In the Face of a Rising Terror Threat, U.S. Churches Increasingly on Guard
While the recent murder of a French priest by ISIS disciples struck many as particularly cold-blooded (although, when it comes to acts of terror committed by radical Islamists, I���m not sure how one distinguishes between more or less cold-blooded), the reality is that churches in these United States have been subject to increased threats in recent years, with experts suggesting it is just a matter of time before a U.S. church becomes victimized by a similar attack.
An article over at FoxNews.com by Hollie McKay, entitled, ���Churches take new security measures in face of terror threats,��� outlines the growing threat to churches in America.
McKay relates the worrisome event that beset St. Andrew Orthodox Church in Riverside, Calif., this past April, when a passenger in a car shouted, ���Allahu Akbar��� several times while passing slowly by the house of worship. According to witnesses, there were three occupants in the vehicle, one or more of whom were believed to have been taking pictures. According to parish priest Father Josiah Trenham, life at the church remains ���tense and tenuous,��� and there are now security officers in place for protection on behalf of all services.
The article further details other disturbing signs that ready threats to churches in America indeed exist. A Dearborn Heights, Mich., man was arrested back in February after telling an undercover FBI agent he was planning to ���shoot up��� an area church, and, last September, an adherent to Islam was charged after entering a Baptist church in Bullard, Tex., saying God had instructed him to murder Christians and ���other infidels.���
Security experts throughout the United States expect that threats to churches in this country will remain pronounced for some time. As Ryan Mauro, a security analyst and professor of Homeland Security at Liberty University puts it, ���Many churches are now hiring self-defense instructors for classes or security guards that include off-duty police. If you are an Islamist terrorist seeking self-glory, executing a priest will bring you more attention than executing an average civilian.���
Robert G. Yetman, Jr Editor At Large
