It seems like the quickest way to get attention is to do something disgraceful, fame and notoriety get you the same amount of internet hits.
15 people in a church in rural Kentucky got their 15 minutes.
(AP) LOUISVILLE, Ky. — When Stella Harville brought her black boyfriend to her family’s all-white church in rural Kentucky, she thought nothing of it. She and Ticha Chikuni worshipped there whenever they were in town, and he even sang before the congregation during one service.
Then in August, a member of Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church told Harville’s father that Chikuni couldn’t sing there anymore. And last Sunday, in a moment that seems from another time, church members voted 9-6 to bar mixed-race couples from joining the congregation.
By way of comparison, here is another church in Kentucky, in 2006…
(AP) A woman died after being bitten by a snake during a serpent-handling service at church, police said.
Linda Long, 48, of London, Ky., died Sunday at University of Kentucky Medical Center, Brad Mitchell, a detective with the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Long died about four hours after the bite was reported, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.
Officials said Long attended East London Holiness Church. Neighbors of the church told the newspaper the church practices serpent handling.
Decades ago, in what must have been a wrenching church/state conflict, the state of Kentucky passed a law against religious rituals involving poisonous snakes. Other states in the South found it necessary to outlaw this mode of worship. Things are different down there.
Somewhere in our great nation, a little boy is saving his allowance to buy a Christmas present for a needy child. Across the USA churches will celebrate Christmas with acts of generosity and goodwill. This won’t make headlines, it happens every year.
A church with about 40 members that decides to put respect and inclusion of one of their own to a majority vote– and bans a loving couple from their community– this gets attention.
Hate radio stars who want to use Christmas to identify and bully non-Christians into accepting domination of public space by the majority religion get way more publicity than the Christians who spread peace and goodwill.
The Kentucky churchgoers who feel that a church service is just not complete without someone waving a handful of copperheads would tell you that they alone are keeping the true Christian faith, and they really believe it.
The Christian religion is so wide and so diverse that throughout history Christians have tortured, murdered and attempted to annihilate Christians of different sects or nations. This is also true of other huge major religions. It’s a tragedy of human nature that we are violent, warlike, shortsighted fools and no religion has changed that.
I’m not trying to harsh on the Season, I’m just pointing out that it’s not wise to assume everyone who wears a cross is singing with the same choir.
This issue was addressed about 2,000 years ago…
Matthew Chapter 7 vs 15-20
15 ¶ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
I wonder why a church that can’t rustle up more than 15 voters would want to drive out two nice young people who want to be a part of their congregation.
Stella and Ticha would be welcome in plenty of other churches and I imagine they will find one that values love and justice.
Recurring Nightmare 
Bad behavior can be ignored or given a wave of the hand. But ridiculous and disgusting behavior craves attention and ridicule, no matter what the brand name of belief may be.By their actions this band of absurd people demonstrate their ignorance of the belief they profess,and surely they will wither away.
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Well said by both ninjanurse and Don, by clearly rejecting a very rare occurence of hate, their comments add to the good feeling of the season
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I could use some good feeling. Within the last hour I have heard my mother tell me I have no religion and heard a woman in the checkout line saying that people are all bad these days. Hate radio is ragging on Gov. Chafee real bad for his ‘holiday tree’. I will have to write about this later, but now I’m going to Beneficent Church which is celebrating the season by having a free community lunch, all are invited.
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Governor Chafee decided to make an issue out of a non-issue.
Calling it a Christmas Tree doesn’t “dominate” anything-it’s a traditional thing,but I guess you can’t leave it alone either.
He is still going to have a Menorah-lightibg ceremony,thus giving public reognition to a religious event.This can only cause resentment against Jewish people who didn’t ask him to downgrade Christmas in the first place.Any rabbi who shows up for that event is nuts.
What exactly is your point about the Kentucky churches?
That people can be ignorant and/or racist?Wow-never knew that.
Take yourself to certain Black religious gatherings and see if you aren’t kicked out on your rear for the color of your skin.
Hate has no color.
So talk radio is “hate radio”?
You are telling the truth on yourself these days.
And don’t quote scripture if you don’t believe in it.
I sure don’t.
As far as you and your mother-guess what-plenty of people have gotten a lot worse from their parents-I think my wife would’ve preferred a religious diatribe to being stabbed,burned,beaten and repeatedly clubbed on the head over a period of years by the “mother”she had,now thankfully dead.
Amazingly,she is a well adjusted kindly soul who children immediately are drawn to.
She got over it.
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Joe, I’ve been to religious services where I was the only white person, and was treated with courtesy and kindness. You’ll have to tell me specifically which churches kick people out for being white and maybe I’ll go there just to be contrary.
And it’s Chafee’s fault for making talk radio mad?
When I hear the exact same words within an hour from two different women who don’t know each other it’s obvious a talking point is being put out there.
I think the whole thing is politics under the cover of piety.
I’m sorry for what happened to your wife. That is not okay. If you knew of a situation like that today I’m sure you would report it.
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Hey,the neighbors called the police and the police did nothing-it was the 1950’s and early 60’s.
The Black religious groups I referred to aren’t churches,but certain “Muslim”ones that just hate White people on principle-not the main Black Muslim group of the late Warith Deen Mohammed who are not hateful at all.
It IS Chafee’s fault for playing his little head games with Rhode Islanders.I get my talking points from myself.Chafee has acted like he was elected King or something-the business with trying to screw the veterans at the Bristol home out of their last 20% of income sucked.So did his end run using the Board of Governors to sidestep the legislative process.
I also thought his reversal of a very sensible executive order by Carcieri was nothing but pandering to self-important activists.
Back in 1969 an ex-girlfriend(we parted under good circumstances
and are still friends)invited me to her birthday party and I had just gotten back from Nam and I said I’d go-I was the only White guy there and no one was outright rude to me,but I could tell some people were only being nice out of respect to she and her parents.Actually,her mother was against interracil marriage.
Her father had no hangups.
My wife(then girlfriend)was nice enough not to be jealous(she had no reason to anyway).
In the case of my mother in law abusing her kids,my father in law as a sailor and was never home.It seems he was aware of it but avoided getting involved,
She never did this stuff when he was around between voyages.
Sorry for rambling on,but I don’t need a jerk like John Depetro
who is an irresponsible rabble rouser to tell me anything.
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