Trailer full of hundreds of Bibles intentionally set on fire in front of Tennessee church on Easter Sunday



Law enforcement officials are investigating a "suspicious" incident on Easter Sunday in front of a Tennessee church, where a trailer full of hundreds of Bibles was intentionally set on fire.

Around 6 a.m. on Easter Sunday, the security cameras at the Global Vision Church reportedly caught a man dropping off a trailer in the middle of the intersection, blocking the entrance to the church.

A man reportedly then set hundreds of Bibles on fire in front of the church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

The church's pastor, Greg Locke, said in a statement on Facebook: "There was a lady that had driven through the night to get to our church and she was in the parking lot and was able to get the police officers here quickly, but it was quite the scene to wake up to on my first morning back from Israel."

The Mt. Juliet Police Department and Fire Department responded to the trailer fire and extinguished the blaze. The Bible fire caused temporary road closures.

There were no injuries from the trailer fire, and the church property did not incur any damage.

Easter Sunday services at the Global Vision Church were not interrupted.

Locke told the Tennessean, "It did not, nor will it stop us. It was cleaned up in time for people to drive into the parking lot. We had a full house and a marvelous service."

The Wilson County Sheriff's Office noted that the trailer fire was "suspicious" and done "intentionally." Police did not provide a motive for the Bible burning or if the church was the intended target.

Police said no other specific details could be provided at this time in an effort to "uphold the integrity of the ongoing investigation," but updates would be shared at "the appropriate juncture."

Locke declared, "It was 100 percent directed at (Global Vision Bible Church). It blocked the entrance to our campus and the fact that it was an entire load of Bibles is rather conclusive proof that is was most assuredly directed at us."

Locke told WKRN-TV, "It was strange because he [the suspect] had his blinkers on and he scotched the wheels and everything. He was very meticulous, so he had to be very courageous to do what he did. We’ve had people do things to our building, we’ve been vandalized a number of times, hence why we have to have security, but never 200 Bibles being burned. That’s a pretty rebellious statement towards the church."

The pastor proclaimed, "If you think Christianity is not under attack more than ever before in the United States of America, you have not been paying attention."

“What people think many times is going to stop us, really just encourages us, in a weird way, to know that we’re doing what’s right,” Locke stated.

Police are urging anyone with information or footage of the incident to contact the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office at 615-444-1459.

Last week, Locke appeared on "The Steve Deace Show" airing on BlazeTV to have a discussion about faith.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up!

Trailer of Bibles burned on Easter Sunday in Wilson County www.youtube.com

Free Speech Is DEAD in This State | 4/27/23

Free Speech Is DEAD in This State | 4/27/23

14 Beautiful Items To Put In Your Easter Baskets That Aren’t Candy

Here are some items I've found to fill Easter baskets with higher-quality treats and more gift-quality items to observe Easter as a high feast.

Bibles removed from Easter display at veterans medical center gift shop after atheist group objects to them



Bibles recently were removed from an Easter display at a New Mexico veterans medical center gift shop after the Military Religious Freedom Foundation — an atheist activist group — objected to them.

What are the details?

The MRFF noted Wednesday that it managed to convince leaders at the Raymond G. Murphy Veterans Administration Medical Center in Albuquerque to remove a display of Bibles and related Christian reading materials on "prominent display" in its Patriot Store facility on the first floor of the main medical building.

The MRFF said 10 employees and patients — seven of whom "identify as avid practitioners of the Christian faith" — complained and reached out to MRFF "for help regarding the unconstitutionality of that sectarian Christian literature display; especially as it was juxtaposed right next to an otherwise non-objectionable display of 'secular-ish' chocolate Easter bunnies, related holiday candy. and Easter bunny cutouts, et al."

According to MRFF, the displayed Bibles "completely violated the time, place, and manner restrictions of the VA’s own regulations as well as the No Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and its construing Federal caselaw."

The Bibles and other religious items were gone within 24 hours of the request, the MRFF added while praising the VA's quick actions.

Hold on a second

The American Center for Law & Justice caught wind of the issue and said it penned a legal letter — dated March 31 — to the interim director of the VA to "inform her that her decision, rather than upholding the Constitution, actually violated it" and "to demand that the display of Christian literature be returned forthwith to the gift shop."

The ACLJ insisted that the Constitution "requires the government to be neutral toward religion, to neither favor it nor inhibit it. By removing only the religious display while leaving the secular display of Easter bunnies, the government singled out religion for special detriment — which it may not lawfully do."

In addition, the ACLJ said "Easter is a time when many Christians exchange gifts. It makes sense for a gift shop to offer the type of items popular at Easter. Offering a religious product that visitors to your gift shop are looking for and wish to purchase — even in a gift shop in a federal facility like a VA Medical Center — does not mean that the government is either endorsing the message contained in the literature offered or favoring the faith group the literature reflects. To suggest otherwise is nonsense."

'Fighting Christian nationalism'

It isn't clear how or if the VA has responded to the ACLJ's demand to place the Bibles back on display in the gift shop. But the MRFF added on its website that the ACLJ is "constitutionally ignorant and religiously bigoted" and that the ACLJ's post about the controversy "repugnantly libels MRFF as 'anti-religion crusaders.'"

The MRFF added that it has "consistently – 24/7/365 – been at the forefront of fighting Christian nationalism in the military and our veterans' facilities."

As readers of TheBlaze are well aware, this is far from the first time the MRFF has raised objections of this sort:

Christian organization sends 100,000 Bibles to persecuted Christians around the world



One of the largest Christian ministries in America will send 100,000 Bibles to persecuted Christians worldwide thanks to a fundraiser in late November.

Open Doors USA is one of the largest and most prominent Christian ministries in America that aims to help persecuted Christians around the world. The fundraising efforts were part of the group's "Giving Thursday" event, which fell on Nov. 30 this year.

Open Doors says it costs around $7 per Bible to "get Scripture and discipleship materials into the hands of a persecuted Christian," according to Christian Headlines.

Open Doors USA is non-denominational and works across denominational lines to advance the gospel and provide assistance to persecuted Christians across the globe.

"Open Doors is intentionally non-denominational and ecumenical. Wherever people suffer because they claim the name of Jesus, we will help them. Period. This means we work with evangelicals and Catholics, Orthodox Christians and charismatic believers, Copts, and Anglicans. We believe the Church transcends local and cultural expressions," the group says in its mission statement.

The organization wanted to focus its efforts primarily on North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, and Pakistan this year, as these countries are currently the top five most persecuted countries in the world for Christians, according to the organization's website.

President of Open Doors USA David Curry called the charitable effort the "greatest outpouring of support among believers in the United States," according to Faithwire.

“The need is greater than ever, and it’s encouraging to see Americans rise to meet that challenge,” he said. “It will make a tremendous difference in the lives of persecuted Christians around the world," Curry told Faithwire.

The organization ships Bibles into dangerous areas around the world and smuggles them by hand, or they cannot be delivered. Open Doors also secretly prints copies of the Bible in places where it is banned, according to Faithwire's report.

For over 60 years, Open Doors USA has followed the example of its founder, Brother Andrew, who smuggled copies of the Bible across the Romanian border in his Volkswagen during the height of the Cold War.

David Curry expressed strong support for freedom of conscience, indicating supporting the decision of people to worship or not to worship is a primary motivator to the organization's efforts to get the Bible into the hands of people around the world.

“This includes making their own choice to own a copy of God’s Word for themselves — rather than having the government or militants make that decision for them,” he told Faithwire.