MOORE, OK—In a new security measure designed to increase congregational safety, Ye Olde Baptist Church AV 1611 has begun requiring congregants to utilize clear Bible covers while attending services in order to verify no one is concealing a different translation like the “extremely dangerous” NIV.
Visitors and members are asked to pass through a version scanner and carry Bibles in “completely transparent” covers so ushers can quickly verify they don’t have any unauthorized versions while on church premises.
“If anyone doesn’t have a clear Bible cover, one will be provided at the church’s expense,” Pastor Peter Frankfurt wrote in the church’s newsletter. “This is an easy, common sense regulation that will bring peace of mind to our church. How can anyone worship in peace not knowing if that camouflage Bible carrying case in the next pew is concealing an assault Bible like the New King James or even, God forbid, The Message?”
While some have called the move a violation of privacy, Pastor Frankfurt says he likes to think of it as a bid for “transparency” in the church.
“If we’re not vulnerable enough in the walls of the church to expose our Bibles, how can we offer the authentic gospel of Jesus to the world, as preserved and restored through the translators of the King James Version?”
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