A trailer full of Bibles in Tennessee was reportedly set on fire near a church on Easter Sunday, March 31.
According to ABC affiliate 8News, Mt. Juliet police officers and firefighters arrived outside of Global Vision Bible Church, led by Pastor Greg Locke, around 6 a.m. in response to the fire.
After the blaze was extinguished, deputies with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) found that the trailer was initially dropped off in the center of the intersection and set on fire.
Locke, who lives nearby, shared pictures of the trailer on social media and expressed his shock over the incident.
“A trailer with about 200 Bibles had been set on fire blocking the entrance from Old Lebanon Dirt Rd. and Chandler Radford Rd. into the main part of our parking lot,” Locke told the outlet.
“We’ve had people do things to our building,” he continued. “We’ve been vandalized a number of times, hence why we have to have security, but never 200 Bibles being burned. That’s a pretty rebellious statement towards the church.”
On social media, Locke noted that church security caught a man dropping off the trailer in the intersection and blocking the road into the church before setting the trailer on fire.
“There was a lady that had driven through the night to get to our church and she was in the parking lot and was able to get the police officers here quickly, but it was quite the scene to wake up to on my first morning back from Israel,” he wrote.
The pastor contended it was important for the congregation to move forward from the incident.
“What people think many times is going to stop us, really just encourages us, in a weird way, to know that we’re doing what’s right,” Locke said.
According to the WCSO, specific details about the incident will not be immediately released in order to “uphold the integrity of the investigation.” At the same time, deputies ensured citizens that “the safety and security of our residents remains our utmost priority.”
Image credit: ©Getty Images/ART magazine
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
