LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, June 1, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – A church’s billboard carrying a pro-life message was stolen from the roadside on Thursday.
Bluegrass Church of Christ in Lexington, Kentucky, paid $7,700 to rent a highway sign that said “Homosexuality is an abomination” and “Abortion is murder,” complemented with Bible verses.
Although the church rented the sign for a year, vandals stole the sign after less than one week.
Bluegrass church member Dan Moody, 72, said the church had received a series of threatening phone calls since last Friday, when the billboard was erected.
“Some are just real vulgar,” he said. Others are violent. Moody said some have threatened, “I’ve thought about finding out where you are and blowing this church up.”
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Kentucky.com reported, “Joshua Koch, president of the Kentucky Equality Federation, an organization that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and that has pushed for same-sex marriage in Kentucky, said Thursday that he was glad the message was removed.” Koch told the news website the billboard carried “an offensive and divisive message.”
Moody said he was “not necessarily surprised” the sign had been stolen.
The sign appeared to show up at a local bar the night it was stolen. Dronex Inc. threw a party and posted images of an identical sign desecrated with pictures of devils.
After local police announced they were investigating, Dronex Inc. claimed the sign was a “replica” delivered by an anonymous person. They had since thrown the sign away, they said.
If caught, the thieves could face theft and criminal mischief charges.
The roadway theft comes after a string of anti-Christian incidents aimed at intimidating churches or Christians who speak out against abortion or homosexuality.
In April, vandals smashed the windows of Mars Hill Church in Portland. In a message claiming responsibility, “Angry Queers” said Christians are “scum” who deserve nothing but “hammers through their windows.”
The same month, at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, a student desecrated thousands of crosses intended to commemorate the victims of abortion. Elaina Smith, the student responsible, boasted that she has never apologized for placing condoms over every cross in the memorial.
Vandals again threw chunks of concrete through a Christian school’s windows the night of its pro-family award ceremony. One block said, “Quit the homophobic s—-!”
Homosexual activists swarmed Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral as police looked on last year. This March, they screamed epithets, calling Cardinal Francis George an “arch-bigot.” In 2005, the same crowd called the city’s 100-year-old Moody Church, a landmark in the American evangelical movement, a “house of hate.”
Same-sex marriage advocates have threatened Bristol Palin and her family’s lives after Palin criticized President Obama’s support of marriage redefinition.
Homosexual activist Dan Savage called Christian high school students “pansies” for walking out of his foul-mouthed lecture.
The celibate young men who make up TFP Student Action have been repeatedly attacked on college campuses for opposing homosexual “marriage.”
Bluegrass Church of Christ purchased four billboards along a Georgia highway, as well. The church intends to replace the Lexington sign. The sign alone cost $700.
The congregation, which is ten years old, does not have a pastor nor its own building. Instead, local men take turns leading worship and preaching.
The church’s laymen also answer threatening phone calls. Moody said he’s “cordial” with everyone who calls. “As a matter of fact, we’ve had calls from homosexuals saying, ‘I didn’t know that was in the Bible. I thank you for opening my eyes.’ We’ve had that message more than once.”