I'm commenting so I can come back and see the 'shop goodness that may possibly ensue.

8ace: El Freak: Was it a church that actually does positive things for the community

Pay taxes?

All the other non-profits who don't pay taxes must be horrible people in your book too, right?

Mugato: "in the rectory?"

[wave.images.worldnow.com image 600x338]

"Pyx goes where?"

Who would I expect to steal from a church? A devil.

What would a devil do with a photograph opportunity? Yeah, it makes sense to me!

muck4doo: 8ace: El Freak: Was it a church that actually does positive things for the community

Pay taxes?

All the other non-profits who don't pay taxes must be horrible people in your book too, right?

No, but I have lived a long time and have never heard of a child being ass-raped in a soup kitchen or a women's shelter or a wildlife rehab centre or...

Recall the punchline: "Do we have time?"

muck4doo: 8ace: El Freak: Was it a church that actually does positive things for the community

Pay taxes?

All the other non-profits who don't pay taxes must be horrible people in your book too, right?

Just the washers of brains.

He stole from Westboro Baptist Church? Karma can be a biatch.

muck4doo: 8ace: El Freak: Was it a church that actually does positive things for the community

Pay taxes?

All the other non-profits who don't pay taxes must be horrible people in your book too, right?

No, they should pay farking taxes too.

8ace: I think stealing from an organisation that pays taxes for it's existence

I wish someone would steal that apostrophe.

Tom Delay and John Edwards unavailable for comment.

Oops, Westport, not Westboro. Reading is fundamental.

Maybe he thought he was robbing the Westboro Baptist Church instead of the Westport Road Baptist Church - in which case he should smile, and we should give him the Hero tag.

8ace: Is stealing from a church worse than stealing from any other building? Why mention that? I think stealing from an organisation that pays taxes for it's existence is worse than a brain-washing centre that doesn't

Oh Fark, so predictable. Just surprised it took 3 posts.

Abe Vigoda's Ghost: 8ace: Is stealing from a church worse than stealing from any other building? Why mention that? I think stealing from an organisation that pays taxes for it's existence is worse than a brain-washing centre that doesn't.
Oh Fark, so predictable. Just surprised it took 3 posts.

Which part? The erroneous use of "it's/its," or the correct identification of churches as drains on society?

Abe Vigoda's Ghost: 8ace: Is stealing from a church worse than stealing from any other building? Why mention that? I think stealing from an organisation that pays taxes for it's existence is worse than a brain-washing centre that doesn't

Oh Fark, so predictable. Just surprised it took 3 posts.

This.

Yeah, forget all of the good work that most churches do... you know, give young children a safe place to be when their parents are at work, or feeding the homeless, or offering guidance to those who need it... just think of them as brain-washing centers.

/facepalm.jpg

8ace: Is stealing from a church worse than stealing from any other building? Why mention that? I think stealing from an organisation that pays taxes for it's existence is worse than a brain-washing centre that doesn't

This.

Why is a church even reporting a theft? Shouldn't they be turning the other cheek and praying for the soul of the thief?

Churches steal from the poor and gullible. Think of this guy as Robin Hood.

CravenMorehead: Oops, Westport, not Westboro. Reading is fundamental.

Don't worry. I read it as Westboro too the first time and did a double take.

Noticeably F.A.T.: CravenMorehead: Oops, Westport, not Westboro. Reading is fundamental.

retrofitme: Maybe he thought he was robbing the Westboro Baptist Church instead of the Westport Road Baptist Church - in which case he should smile, and we should give him the Hero tag.

Oh good, I wasn't the only one who initially read 'Westboro Baptist' and was momentarily unconcerned.

For a fleeting moment (because I'm not wearing my glasses and I just woke up), I too, thought it said "Westboro" Baptist Church and thought, "he's not a douchebag, he's a hero and why didn't he burn the place down?" But alas, it was not as I had hoped.

notmtwain: What's wrong with smiling for an arrest photo? To me, it is an indication of innocence or naivete. It says that the person should perhaps be given a second chance.

I'm sure he'll be given several second chances in the lock-up.

The ones who aren't smiling don't regret what they did, they regret not getting away with it.

I can haz Fark thread?

This is why society needs reform school instead of jails and prisons, on occasion. Then again, it is westboro baptist. There are probably many who are turning a blind eye.

Some kids grow out of the "stealing is cool idea", as soon as they start making decisions for themselves (usually around age 10).. However, some develop into the types who commit home invasion robberies, too. Some things you can blame on the economy. Some things have been around since the beginning of time.

dantanner: Churches steal from the poor and gullible. Think of this guy as Robin Hood.

Yeah. Care to do a street view search of that particular church? Might find yourself a bit embarrassed. Place looks like it was added on to in the 1980s, at the very latest. Looks to be a mid-size congregation of a few hundred people. Nothing fancy. Seems like they actually spend their money on the mission of bettering people's lives through voluntary faith instead of spending cash on Bimmers and fancy architecture. I know this is news to most of you, but the operating budgets of most small- and mid-sized churches in the US are not that large. It's hardly Robin Hood-esque to steal from most churches.

Now can we please stop the anti-theist circle jerk on this site and realize that most theists are normal people who don't shove their beliefs down people's throats? Or are we going to continue with the anti-establishment beliefs based mostly on ignorance?

Priest goes where?

I'll feel indignant about people stealing from the church as soon as the church returns the five years I spent deprogramming myself from their brainwashing.

Sometimes this can be a good thing. The cops should let him out in front of westboro baptist and tell him to have a good day.

Marine1:
Yeah, forget all of the good work that most churches do... you know, give young children a safe place to be when their parents are at work,

1) Day care. Look into it. 2) What, precisely, (be specific) about theology makes one who studies or practices it qualified in primary education or child services? Did you know that churches in many states are exempt from laws that apply to child services at non-religious institutions. This makes them LESS SAFE, dumbass.

or feeding the homeless,

Why do you have to be a church to do this? You don't? Oh ok, so maybe we shouldn't count that as a reason to have churches or a reason that churches are good.

or offering guidance to those who need it...

The guidance they give is BAD and leads people to behave BADLY. It creates division and animosity toward outsiders. It exploits in-group/out-group behaviors to coerce and alienate people. It teaches people to be afraid of science and learning. It makes you feel ashamed and guilty for being a human being. It creates misery for the world, but gives a little bit back so you defend it irrationally. It's like saying "sure, Slavery is bad, but it gave chocolate people a safe place, and jobs, and food. Why do you hate safety and jobs and food?"

Facepalm, indeed.

CravenMorehead: He stole from Westboro Baptist Church? Karma can be a biatch.

I read the title that way at first too.

If he'd done that he likely would have been received as a hero. Even most fundamentalist types hate those guys.

SDRR: No, they should pay farking taxes too.

What sort of taxes?
Payroll taxes? (they already do pay that)
Property taxes? (they already do that unless they have some sort of agreement with the municipality)
Utilities? (again, they already do that unless they have some sort of agreement with the municipality)
Corporate income taxes? (they don't pay this, and that is the whole point of being a non-profit: most non-profits tend to barely get in the black at the end of their fiscal years because they are geared towards specific purposes and services and budget accordingly)
The whole purpose of earning non-profit status from the IRS is because the organizations in question serve a public good and do not strive solely to make money for the owners/stockholders.

8ace: muck4doo: All the other non-profits who don't pay taxes must be horrible people in your book too, right?

Not horrible. Why don't they pay tax?

Pay tithes to your church, the Federal Government? Sure, do it for every other non-profit out there too. I have a suspicion though you probably wouldn't want that.