Monday, December 15, 2008

Why did the ATF get involved?

I keep track of Church fires. My reason is simple. The perception of the public is that bad actors are burning down America's churches. The facts are very different. There is no doubt that people are burning down churches. The problem is that many of these cases find the people who owned/operated the church to be at fault. These stories never get out to the public. Instead, high profile cases are paraded in the press as examples of the nonexistent war on religion.

Take the case of the fire at Sarah Palin’s old church, the Wasilla Bible Church. An arsonist ignited a fire on December 12. Nobody was hurt, but the building suffered and estimated $1 million in damage. My question is, why did the federal government get involved in a simple fire?

The ATF issued a press release today. ATF Joins Church Arson Investigation. The arson investigation team now includes the Alaska State Fire Marshal, The Wasilla Police Department, the Central Mat-Su Fire Department, and the Anchorage Fire Department. I am sure more resources will be applied to the problem as the case progresses. But why? Does the fire somehow get special status because it occurred in a church?

I have a heart. If this were to happen in my own community I would want to see it investigated and those responsible held accountable. Since it is a church, I would not waste my money donating for its repair. If you want to help. You can send a donation to this address.

I’m not going to link to my source – I don’t like Michelle Malkin very much.

1. Please make your check payable to: Wasilla Bible Church

2. Mail your check to:

Wasilla Bible Church
1651 W. Nicola Avenue
Wasilla, Alaska 99654

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Volly · 853 weeks ago

I think it was nice of you to give information on where to donate; more than many would do ("Donate to MY church, not theirs -- we'll pray for 'em!").

I imagine the feds are involved because of the possibility that Ms. Palin may have been the target of a fire; she probably has secret service protection and they need to assess whether or not there's vulnerability...just my guess.
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Jack 119p · 853 weeks ago

While there is no way that I would donate money to this or any other church, I certainly do feel bad for people who lost something important to them (even as I wish that superstition wasn't so important to them). You are right that many Christians immediately assume that any church fire had to be the work of atheists and that the media rarely do the sort of follow-up story that might correct this impression. Thus, I think that tracking these events is a worthwhile endeavor and am glad you are doing so.
2 replies · active 853 weeks ago
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Mojoey 107p · 853 weeks ago

I have a few relatives who bring up church fires from time to time. They always blame the devil/atheist for it. Keeping track is my way of fighting back.
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Mojoey 107p · 853 weeks ago

I was thinking that it was because of Sarah Palin myself, but then I thought, where is the FBI or the Secret Service? My gut tells me it is more of a response to a prominent church. I hope I am wrong.

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