Fire department bars book-burning

[Fenris]

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- A church's plan for an old-fashioned book-burning has been thwarted by city and county fire codes.

Preachers and congregations throughout American history have built bonfires and tossed in books and other materials they believed offended God.

The Rev. Scott Breedlove, pastor of The Jesus Church, wanted to rekindle that tradition in a July 28 ceremony where books, CDs, videos and clothing would have been thrown into the flames.

(...)

Breedlove said a city fire inspector suggested shredding the offending material, but Breedlove said that wouldn't seem biblical.

"I joked with the guy that St. Paul never had to worry about fire codes," Breedlove said.

The new plan calls for members of the church to throw materials into garbage cans and then light candles to symbolically "burn" the material.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Midwest/07/12/no.book.burning.ap/

[truthspeaker]

1. First they burn books, then they burn people.

Disgusting.

[Robb]

2. You have GOT to be kidding me...!

:eyes:

I can't express how much I hate book burning. No, wait, I can... I wouldn't toss a match at a pile of Coulter books soaked in gasoline. That do it? :D

[Fenris]

3. You are a stronger man than I...

:D

[GOPisEvil]

4. The Jesus Church?!

:wtf:

These crypto-fascists need to get a life.

[Fenris]

5. I love that name! It's so direct!

:D

[noonwitch]

6. Geez, and there's not even a new "Harry Potter" book to burn!

I guess the old ones will have to do, along with Judy Blume books and probably Bill Clinton's book.

[Lavender Brown]

8. They'll have to pry "Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret"

from MY COLD DEAD HANDS!

[BigMcLargehuge]

7. ahhh how far we've come

:eyes:

[HEyHEY]

9. I love the lead on that story

It smacks of sarcasm

[DrWeird]

10. Easy fix.

Just burn the fire code. Then all those rules will magically disappear, and you can burn as many books and crosses as the Lord sees fit.