Woman accused of hitting pastor in the head with a Bible

A woman is accused of using God's word as a weapon against her pastor in their Mid-South church.

A 63-year-old church member used a Bible to hit the pastor in the head after he told her and other members to leave or he would call the Sheriff.

Ina Garrett, a life-long member of Mount Zion Baptist Church in Selmer, decided to knock that demon out of pastor Leon Taylor.

"One of the older church members came up and struck the pastor with a Bible," McNairy County Sheriff Guy Buck said.

The pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church showed us a photo of welts on the side of his head.

"Evil is evil," Pastor Leon Taylor said. "You understand what I'm saying, and bullying is bullying and that's what they have done."

There is a rift among church members at Mount Zion. The members chose Pastor Taylor to lead the church a year ago.

Deacon Robert Shumpert, Ina Garrett and other members say they decided they did not like Taylor and wanted him out of the 30 member church. The pastor says the church members who wanted him out were disruptive.

"The next Sunday we went right back and the door was locked," church member Ann Prather said.

Taylor showed us video of him telling the church he is tired of it, as Ina Garrett yells from the church.

"Would you leave, would you leave? Would you leave! Call the Sheriff, call the sheriff! You're trying to put us out. You're out. What is it about out you don't understand?" she yelled.

Sheriff Buck showed up and tried to talk with the unhappy church members. And sometime after that Buck says Ina Garrett hit the pastor with the Bible. The sheriff escorted the disruptive members out and arrested Garrett.

"Have you ever heard of anything like that before? I have never in my life," Sheriff Buck said.

The unhappy church members, some who have been members for 65 years, will likely have to take the pastor to court. He says he is not planning to leave. We'll keep you updated on what happens.

You’re fighting a losing battle trying to defend a religion vs. Christianity itself You're making a nonsensical distinction between "religion" and "Christianity". Christianity *is* "a religion". Don't take my word for it, take the Scripture's: Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. -- James 1:27 ALL religions have/do something that is contradictory to the Bible Even the one that's taught in the Bible? Jesus told us not to do that with earthly men because we had but one Father and He resides in Heaven. Paul apparently didn't get the memo; see 1 Cor 4:15. IMO, Jesus was using hyperbole in Matthew to express how unworthy the Pharisees were of the title "Father".

There are over 30,000 sects of Christianity - Christianity is not a religion - all the sects are religions. While they mostly have the commong theme/thread running through them, they all have different interpretations/views/rites on what the bible is telling us.

At the time of James, "C hritianity was not yet well-defined and his use of the word "Religion" was in a literal sense the constant practice of ones belief system:
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
If taking care of orphans and widows is a religion, then anything is a religion - it was a standard of conduct that one would expect from someone who believed the Great Commandement and the one that Jesus followed up with. He then told us that where ther is love there is no harm and that meant that acting with love as the prime motivation was fulfillment of the commandments/law of the Old Covenant.

I guess you can have your opinion on what Jesus meant by not calling earthly men "father", but the only place I see permutations used as a defense is where it pertains to the Catholic Church. It looks and reads like, while Pharisees were hypocrites, one was told to do what they say and not what they do. It also looks/reads like the titles of rabii, father, and teacher were reserved for the Messiah and God Himself:
23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. 8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Granted - I'm no Theologian, but I understand that much of the Biblical Word has to be taken in context of the day and the audience, along with the mores of the day, and other areas can still be taken at face value even in today's mores/understanding.

Please understand, i am not attacking the Catholic Church as the institution that has done more to bring souls to od than any other, but expressing my doubts that all Chritian religions adhere strictly to Biblical Truth - they are all envisioned/modified/molded by eathly men and therefore have inserted some fallibilities. I believe the Bible tells me everything I need to know to make my choices and be saved by His Blood - making certain practices/people "holy" as endorsed by men is uneccessary. That's why I am a member of a non-denominational Church which preaches Christianity and uses the Bible (no additions/deletions) as the basis. I don't pray to the saints (we're all supposed to be seen as justified, holy saints in God's eyes once we give ourselves to Christ the Savior), when I have a straight conduit to Him. I believe the Lord's Prayer, as given by Jesus is the purest form of prayer and like Him, I address my prayers to "Our Father, Who art in Heaven".

I state my opinions and do not wish to cause controversy, but rather essay to prompt flks to do some more thinking on their belief system. My current and past pastors in non-denominational Churches tell us to hear what they say, but not to believe it all without doing our own reading/talking/research lest we leave ourselves open to any charlatan who might preach what is not true with the expectation that we believe him because of his position. I see no harm in it because some of the most avid purveyors of God's Word were once atheists who studied hard to disprove God's existence and were finally convinced that He is who/what Christianity says He is.

God Bless

Salvation: That’s why we respect our priests and call them “Father.” This wouldn’t ever happen in a Catholic Church. The Knights of Columbus would escort anyone out of the church who even tried to get close to the sanctuary.

Cronos: Sorry, Salvation, got to disagree with you on this....I don't see anything in this which couldn't happen in an Apostolic Church. Matter of fact, I, personally, would like to hit the few liberal priests I know with a heavy Bible -- in my mind, if they step out of the boundaries of orthodoxy they DESERVE a whacking -- in fact more of a whacking than this pastor got. I've had heated words with priests who step out of the line of orthodoxy and that's what I believe we in the Apostolic Church must do -- if the priest sticks to orthodoxy, then obedience to God is called for. If the priest veers away, then a little whack is needed -- again, obedience to God.

I think Cronos takes the point on this one. Salvation, have you forgotten the example of St Nicholas?

It is disputed whether he slapped him on the mouth, fed him a knuckle-sandwich, or boxed him on the ear, but one thing seems clear: Santa Claus most likely hit the heretic, Arius of Alexandria, during the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. -- from the thread “Is Man to Become God?” [St. Athanasius]

I only have to ask one question? How old is your Church? The Catholic Church was founded by Christ on the Apostles, the first bishops. If you choose not to believe and belong to a church founded much later, that is your perrogative. Jesus IS the founder of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Can your denomination lay claim to those Marks of the Church?

Define "how old is your Church". I guess it's as old as where the Bible starts - "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Being non-denominational, I use the Bible as my guide; nothing more, nothing less. The age of the "religion" isn't as important as things like, “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

I believe God is the Founder of my Church and it includes the lessons of the Old Covenant and is nicely adorned with the crowning glory of His gift of Jesus which set the wheels in motion for the New Covenant.

MY belief in God as the Great I AM, and my Creator, and in Jesus, The Sacrificial Lamb of God as my Savior, makes my lack of a denomination perfectly fine.

You point out another foible of religion/religious institutions - they claim the same Christianity, yet they each lay claim to their brand as the best brand. 30,00 plus sects of Christianity can only be right in one thing - Christianity. Where in the Bible, does it mention "Catholic/Lutheran/Baptist", ad infinitum?

I respect the institution of the catholic Church, but I also believe, like any man-determined institution, run by men with varying opinions, it has flaws. I concede it has probably reached more souls than any other sect, but I fail to understand the pomp and riches that it hoards and the way it reveres its Priests/Bishops/Popes - many of whom have appeared to be apostate and who have spread their opinions into things like global warming and have committed crimes against the youth they have been entructed with. Add men to the mixture and you must ad flaws.

I do not expect perfection from Men, but I do expect the focus to remain with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as laid out in the Bible - no more, no less. Jesus told the disciples how to pray - He told them to start out with "Our Father", not "Virgin Mary, or "Saint Peter". I prefer simple instead of a host of "holy sacraments" and other rites and rituals that are offered with a mystic that is not necessary since Jesus decided to develop a personal relationship with Men that tied us to a personal relationship with God.

I hope I have answered your question - Christianity trumps religion. Period.

God Bless - you do good works carrying the Word - don't let my "pops" distract you from that - use them to strengthen your own faith. I use these little exercises to evaluate and do some more studying which I find beneficial.

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