DESTROYING THE CHURCHES

I'm not sure what all this means or if this is the normal state of affairs. I was curious how many places of worship were being vandalized and did a quick search. It's amazing how many acts of violence are directed at churches.

"Here’s a look at the stats, as reported by The Christian Post. There were at least 1,237 crimes committed against Christian churches and ministries in the U.S. this past year ranging in severity from vandalism to violent crimes. The Network also reports that church burglaries resulted in an estimated $24 million in property loss.

In addition, the report, Crimes Against Christian Organizations in the United States, found that burglaries were the most common crime, with 779 incidents making up 63% of all crimes reported against churches, followed by 149 thefts (12%) and 98 cases of arson (8%)."
Security World News

If the norm is robbery as the statistics above would suggest, why the sudden rise in vandalism? Or is it just that vandalism is more exciting so it tends to get reported in the papers?

Or, are we beginning to see some sort of concerted attack being directed, either explicitly or through suggestion, by forces that would like to see the churches destroyed because they stand in the way? Is this force of this world or another?

"As parents arrived early Monday morning to drop their kids off for summer camp at the B’Nai Shalom Synagogue in Olney, Md., they were greeted by a derogatory name for Jews spray-painted on the building.

“I started welling up with tears and tried to conceal it from our 3-year-old,” said concerned parent Laurie Blumstein.

But the anti-Semitic vandalism didn’t stop there. Swastikas were spray-painted across the entire building and sidewalk and German references to the Holocaust were found on lampposts even parking spots.

“The words ‘Arbeit Macht Frei,’ which translate to 'work will set you free,'” said Rabbi Ari Sunshine. “Those are the words that are written above the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp.”
NBC Washington

"Vandals threw rocks through three vintage stained glass windows at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Edgard, shattering the colorful portals and the peace of mind of many of its members.

"Everyone is devastated. A lot of the older folks who have been in the church for a long time were crying,'' said the Rev. Joel Cantones, the church's pastor. "They couldn't believe that someone could have done these things to this church, a place of worship.

"It would be less painful if it had been the rectory or the fellowship hall, but not the house of God. It was a despicable act against God and against the church."
NOLA.com

"Investigators say a group of teenagers decided to burn down a rural southern Indiana church after taking LSD and coming to believe that it belonged to Satan worshippers.

Court documents filed in Brown County court say six 18-year-old men and a 17-year-old male from Columbus agreed days in advance to burn down the Grandview Apostolic Church.

State fire investigator Timothy Murray reported that the 17-year-old admitted pouring gasoline on the ground next to the church and setting the fire July 14. Murray, however, said all the teens were "on board with the arson."
The Republic

"For the past month, New Castle County Police have investigated a series of criminal mischief complaints at a Hockessin area church which have recently been reclassified as a hate crime.

Beginning around June 21, 2010, County Police have investigated a total of six property damage related crimes at the church. In each case, an unknown suspect(s) trespassed upon the property and caused damage to the front stone sign. The person responsible for the crimes have also spray painted graffiti to the property with messages that have been classified as hate related. The latest incident occurred on Wednesday night into Thursday morning where the property was once again spray painted."
Newark Post Online

"Lubbock police are searching for a man they suspect urinated on a Lubbock church and vandalized it with a paint ball gun.

The incident happened July 6 at LakeRidge Baptist Church in the 4600 block of 82nd Street, according to a Lubbock police report.

The man is suspected of urinating on the front doors of the church and then firing more than 40 rounds of paint balls at the doors and porch. The paint caused $150 in damage."
Lubbock Online

"The Chatham County Sheriff's Office has charged a neighborhood man with vandalizing a Baptist church on U.S. 15-501 south of Chapel Hill.

Joseph Marshall Polinger, 19, turned himself in to authorities Wednesday after returning some of the property he's accused of stealing from the Lighthouse Baptist Church.

Deputies responded to a call from the church June 5 and found holes smashed in walls, obscene and Satanist graffiti, and destruction of hymn books, bathrooms and windows."
News Observer

"We have had quite a few vandalism cases in the city and we're addressing it," says MeridianPolice Chief Lee Shelbourn.

Although Chief Shelbourn cannot go into specifics about what is being done, he says his department is definitely taking the vandalism of churches seriously.

"The investigator of these is very aggressive in trying to determine who's the cause of this."

Of the 12 churches that have been vandalized since April, at least five of those have been in or very near the downtown area. Of those, two have been vandalized three times and three have been vandalized twice."
WTOK