Glad Tidings Assembly of God Church in Lower Swatara Township, Pa may be facing charges of kidnapping as well as other charges.
In an attempt to teach teen members of what other countries do to Christians, church leaders burst into homes at gun point (unloaded and carried by an off duty police officer), blindfolded and forced teens into a van, and then taken to the pastors home where they were told everything was fake.
The area's abc 27 news station reported:
Lower Swatara Township police began their own investigation when the mother of a 14-year-old girl complained that her daughter, a guest of a youth group member, had her legs bruised during the event.
The teen told abc27 News she thought she was going to die when the men burst into the room, put pillow cases over some of the people's heads and led them into a van.
"They pulled my chair out from underneath me and then they told me to get on the ground," she said. "I was the first person to go into the van. I had my hands behind my back they said 'just do as I say and you won't be hurt'."
The teens were taken to the pastor's house, where it appeared he was being assaulted. Eventually, she said the adults in charge revealed it was a staged event.
This is unreal and a recipe for disaster. If this had happened in my house or at a neighbor's / friend's with no knowledge of what was actually happening, it easily could have become a tragedy. I would have defended these kids with lethal force if need be. I know many others who would do the same.
Shockingly, it seems parents were also not informed of the fake raids either. The church said it would continue such actions in the future, but would inform parents from now on.. WTF?
One comment on the abc site said:
"After reading most of these comments I can clearly see why this church is teaching about persecution of Christians. Sounds to me like one spoiled mommy and her spoiled brat need a wake up call. Its not all about their dainty little feelings. Its about reality. When this happens to them in real life who will they call on to help them? "oh GOD please help me" will be the first words out of their mouth."
All one has to do is peruse through the postings at some fundamentalist's message boards like Rapture Ready to see the paranoid mindset of many fundamentalists, but this sort of behavior is way out of line.
If what we have been told is accurate, I hope this church's leaders get nice long prison terms and the church has the shit sued out of it.
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