His answer was he thought his church was “the best place” for prize of an AR-15 rifle because it teaches people to arm and defend themselves in accordance with “biblical principles.”
Despite the furore that erupted over his stunt, Koletas went on to hand out guns in 2017 and 2020—and he’s going to do the same during a revival on this year’s Fourth of July weekend when members of his congregation could win a New York-legal AR-15.
In recent social media posts, Grace Baptist Church announced that during a revival on July 4 weekend, attendees could win a New York-legal AR-15.
If they don’t want the firearm, they can choose a flamethrower instead.
Premier Christian News pointed out this week that, when questioned his first giveaway, Koletas said the United States was “built with the King James Bible and a gun”.
His full justification was published by The Record in 2014, and reads:
We have decided to hold a special service honoring hunters and gun owners who have been so viciously attacked by the antichristian socialist media and anti-Christian socialist politicians the last few years.
Our country was built with the King James Bible and the gun. To show our support for the many hunters and gun owners, we have decided to give a free NY-modified and legal AR-15 to one qualified individual.
The winner has to attend the morning service, be at least 18 years of age, have a legal driver’s license, and be able to pass the background check for buying a weapon.
Grace Baptist is a hotbed of intolerance and hatred
Koletas has often been criticised for his far-right views. He likened Women’s History Month to “man-hating and God-hating month” and Black History Month to “communism and Marxism month”.
And in a 2020 YouTube video he claimed that Black people “were cursed.”
In the same year Albany Proper carried a piece that said Grace Baptist “isn’t any old Baptist church.” It’s notorious for:
Viscerally right-wing views and for their hatred of Black Lives Matters protesters. Also on the list of groups they have reviled or vilified: Muslims, queer people, career women, Native Americans, liberals, Catholics, other Protestants, and Jews.
Photo by Nicolas Postiglioni via Pexels
One can only enter the church if one touches a slice of pork. On the church steps, there is a paper plate with slices of raw hot dog. A laminated sign reads: “NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO ENTER HERE UNLESS THEY FIRST TOUCH THE HAM, PORK, SWINE.”
The “swine” is John Koletas’ way of warding off Muslims, although special dispensation is given to some Orthodox or Hasidic Jews who can choose to not touch the meat.
FURY among conservative Catholic groups over the fact that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will not only appear at a Dodgers game on June 16 but will also be handed a Community Hero Award is reaching fever pitch. One outfit—CatholicVote—has gone so far as to launch a $1-m fundraiser to buy ads aimed at exposing…
FOLLOWING his arrest in October, 2021, for possessing child porn, Father James W. Jackson, a Rhode Island priest, was detained for the second time last year in Kansas for allegedly violating the conditions of his release. His trial is about to commence shortly. And here’s the kicker: Just weeks before his first arrest, Jackson wrote…
IN MAY, 2022, Utah wrote into law House Bill 374, which sought to remove “sensitive materials” from from schools and school libraries, Soon after, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) reported that Utah had been “hit hard” with a flurry of book challenges. It is no surprise that graphic novels like Fun Home, Flamer, and Gender Queer are among…
How is it that the world’s most advanced industrial country is home to the world’s biggest population of idiots?
Every time that I have visited the US, after only a few hours I am longing to escape; when back in civilisation, it takes days to recover from what is thought to be jet-lag, wrong, people are suffering from the ‘lack-of-culture syndrome’.
Despite their God of love these communities of Christian believers are festering swamps of hatred, racism and bigotry. These inadequates, mired in personal insecurities, seek gun possession to try pathetically to boost their confidence. The result is mass killing with the killer clutching his gun.
“And in a 2030 YouTube video he claimed that Black people “were cursed.””
At my age I have to check not only the time but also the date several times a day and I know US Americans often claim to be far ahead of everybody else but…..
Barry Duke, the Angry Atheist 
Leave a Reply