Baby Jesus Statue Painted with Satanic Symbols Latest in String of Nativity Attacks
A baby Jesus figurine from a Nativity display was found vandalized with satanic imagery in Bangor, Pa., in one of many Christmas vandalism acts that have been reported around the country.
The incident occurred at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bangor, where Pastor Franklin Stinner received several calls Tuesday morning informing him that a baby Jesus statue was hanging outside the church on a tree.
A red permanent marker was used to draw devil horns on the statue’s head, as well as dots on the hands and feet, most likely representing Christ's wounds from the Crucifixion. A red "A" with the message "I am the Antichrist" was written on the statue’s front, while the number "666" and "Demonization is religious oppression" was found on the back.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Police are investigating the incident and urging anyone with information to give them a call, but Pastor Stinner shared with LehighValleyLive.com that he simply could not understand why someone decided to do such a thing.
"I would like to see them apprehended and held responsible for it because if they don't get apprehended, I would suspect they're going to continue to do this to other (churches) too," the pastor added.
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church has experienced previous vandal attacks, with one from two months ago involving phallic symbols and "messages encouraging drug use" being painted on the sidewalk, the pastor shared.
There were several reported incidents during December of nativity scenes being vandalized.
In one case, involving a gay-friendly nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist Church in California depicting straight, gay and lesbian couples on three different panels, the gay and lesbian couples were knocked down, church officials reported. However, figures depicting an opposite-gender couple was left standing, leading police to classify the act as a hate crime.
