Choosy fundies choose goldfish, at least according to the
Associated Press. And no, not carckers. No God-fearin' he-man fundamentalist would eat a cracker.
The First Assembly of God Church has a Fear Factor ministry that lets youths swallow live goldfish in order to teach them about fear.
"We need to be realistic about what the Bible says about fear and not be afraid to share our faith in school," youth minister Anthony Martin told the TimesDaily in a story Thursday. "We can't let that fear rule our lives."
Martin said the ministry's participants are between the ages of 14 and 21 and that they had to get their parents to sign a waiver to be involved.
Yes, you read it right. PARENTS are letting the church have kids swallow pets.
In teaching the lesson about fear, participants in last week's round were asked to pull a number -- between one and three -- from a bowl that would indicate how many live Comet goldfish would be swallowed.
Martin said 12 of the almost 20 young people who participated advanced to this week's round of activities, which involved undoing chains and getting out of a real coffin, with the eight fastest advancing. The final four will compete for $250 by the ministry's final week.
The woman who sold this fish isn't amused.
Paula Keeton, manager of Pet Depot, which sold the fish, said she considers the church's action as animal cruelty.
"It's against our policy to sell to people if the animal will be killed," Keeton told the TimesDaily. "To me, it's the same as taking a dog or cat and killing it in front of a group of children."
No one was pressured, honest! Churches never pressure anyone to do anything.
Martin maintains that the children are not forced to participate and there is no peer pressure involved.
Isn't this one way people are initiated into cults? So, what's next? Will they BBQ their dogs? Fricasse their cats? Sacrifice goats on altars? Not like they've ever accused some faiths of doing THAT. Sometimes I'm glad I sleep late on Sundays.