Baptism Of Fire

There's something about this story that makes me think that this will create some type of paradox in the time-stream. It seems that a tiny Baptist church near Ashville, SC is going to be having a good ole-fashion book burning on Halloween. Only at this one, they're going to be throwing bibles onto the pyre as well. No, really.

The website for the Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, N.C., says there are "scriptural bases" for the book burning. The site quotes Acts 19:18-20: "And many that believed, came and confessed and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts, brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed."

Church leaders deem Good News for Modern Man, the Evidence Bible, the New International Version Bible, the Green Bible and the Message Bible, as well as at least seven other versions of the Bible as "Satan's Bibles," according to the website. Attendees will also set fire to "Satan's popular books" such as the work of "heretics" including the Pope, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham and Rick Warren.

The bizarre and even radical behavior of the uber-religious fringe in America never ceases to amaze and intrigue. The very idea of the destruction of knowledge is the cornerstone of the fringe religious movement. And make no mistake about it, people that believe and act in such a fashion are going to find some passage in the Bible that will excuse their absurd behavior.

And since when is the King James translation the definative version of the Bible? After all, that text was translated from another. What made the previous version bad? I'm curious what these people think of the Conservative Bible Project?