Coates
I'm all for 'Pro Choice' & understand that sometimes abortion is necessary, but this is a little bit too much. It looks to me like someone is making light of what can be a very difficult decision for some women to make.
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Teej Johnson
Lol, awesome!
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Stephanie A Willey
I agree. awesome !!!
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MIKE
Comment removed by user.
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Father Matthew
It is becoming very important to start electing conservative candidates to congress and state legislatures. There is a rising tide of cynicism, cancel culture, atheism that must be stopped by getting conservatives into office.
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David A Griffith
Typical thought process of a ultra-conservative Christian. Open your eyes and look around you, do you see what Trump did to this country in the name of Christianity? All respect for each other is gone, race relations are at a all time low, vaccinations to save people's lives are a political football.
I see laws being passed to stop people from voting, or making it very hard for them to vote. There are politicians in Washington, Trump Party, who refuse to vote yes on any bill that is brought up by a Democrat, even ones that would help their constituents.
No, I don’t want Conservatives in power, we’ve already seen what the conservative Supreme Court is doing. We need politicians who can, and are, willing to work together to help us, not hurt us and that is all I see from the Trump Party (the Republican Party).
Sometimes I think your Jesus has come for the second time, but Christians are so nasty that you persecuted him instead of listening.
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Leona Weisenbach
Not all conservative are Christian... Republican Atheist here.
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Ilmenheru Terikson
You do grasp that in a secular nation like the U.S. suggesting that atheism is something to combat, and even hindered by those in legal power shows you to be an enemy of the secular ideasl of the nation, dont you?
To suggest that indoctrination and supporting the culture of white supremacy( which is what you mean by your culture being canceled) is anything but evil only proves you to yourself be evil.
Servants of Shai'Tan such as yourself are not people possessed of thoughts or opinions of any substance of worth to society or civilization.
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Billy Rayford Bridges
What about young women going out getting pregnant time after time because they know they can kill a innocent child at will with no repercussions just to satisfy there lust of the body...God knows you even before you are born
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JaZe
Better sex education and easy access to contraception?
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Nicholas J Page
Really God Bless abortions no he wanted everyone to live
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Tom
Unless of course a person did something that their community believed God condemned, like commit adultery. Then God says to stone the offenders to death.
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JaZe
God did not start religions, men did.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
That's a good way to find yourself in prison Tom,and rightly so, regardless of what your stupid, evil god says to the contrary.
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Rev. Jonathan Peebles
LOL I actually find it funny. I am sorry but in the beginning (according to the christian belief) god wanted us to beget, beget, and beget however when we start to over populate it is no longer an option to go overboard. Unfortunately too many people want to have tons of sex and blame there faith as to why they cant use birth control however if you go there sex is only for procreation for that reason not for recreation so you use Birth control is a must. Too many kids born unwanted and suffer for it as well as out of rape and molestation so I believe every woman has the right to choose whether she thinks abortion is her best option as long as it is done early enough. Still it is vandalism and I could never support vandalizing Jesus - He just wanted to help the world...
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Sergiy Kozulya
Jonathan Peebles, you're saying the right thing. If anyone wants to express their opinion , this should be done without vandalism.
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flugo
No, Peebles is saying that the hypotenuse below freezing should be followed by a colon.
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Carl Bernard Elfstrom
I really don't think anyone is going to confuse a statue of a white haired, old, hippy wearing a dress with Jesus.
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Gary Richard Noce
We are in some Very hard times. To have this during these times is just too much. Rome has taken thier position and other churches too with child molestation in the US., say nothing/silence. When pop benedict took this position was when I decided to leave this church. His witch hunts for gay men in the seminary and the displacement of the sisterhood of the church was too much for me. Let's not forget the old saying "what would Jesus say or do?" I'm sure, those that really know Him, knows he would NOT be in support of these actions. I pray these beautiful children found in mass graves can rest in peace !!!🙏 I hope we ALL can find peace through this ugly and disgusting times. Rev. Gary
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Ann
I do not believe taking another life is ever right. No matter the size of that life, the species, or how well formed. We are all one.
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Reverend Steve
Abortion as discussed by the American plague of make-believe "Christians." The moronic, inbred rednecks in certain states (we all know which states those are) is a cartoon version of a smei-literate, grossly inaccurate version of a numder of "bibles" currently disseminated among intellectually challenged Evangelical posers. There are 148 diffrent version of the "Christian" bible afoot, slavishly worshipped by the "Bleach-Drinkers" who contiguously worship Donald Trump. You all know Donald Trump, the "Christian" man accused of rape by 30 women, the man who holds a bible upside down, the man, the liar and the sociopath, the lifelong criminal who's working on his third wife, the man who attempted to overthrow the democracy known as the U.S.A.
What's all this got to do with abortion you ask? Why nothing more than the complete disregard of written law in the U.S., and the misogyny represented by the anti-abortion faction of the Make-Believe Christians. The rejection of democratic principles and constitutional obiesance, and the ignorance and REJECTION of Christ's teachings is revealed in this socio-political mumbo jumbo that these faux Christian make up as they go along.
Firstly, Jesus never uttered a single word regarding abortion. Jesus never sought to punish any woman, or midwife for any acts performed to terminate a pregnancy. Jesus did not seek to discriminate or condemn women, or judge them in any form "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" is a quote of Jesus' that is entirely ignored by American Evangelical fakers. These people define themselves by who they hate, who they think they are better than, and the desire to convert their misbegotten, counter-Christian beliefs into legal, enforceable dominion over a free people.
A typical evangelical "Christian" lives in the south or the midwest, is obese, self-indulgent, sexually repressed or disoriented, narrow-miinded, racist, bigoted, xenophobic, maniacally homophobic, misongynistic, unpatriotic, has less education and a shorter lifespan than other Americans, has virtually no knowledge of the actual bible, reads on an 8th grade level, and is anti-vaccine and pro Trump. The abortion "Issue" only exists in Theocracies, not in modern democracies and serves ony to illuminate the ignorance and demogogery to which stupid fanatics are historically prone.
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Rev. Beef
"The moronic, inbred rednecks in certain states (we all know which states those are) is a cartoon version of a smei-literate, grossly inaccurate version of a numder of "bibles" currently disseminated among intellectually challenged Evangelical posers."
"A typical evangelical "Christian" lives in the south or the midwest, is obese, self-indulgent, sexually repressed or disoriented, narrow-miinded, racist, bigoted, xenophobic, maniacally homophobic, misongynistic, unpatriotic, has less education and a shorter lifespan than other Americans, has virtually no knowledge of the actual bible, reads on an 8th grade level, and is anti-vaccine and pro Trump."
Dehumanization. And people wonder why they all have guns.
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Howard Pippin
Is Abortion infantcide?
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John Norris Campbell
Well, when one looks at the abortion rate in New York city...and one finds that more black babies are killed in their mother's womb (previously known as the safest place for a young child to thrive) than are actually born ALIVE.... Yea...that ain't just infantcide...that's actually GENOCIDE... Quick! alert the BLM activists... I'm sure they can sell one of those million dollar mansions and buy a young mother's facility.
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Philip Joseph Ryan
No, it is infanticide, as bo race is being systematically killed off.
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Isaac Solomon
Just finished reading all posts. I feel a need to pray. God bless everyone,
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William Diaz
According to Christianity;
Omnipresence: God is everywhere at all times Omnipotence: God is all-powerful Omniscience: God is all-knowing
And the Prophet Isaiah tells us;
Isaiah 45:7 "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things."
Where is the problem?
William
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Douglas Robert Spindler
Yes, and the Lord preforms 93% of the abortions every year. That is how precious human life is to our Lord God. He certainly uses his power to kill the unborn. USCF Medical Center Research, 2018.
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Joseph Kipkorir Ngeno
I like to be called Total name of Rev Ngeno Kipkorir Joseph is citified that he/she as Ordained as a Minister of God in online ULC.
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John Norris Campbell
I'd like to be called in time for dinner....good luck with your request.
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Rabbi Francine MacHotka
If I had to look at a huge statue of Jesus every day, I’d want to hang a sign too but I wouldn’t because trespassing is illegal but I would have looked to find another legal alternative to protest. You are asking for trouble by putting up a statue that large that everyone has to look at and you’re purposely imposing your beliefs on everyone in your vicinity which is very rude. I’ve heard of other objects (doesn’t matter what they are but weren’t religious) that courts have ordered they must be taken down because they’re visible from neighbors’ backyards. I think this Jesus statue should be taken down.
Similarly, I am offended by right to life billboards that say abortion is murder assuming that a woman had other options and just felt like killing her child. Some of those women are still grieving and maybe some will always grieve the loss of their child and are struggling to go on. Not every woman out of a whim chooses abortion. These signs are hurtful.
I’ve done counseling before with unplanned pregnancies and I’ve witnessed the struggle and rarely is it an easy choice. But it’s not a choice a teenager should make on her own and I see that with telehealth abortion clinics get away with it by having phone call consultations and no parent or adult to get them counseling they need and some left to themselves commit suicide.
As to the issue of abortion, Judaism says that a woman’s life should be chosen over the life of the child because she can have another child and she has relationships and maybe children as well so to lose her causes more pain to more people than the life of a child who hasn’t lived yet to have relationships. This doesn’t mean to say that losing the child isn’t going to hurt but that it is a lesser pain.
I’d like to see late term abortion become babies that the state takes into foster care and puts into incubators and life support instead of purposely taking their lives. Let’s try to give them a chance to live. There are babies at five months who are born and go on to live healthy lives. I read an article recently about abortions where the mother thought the baby was aborted and dead when it was delivered and adopted by a police officer & his wife. The child grew up & learned of this by dna testing & was upset her Dad wasn’t given a choice. Now we have DNA & fathers also have a choice so I say let’s try to deliver them early and help them live instead.
As to comments that G-d does this that and the other thing, we are here on this earth to learn to do the right thing in tough situations. It’s childish to blame G-d for people’s choices past or present as if he’s responsible for everything and accept no personal responsibility. That’s like a child who forever blames their parents for their failures.
If a person doesn’t believe in G-d then you have to accept responsibility for the failures of people past, present or future anyhow as you say G-d doesn’t exist.
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Linda Salavarria
The shoe is on the other foot!! It's ok for these wackjobs to intimidate women in front of clinics, destroy medical property, even KILL people because they believe abortion is so bad and god wants them to protect the unborn. But when some group does the same type of act back at them, they can't handle it! Friggin babies! It shows their unmitigated hypocrisy. This is why evangelical christianity is doomed.
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P. Keith Benefiel
Genesis 2:7 No breath, no life.
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Bishop William Dusenberry, DD
Now that the GOP, has merged itself with the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptists, and the White Christian Nationalists, in their collective efforts to force anyone who becomes pregnant, to give birth — regardless of the age of the rape victim, or the fact that the pregnant rape victim has no place to live, demonstrates a lack of what it means to be a Christian — who practices the Golden Rule.
Just because one would force their own 11-year-old granddaughter, to give birth — doesn’t give such a one the right to deny me the right, to have “the morning after pill, available to anyone who wants to buy one.
Religious arrogance (trying to force everyone, to believe the same things they do) has caused the deaths of more people, than all of the World Wars combined.
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John Norris Campbell
My secular arrogance will kill any idiot that crosses my path...If I find them "inconvenient"...Is that somehow O.K. in your world? It seems to work in China, Cuba, Venezulea and all the other secular run countries...and BTW...of the 926,000 babies killed in 2019 ONLY .02% were due to incest, rape or violence...and almost 90% were black babies....sounds kind of like GENOCIDE to me...
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flugo
'jonoca'; Yes, and in for New York City black women, their abortion rate is higher than the birth rate!
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Matthew Mastrogiovanni
All things come from god ... right? That means abortion comes from god, because the devil cannot create. It is wrong to not use the gifts, that god has given you. So get those abortions if you feel the need.
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John Norris Campbell
Last time I checked abortion DESTROYS LIFE and who is ACTUALLY NAMED THE DESTROYER? And the Father of LIES?....I'm sure you can Google that little gem!
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Luke Lukas
This is secularism - Killing babies is murder - 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
There is no Christian God. God is the God of all. Christians believe that the only way to God is through Christ. Those that believe they know what God believes and try to attribute carnal believes to God are wise in their own eyes.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
Man (or woman) in their own wisdom will never understand these scriptures.
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John Sergeant
One of the really bad things about making it very hard to get an abortion is that only affects poor people as any person of means can hop a plane and go to the many places that allow them.
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Jean Bakula
Face reality. There are many unwanted children born due to these ridiculous and draconian policies. Why do you think so many teens are homeless or commit suicide? I don't see a lot (ha) of new methods of birth control for men. Young women are most affected, as the boyfriend leaves as soon as he learns she is pregnant. The U.S. gov't. is being sieged by Republicans who make a big deal about being pro life, but as soon as the child is out of the womb, never support any food programs, so single Moms can get formula, or medical care, or daycare, because she has to work with a baby now. The hypocrisy is stunning.
A man doesn't have to be pregnant, ruin his career trajectory, and many never spent a whole day with any of their children they profess to want so much. Just stop it. All women should have the right to choose. Do you think women didn't abort children in Biblical times? They used herbs and often died from it. Smarten up.
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Ann
That's not true. The pro life groups put a lot of time and effort into helping in a lot of ways. Just look them up online and go through their posts.
Also, there are many men out there who are wonderful fathers.
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Rev Nolan
ABORTION
While I personally oppose abortions “for the most part,” I realize the legality behind it is multifaceted. In spite of the science behind the Pro Life argument, when life begins is a religious and Constitutional issue. The Constitution legislates for life after birth and “Congress shall make no law with respect to religion and the exercise thereof.” On that last thought, when life begins is a subject of moral convictions. It therefore becomes a subject of one’s religious conviction by definition.
Anti abortion tactics to reduce abortive activities should continue to entail awareness, not violence which has defeated the cause of saving lives.
On the other hand, pro abortion tactics to justify abortive activities should weigh law, jurisprudence, and personal moral convictions and continue their abortive activities only after being well informed of the science and life long psychological consequences that come with choosing to abort an unborn child.
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John Camp Bernay III
CHRIST OF TEH OZARKS Built By The Rev. Dr. Gerald B. Winrod, an evangelist based in Wichita, Kansas,.
THE WINROD LEGACY OF HATE
Gordon Winrod, 73, is the pastor of Our Savior’s Church in Gainesville, MO. His two children who were arrested with him are Stephen Winrod, 33, and Carol Winrod, 27. The elder Winrod is the son of the late Reverend Gerald Winrod of Wichita, Kansas, a pro-Nazi and anti-Semitic preacher active in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
BACKGROUND OF BIGOTRY
For more than 60 years covering three generations, Gerald, Gordon and David Winrod have produced some of the most vicious and hate filled anti-Semitic propaganda to be found on the American scene. Gordon Winrod, now in his late 60s, who has declared that "Not Jew-wise, the American citizenry always gets Jewed," is the current patriarch of the Winrod clan. His father was the late Rev. Gerald B. Winrod of Wichita, Kansas, a propagandist so notorious for his pro-Nazism and anti-Semitism in the 1930s and 1940s that he earned himself the sobriquet of the "Jayhawk Nazi," ("Jayhawk" is a nickname for a Kansas native.) Gordon’s son, David Winrod, now in his mid-40s, has taken up the cudgels to spread his and his father’s hatred of Jews.
Since 1964, Gordon Winrod has been the pastor and prime mover of Our Savior’s Church & Latin School in Gainesville, Missouri, an entity of his own creation, where he has conducted a "radio ministry" and published The Winrod Letter and other anti-Jewish tracts. Both Gordon and David Winrod have engaged in2 widespread mailings of their respective anti-Semitic publications to all postal residents of several small communities. Gordon Winrod is a former Lutheran minister. After graduating from Concordia Seminary in Illinois, he served in several Lutheran churches in Texas and Arkansas. Winrod’s hate-mongering activities became apparent with the first issue of his anti-Semitic monthly, The Winrod Letter, in the summer of 1960. Winrod was then ousted from his Arkansas position and suspended from ministerial functions by the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church. Subsequently, Winrod was named National Chaplain of the racist and anti- Semitic National States Rights Party (NSRP), led by J. B. Stoner. Although in this position only for six months, Winrod preached his anti-Jewish gospel coast-to-coast during an extensive speaking tour made under the auspices of the Georgia-based NSRP. After leaving the NSRP in 1962, Winrod began devoting his full time to tirades against Jews through his radio broadcasts and publications. Winrod attacked Jews as the cause of America’s social and economic problems. Though "The Winrod Hour" was banned by several radio stations, Winrod managed to maintain his program on some stations by using code words, such as "anti-Christs" "and "Pharisees" for Jews and Judaism. Through his publications, however, Winrod made his attitude towards Jews perfectly clear. Blaming Jews for a conglomeration of world problems, he has written; "Jews are murderers and children of the devil" [and] "Jews control all politics by the power of money."
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John Camp Bernay III
OBSESSION WITH ANTI-SEMITISM
The Winrod Letter and Our Savior’s church have offered for sale a number of virulently anti-Semitic books including The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, The Talmud Unmasked, Jewish Ritual Murder, and The International Jew. Also offered are books by Winrod’s late father, Gerald B. Winrod, such as The Jewish Assault on Christianity published in 1935. Moreover, Winrod’s Our Savior’s Church has been the source of anti-Semitic tracts such as "Freemasonry: Jewish Front" and "Wake-up America." The latter tract alleged that Jews "started Communism," "control the money," "publish and distribute all pornography" "make the money off all liquor, dope and wars," and "control all politics by the power of money."
Issue after issue of Winrod’s monthly, The Winrod Letter, which has proclaimed itself as "the world’s foremost militant Christian publication," has promoted anti-Semitism. The October 1990 issue, for example, stated: "The Jews, the conspiratorial international Sect of the Pharisees, are the workers of the world system of anti-Christ. They are the creators and workers of Communism. As they work through their fronts, from behind the scenes, the great lie of the Jews is that they are God’s people of the Book, and that those Christians who kept the Jews down and out of power for a thousand years... are the kingdom of anti-Christ!" The November 1993 issue of The Winrod Letter was entitled "The International Jew." It stated in part: "The Jewish secret world government of anti-Christ is MYSTERY BABYLON, controlling the money, media and governments of the world from behind the scenes, with the goal of death-dealing, terroristic world dictatorship, soon to be revealed openly, with every ‘Jew a King,’ and every ‘goy a slave,’ as they say." Winrod began a 1993 tract headed "‘Anti-Semitic"’ with the following diatribe: "The Jews murdered Jesus, the Prophets, and the Apostles. Socialism and Communism are Jewish. The Jews have butchered, burned and bled Christians down through the centuries. Jewish drinking of warm Christian blood, in their Jewish Ritual Murder of Christians, was crowning cause of expulsion of Jews from nation after nation. Jews make
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John Camp Bernay III
I was a follower of Gordon Winrod in 1970's, I had every sermon he wrote, I studied to be approved, when Elvis Died I went Loca en la Cabaza, but in 1990's Federals Raided his church. I decided that the Swami Vivekananda was a better person to worship, of course seeing as how I am JEWISH, so Gordon Winrod was a bad choice to be a Guru...Nu? Swami Vivekananda in San Francisco
Swami Vivekananda introduced Vedanta to America at the 1893 Parliament of Religions in Chicago. He founded two Vedanta Societies: one in New York in 1894 and the other in San Francisco in 1900.
Swamiji arrived in San Francisco from southern California on February 22, 1900. He left at the end of May for India via the East Coast, Europe and the Middle East. Within three months Swamiji had sown the seeds of Vedanta throughout the Bay Area, which to this day continue to sprout and flourish. He gave over sixty-one talks, including formal as well as informal classes; he intermingled with the people of the area impressing everyone with his powerful yet gentle presence. Some of his most moving lectures: “Is Vedanta the Future Religion?,” “Discipleship,” “The Soul and God,” and “I Am That I Am,” were given in San Francisco, as well as a series of talks on the world’s great spiritual teachers. He also gave a series of lectures on spiritual practice, emphasizing concentration, meditation, and Kundelenei Yoga
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Rev. Forrrest
What really bothers me about the abortion debate is the total absence of depth of discussion. It is rare that we get past the right or wrong debate to discuss the things we can and should be doing to help make them unnecessary except in the most extreme circumstances. What do we need to do? 1. Teach age-appropriate sex education. 2. Teach children how to be safe and provide them safe places to live, play and learn. 3. Enforce strict punishment of sex offenders. End the "boys will be boys" defense. 4. Take child abuse seriously. Listen to children and keep them safe. 5. Stop sexualizing children. This is never okay. 6. Stop the sex trafficking industry and child pornography. 7. Teach boys and men that women are not their prey. They are not to be used, abused, and tossed aside. End the wink wink, nudge nudge culture among men that condones and encourages casual sex. 8. Ensure access to birth control and reproductive care. 9. Teach girls and boys both modesty and self-control. 10. Ensure wage and benefit equity for working women. 11. Hold parents of pregnant minors accountable. While it is natural for them to be upset over a teen's pregnancy, they should not pressure the teen to have an abortion if she doesn't want one. 12. Prevent abuse of and discrimination toward women with unplanned pregnancies. 13.Understand that the United States has the highest rate of infant and maternal death in the developed world. Be informed about why. Do something to help improve it. 14. Combat drug and alcohol abuse. 15. Understand that rape and incest occur, and that victims should be allowed to determine their own fates. 16. Understand that women's lives also matter. There are many reasons women may need to terminate a pregnancy to save their own lives. These decisions should be made by a woman and her medical team. Women and families coping with these tragic situations deserve our empathy, not our judgement. 17. Women are often blamed for unplanned pregnancies, because they are the visible targets for public criticism. Remember that men are equally, and often more responsible.
It is easy to look at the abortion issue as a simple right or wrong issue. We speak of women's convenience while ignoring our own convenience.
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Stanley Alan Marchand
rev forrest in your opinion who is at fault here a 16 year old boy get's a 16 year old girl pregnant they say they love each other should the boy become a registered sex offender that seams to fall into sec .3 of your rules . 17 where men are often more at fault . 11 holding parents accountable in this case the boys parents or the girls. or have you not stopped to think the effect all this has on the boy.
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Abortion is a choice that should only be made by those directly involved in the situation, not the government!
Though I hope that every potential child is in fact wanted, I back the right of a woman to work with her medical care provider to terminate, if she has decided thus.
I agree! But why stop at murdering children? I've had this burr under my saddle blanket...aka an Idiot neighbor... when I decided to use the .45 and shovel in the back of my car and end that aggravation, without consulting the supposed "authorities" my life got much less stressful! Going along with the theory that if "that human is not wanted" I exercised my God given free choice to rid myself of that human "inconvience"...I now own that property and have a lovely tomatoe garden growing where the earth was somehow recently spaded...I've decided to call this method "late...very late term abortion" May the "god" of your choice bless you all!
I agree with you, John Norris Campbell, and if convenience to us or our health determines the right of any other person to live, why stop at aborting babies and let's just follow that premise through to its logical conclusion and get rid of all inconvenient and unhealthy (for us!) people?!! The Nazis also provided very, very late term abortions for Jews and anyone else that inconvenienced them or got in their way or were "unhealthy" for the people to have around! Stalin did the same thing in Russia during his purges, as have Saddam Hussein and other dictators in history. As for pregnancies', sometimes, endangering mothers' health as the reason for terminating pregnancies, many other things endanger women's and men's health, such as alcohol drinking, smoking, diabetes and eating sweets exacerbating that condition, cancer, and other diseases and sicknesses, and women (or men) don't terminate all those practices or habits leading to those problems anywhere near as quickly as they will terminate pregnancies just for health reasons or because the babies are unwanted. Pro-choice people are fortunate that their parents didn't think as they do or they wouldn't be here to think as they do! So, they owe their very lives to pro-life thinking and action. Women have given birth in fields or, at least, at home before these days of modern medicine, and women today can't be in any more danger of risk to their health than women were in those times! If dependency of children on mothers for life gives mothers the right to kill them in the womb, then dependency of children on mothers outside the womb still gives mothers the right to kill their children, by the same "logic" and principle. Even puppies or kittens in their mothers' wombs aren't killed because they are an inconvenience to us or we can't take care of them, but are given the chance to be born and then given to people who want them and can take care of them. Human children certainly deserve as much as (or far more than) is done for dogs or cats! Babies shouldn't have to die because of how they were conceived (through rape, etc) or because they were conceived by the wrong people. How is that their fault: that they should pay for with their lives!! Abortion isn't only about a woman's body because there is another person inside her who isn't just her body, but another body entirely!!