FSTDT

Protestors at Greater Church of Lucifer #fundie houstonpress.com

This weekend, religious protesters arrived on Main Street in Old Town Spring to express their dissatisfaction with the Greater Church of Lucifer, which opened on Halloween.

Church leaders are adamant that they do not, as a whole, worship Satan... They picked the name "Lucifer" using the Latin translation, which is "light bringer," as a symbolic representation of the congregation's search for knowledge and self-empowerment.

...But that didn't stop protesters from arriving at the church's doorstep on Main, armed with wooden crosses, holy water, rosary beads and bullhorns. Altogether there were about 40 protesters on Friday evening, lining both sides of Main. There was a heavy police presence, and the protests were largely peaceful, except for a few moments before dark when members from two groups of protesters — one Catholic organization from Pennsylvania, and the other consisting of some sort of doomsday-preachers from Las Vegas — began arguing with each other over whose sect of Christianity was correctly following Jesus.

Steven Holze #fundie houstonpress.com

Hotze was able to better articulate his views in 1986, when he was one of dozens of ministers, professionals and laypersons who signed the Coalition on Revival's Manifesto for the Christian Church. The coalition claims on its Web site to be a national network of religious leaders aligned in a mission "to help the Church rebuild civilization on the principles of the Bible so God's will may be done on earth as it is in heaven." They want all aspects of life -- government, science and education -- to adhere to fundamental biblical beliefs. These beliefs include the following:

• A wife may work outside the home only with her husband's consent

• "Biblical spanking" that results in "temporary or superficial bruises or welts" should not be considered a crime

• No doctor shall provide medical service on the Sabbath

• All disease and disability is caused by the sin of Adam and Eve

• Medical problems are frequently caused by personal sin

• "Increased longevity generally results from obedience to specific Biblical commands"

• Treatment of the "physical body" is not a doctor's highest priority

• Doctors have a priestly calling

• People receiving medical treatment are not immune from divine intervention or demonic forces

• Physicians should preach to their patients because salvation is the key to their health

• "Christians need better health to have more energy, tolerate more stress, get depressed less often, and be more creative than our non-Christian counterparts for the advancement of God's Kingdom."