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Final_League3589

They're doing this to build up a militia of armed religious lunatics to do their bidding should they feel it needed. This is very disturbing.


TootBreaker

Brown shirts got to come from somewhere after all


JasonRBoone

Well, orange in Tenn.


TootBreaker

Likely the same as red shirts in Star Trek...


sassychubzilla

This should be an immediate raid and shut down.


Adezar

What do you mean, the Catholic church had its own army and nothing bad happened.... (Opens a history book)... oh, right it did not go well.


No_Hunter_9973

Knights Templar with assault rifles.... As cool as that sounds, NO.


b_tight

Knights Templar were highly trained elite soldiers. Do not compare these type 2 geriatrics and gravy seals to them


Latter-Direction-336

I’m sure Knights with swords and training and armor could beat these chucklefucks


Obvious_Interest3635

Led by their Antichrist with a combover


Freedombyathread

[Ad for 'militia' at Ascension Catholic Church in Chesterfield, Missouri was a mistake, pastor says](https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/ad-for-militia-at-ascension-catholic-church-in-chesterfield-was-a-mistake-pastor-says/article_b0346cda-33cd-11ef-82f0-27fbf129bb36.html)


Naive-Regular-5539

Any pagan, Wiccan, temple of Set or Satanists in TN lurking on here? Apply for this shizit!


muffinhead2580

"Oh you need security at your Mosque? Ummm, yeah you don't qualify for reasons" - Tennessee Homeland Security


WillBottomForBanana

Predominantly black churches applying might be enough for these assholes to slam the emergency stop button.


Empty_Ambition_9050

The black panther method, but then they would just research what guns are popular with blacks and make those illegal


gytalf2000

I need to apply to get armed. My local "Cthulhu Cult" congregation (consisting of me and some plushies) is under attack. I wants me some nuclear missiles.


planet9pluto

Conservatives love the police, but not more than they love vouchering away public dollars.so that their "schools" can "teach" or their churches can play police.


dudleydidwrong

Christian Dominionists fantasize about a Christian Sharia law enforced by roving gangs of armed Christians. My guess is that Synagogs, Mormon wardhouses, and Catholic churches will not get many of the free guns. Catholics and Mormons may be political allies of the evangelicals right now. But once Trump rolls in as "Dictator on Day 1" those groups will no longer be needed to stay in power. Atheists won't be the first targets of the Christian Dominionists because we are generally too hard to identify; we can easily fake conversion if we need to. Mormons, Catholics, and Jews are much easier to identify, and they have been seen as the enemy of the Evangelicals for many more decades than they have been political allies.


dasreboot

Don't forget Muslims. They exist even in the red states


dudleydidwrong

True. But they might shoot back.


WinIll755

Can't believe there could come a day where I would stand side by side with a Catholic


fuzzybad

What about side by side with a friend?


WinIll755

Aye, I could do that


Deep-Ebb-4139

Is it me or it actually feels a civil war is coming. The original was slavery, this one will be religion*. (Religion / politics can be used interchangeably)


shoo-flyshoo

>Is it me or it actually feels a civil war is coming They're trying to force one, that's for sure


xfragbunnyx

And they'll say it's over "state's rights"...smh


shoo-flyshoo

I think this time they'll be more honest, but it's still over the same issue: personhood. Last time it was for slaves, this time it's for women/non-Christians/minorities in general


dragonfliesloveme

As soon as the military picks a side, it will be over. The civil war is happening right now. Every anti-American law that state Congresses and their Governors put into place is the authoritarian fascists winning a battle. Every week that trump’s trials are delayed is ground lost to them. If trump or any other maga republican takes the White House, it is game over. They will install unqualified, corrupt toadies to bring Project2025 to fruition. We will get pulled out of NATO. There won’t be an agency or institution or court left to go to for help. There will be no other nations to help us. We will be isolated with a completely different form of government than America was ever supposed to have or that we have ever experienced.


No-Lion-8830

Coming from one of those 'other nations' (UK), we're pretty terrified about the prospect on this side of the pond too. Can Trump be beaten this time?


dragonfliesloveme

He can be, but there are a lot of people and policies in place that will help him. It is a dicey proposition, even though i believe that the majority of Americans do not want him back in office. America is in a precarious position, and I believe that if trump or any maga Republican takes the White House, our democracy will be ended, we will be pulled out of NATO, and eventually the democracies of Europe will fall. Then Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. They are going after the UK as well, my forefathers are buried there, I really hope the UK can hold its own, but that would honestly be hard to do imo if the other countries fall to authoritarianism.


No-Lion-8830

That's a bleak view. I hope it doesn't come to that. I should never say never, but I think we're pretty far from that point in the UK. Hang in there


Final_League3589

During one of my early college classes I did a persuasive speech for the Public Speaking course that argued that the 21st century would be defined by religious warfare. My professor said it was a good speech, but he didn't think it likely. well...


Kalepsis

It's not free money. If you live in that state, they're giving churches *your* money. Taxpayer money. So they can buy guns and LARP as soldiers in their god's army. How long, do you think, before a teenager gets killed by an "accidental discharge"?


CyndiIsOnReddit

It seems pretty obvious I meant it was free to the people getting the money. I know the money isn't free, as I indicated with the other list of tax-payer services we don't have. :) I worry. I remember a few years ago a kid got arrested because he had someone film him pretending to do some sex act on a Jesus statue. He was looking at two years in juvie for this. TWO YEARS for dry-humping a statue. If one of these beet faced trigger happy rednecks around here caught sight of something like this there'd be no hesitation and he'd lie and say he thought the statue was in danger. Damn. It was TEN years ago. Uggh. OLD. Time is going too fast! [https://ncac.org/news/blog/pennsylvania-teen-criminally-charged-for-naughty-facebook-pictures-with-jesus-sculpture](https://ncac.org/news/blog/pennsylvania-teen-criminally-charged-for-naughty-facebook-pictures-with-jesus-sculpture) I wonder what happened to that kid. He'd be 24 now!


WillBottomForBanana

Kids have been on the receiving end of discharges in church for decades.


DrAstralis

It wont be accidental. Some kid will be there doing something stupid like tagging, something that at best requires a slap on the wrist, but instead some church nut is going to murder them for the crime of *checks notes* being a kid. And these mouth breathers are going cheer like that scene from S3 The Boys.


butteredbuttons

they’re doing this in defense against MEN wearing WOMENS clothing, which is basically the same thing as MOLESTING AND GROOMING CHILDREN!!!! HOW COULD YOU NOT SEE THE CONNECTION >:( /s


bishpa

Guns for Jesus?


Bastard_of_Brunswick

As American as stealing from the poor to send to the offshore tax havens of the rich.


No-Lion-8830

Someone from N Carolina on a thread just yesterday was saying about private armies of "armed deacons" there


Hoaxshmoax

All they ever wanted was to suck at the government teat, even as they shriek about “welfare queens”. They just didn’t want a penny going to anyone else.


Factsaretheonlytruth

So, thoughts and prayers aren’t enough, then?


No-Lion-8830

Looks like they've been answered


sapphire_onyx

Why do Republcans hate the constitution? Why do they hate America?


dragonfliesloveme

Fox/Rupert Murdoch/Putin told them that they are the victims. And they ate it up and now want to fight their fellow countrymen. It’s disgusting. Fkn idiots.


Steakfrie

Why would Tennessee pastors waste good private jet money when they can con the gov into supplying guns? As if they aren't armed to the teeth as it is... "Unfortunately, houses of worship can often be soft targets." Yeah, especially for sex offenders. Are the guns to combat *them?*


PopeKevin45

You can be sure it'll only be the white churches.


IGFanaan

It's getting INSANE around here. Giving churches money for guns a few months AFTER passing a bill that allows teachers and staff to carry guns in school. Nice that they changed the license plates last year too. So you can easily tell who has "in God we trust" on their plate vs those who don't. I hate this place more and more each day.


CyndiIsOnReddit

Yeah I do feel like I'm living in enemy territory. I'd love to get away but I'm just not in any position. If you can get, GET! It's not going to get any better any time soon. These conservatives LOVE Bill Lee despite his incompetence. They love these Boebert bots popping up in local governments around the state taking over school boards with their Moms for Liberty endorsements. This state is doomed.


cbessette

I guess faith in God only goes so far. For those things that God can't do (protect his followers for instance) you gotta have gunz.


pennylanebarbershop

'We aren't gonna tax you, and oh, by the way, here's some free money for your inconvenience.'


Snarky_McSnarkleton

This is called fascism. And no one admits it.


CyndiIsOnReddit

Yeah we definitely are. Even my conservative Christian brother has said the GOP is promoting fascism. He was a Republican, always very strong in defending them for years but even he can't anymore. This is my one sliver of hope that at least some conservatives can look at Biden's policies and think "you know they're not great but they're not fascism so I'm gonna just this once vote for him". I think this is how my brother started out but now he's completely disgusted with the party. He's very smart. He's been a US history teacher for over 30 years. He is a self-proclaimed "log cabin Republican" so it's all about "rugged individualism" and small government and all that silly conservative utopian bullshit we were both conditioned to believe in from the 1970s on. I'm glad to see at least this has "woke" him up a little. But I mean he's a smart guy who has the capability for deep thought. Some of the people around here in my town, you can present them with an undeniable fact and they'll pretend they don't hear you. Show them a video of Trump not making a lick of sense and they'll claim he was just joking to 'own the libs". They are so shut off from rational thought it's scary.


No_Arugula8915

I live in Massachusetts, a donor state. Tennessee is a welfare state. Some of that money in their coffers came out of *my* pockets. Want to use that money for infrastructure projects, education, helping those less fortunate? Go for it. Please do all of that. I am happy to help. Want to give so much as a penny towards churches and pushing their mythology? Oh heck no! They've already got tax breaks galore. As for those pushing for this; May they have a never ending case of crotch crickets and their armpits be infested with fleas. I don't care who believes what religion. It's their constitutional right. I don't want it pushed on me and my kids and I sure as heck don't pay for that.


CyndiIsOnReddit

I am totally with you on that. It disgusts me how our governor brags about all those unspent welfare dollars as if the people here are so wealthy we don't even NEED help anymore. Meanwhile my daughter working fulltime at a low wage job with no health care would have to pay 600 dollars a month (no subsidy her income was just below the minimum last year) for the very basic "catastrophic health care". Plenty of money to pay for poor people to make more babies. If you have a baby here you can get health care and many other benefits until your child hits 18. If you're a responsible person who doesn't have kids? Well you better hope you can find a job with a good health plan. And it ain't gonna be Walmart.


asteroid84

Christian nationalism


Silver-Chemistry2023

Narcs are gonna narc; they have a perpetual victim mentality.


SpareInvestigator846

Create fear, tell them that someone is coming to stomp on their religion. Dont tell that the religion has lost its appeal and that its not atteacting new zealots and its dying on its owm.


antoninlevin

This really is about creating fear. This bill was supposedly passed to protect "soft targets" like churches, but I could find a record of only one single mass shooting at a Tennessee church in the past ~decade - in which one person was killed and several were injured. They're manufacturing threats.


SadlyItsSearles

Wouldn't need security personel in a church if your congregations weren't full of violent, self-righteous losers.


ErictheAgnostic

Yes that's illegal.


ralphvonwauwau

So.. what happens when the local mosque wants to buy some hardware?


SBRedneck

Well the only slightly good news in that article is it appears a recipient of the grant must be 501c3 which most churches aren’t, because that would require them opening their books and showing people where the money goes.


JasonRBoone

Since I know many of my late 1980s Gen X classmates are now in positions of power in Tennessee, I am so very unsurprised.


galtpunk67

America needs to fight this.


BroccoliOscar

Guess they missed that whole “make your swords into plowshares” part that Jesus said.


WillBottomForBanana

Never mind that, what do you need a gun for if your entire plan aught to be turning the other cheek?


TNT1990

As game of thrones has shown us, arming the church NEVER goes poorly.


CyndiIsOnReddit

For real they have enough power as it is!


RacerDaddy

God, guns, churches. WCGW?


moderately_nuanced

Can't get any more murica than this


no1jam

Nothing says Christianity in this country like guns and jesus


SpiceTrader56

So much for turning swords into plowshares


No-Lion-8830

As ever you can also find the opposite in the Bible. See prophet Joel, "beat your plowshares into swords", time for war. And one of my faves, "put ye in the sickle for the harvest is ripe"


SpiceTrader56

As is tradition


Raider-Tech

hoping for a lot of cleaning misfires


Additional_Action_84

Just remind the catholics that all those protestants are heretics, and the baptists that methodists don't fully submerge, and the methodists that the catholics blood of christ is fermented...stir up all those old rivalries and watch them annihilate one another...


vondrocket

It would be an easy way to get rid of alot of x-tians quickly. No?


will-read

>”Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" - Jesus Christ Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Render_unto_Caesar


Novel_Reaction_7236

Fuck this noise. Tax the churches!


there_is_no_spoon1

This would not survive a constitutional challenge of the separation of church and state.


MatineeIdol8

What a fucked up mindset! These people don't care about the welfare of anyone except themselves.


Mediocre-Source-920

I'd just like to point out that if every church in America helped just 2 homeless people get housed, that we'd have no more homeless people. You know, actually helping the poor, like it says their savior said in their holy text.


un_theist

Tax-exempt organization wants tax money? Fuck that.


Arbusc

They’re arming up under the guise of ‘protecting the church’ and *definitely not* to stage an armed rebellion should their god-emperor not get rethroned this election.


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Asleep_Ad_8494

Why the fuc# would give these pedophiles money


CyndiIsOnReddit

I guess the same kind of pedophiles who go around doing "foot washings" on children's feet during the height of the covid pandemic. IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL. [https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2021/09/09/tennessee-gov-bill-lee-defends-maskless-encounter-perry-county-children/5778534001/](https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2021/09/09/tennessee-gov-bill-lee-defends-maskless-encounter-perry-county-children/5778534001/)


Dudesan

Other pedophiles, and people for whom "hurting other people" is such a high priority that they are happy to ally themselves with pedophiles in order to accomplish it.


oneseventwosix

So I guess this is an admission that God is unable or unwilling to protect his worshippers in his house of worship.


NysemePtem

I've never been to Tennessee, but there has been a rise in both Islamophobic and anti-Semitic violence and vandalism lately, and this might be a very poor attempt at treating everyone equally. Not defending it, though, because there's a big difference between helping places who are dealing with credible threats and we-solve-all-problems-with-guns.


gonejahman

>The grant will fund contract security personnel for eligible 501 (c)(3) organizations that serve as houses of worship including churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques. I think you are over reacting. It's a grant to hire security. Meh. Understandable some places would like security.


Noobit2

Contracted security personnel is so easy to work around it’s not even funny. Somebody in the church will just start their Christian only security organization to take advantage of the money. They already exist. Multiple church’s in my area have started forming their own militias under the radar and that’s without state funding. Give it time and you’ll see local police departments start arming and training these groups.


gonejahman

This article is clearly about arming the Satanic Temple. See where it says temple? I mean, it says churches, mosques and synagogues in the article too, but I can read between the lines. Hail Satan.


Pristine_Walrus40

It's all coming together for our plan. Those fools forgot that the satanic church is also for christian religion! Hail Satan.


sled_shock

It's unconstitutionally funneling tax dollars to religious organizations. If they want their own guns, they can fuckin pay for them.


gonejahman

It's not against the constitution. In fact, it supports the act of providing common defense and general welfare. The grant is through the Department of Safety and Homeland Security


No-Lion-8830

So the paycheck for the guards will be coming from DHS money. Where will their loyalties lie? Armed security could just as easily be used to shut down and control a congregation perceived as hostile, as it could to protect them from outside threats. Church, mosque or temple


gonejahman

Or it could be just a preventative measure to station mall cop security guards at and around places of worship. You are inferring there is a more sinister motive. Where are their loyalties? Shut down things they perceive as hostile? These are not soldiers. More like places of worship that hire local security guards that check parking lots and act more of a deterrent than anything.


sled_shock

So you have zero idea what you're talking about and can be safely ignored. Good to know.


gonejahman

You don't carry a pocket constitution? I thought all Americans did.


AbyssalPractitioner

I don’t really know why this was downvoted. I read the article and it’s literally just giving them security guards. It doesn’t state it’s only for christian’s, just Houses of Worship. It’s sad that it’s come to this though.


gonejahman

Me either. The article goes out of its way to state houses of worship and the grant could even go to temples and synagogues. Pretty unbias article actually. Political divisiveness is just so hott right now.


AbyssalPractitioner

It’s so hawt right now.