Baptist church marquee: Allah is not our God

Signs displayed by a Baptist church in Oregon are making a bold, unapologetic statement that “Allah is not our God,” contesting the often-head politically correct mantra proclaimed by Leftists and some liberal theologians that “we all worship the same God.”

Belmont Drive Missionary Baptist Church of Hood River, Oregon, has received media attention across the country over the marquee outside its main sanctuary and other messages displayed on church property.

Before the statement “Allah is not our God,” the marquee in front of the church sends the message, “Wake up Christians.”

Then, believers are reminded that there is no comparison between the Prophet and Savior of the Bible and the prophet revered by Muslims.

“Muhammad is not greater than Jesus,” reads another sign, referring to the Islamic prophet from Muslim’s holy book, the Quran.

Signs at the small Baptist church also made a comparison between the holy book of Christianity and the scriptures regarded as sacred by those practicing the Islamic faith.

“The Quran is just an ordinary book,” while “the Bible is God’s Word,” another sign posted outside the church declares.

A variation of the message about the writings of the world’s largest two religions can be found on the other side of the message board that stands prominently outside the Oregon church.

“Only the Bible is God’s Word,” the church’s sign informs passersby. “The Koran is just another book.”

No apologies

Belmont Drive Missionary Baptist Church Senior Pastor Michael Harrington stands in strong defense of the messages on his signs. The leader of the church insists that all of his signs are biblical.

But not everyone in the Northwest town supports the signs and their messages.

One biker retold his experience of biking past the sign while reading its messages.

“I literally had to stop and back up and make sure I saw what I saw, and I was profoundly offended and upset by it,” Eric Cohn told KATU.

Cohn also expressed his concern and objection to the signs through a letter he wrote to a local newspaper — sending a message that Pastor Harrington felt was extremely out-of-line.

“This one guy wrote in here that I’m a terrorist almost,” Harrington commented about Cohn’s public letter, according to ChristianToday.com. “You ought to see what he put in here!”

Hood River Mayor Paul Blackburn was also disgruntled over the messages in front of Harrington’s church, saying that he was “really annoyed and sad” over the pastor exercising his freedom of religious expression.

“I am annoyed that in this political season there’s a solid case of ugly going on,” Blackburn stated. “I think it norms up this kind of behavior like ‘oh it’s okay to be a bigot now.’”

Telling it how it is

Harrington contends that he is more concerned about spreading the Truth and shining God’s light than agreeing with the masses — so as not to offend.

“I’m not politically correct,” the pastor conceded. “I’ve never been politically correct, but I think I’m biblically correct — and that’s what matters to me.”

Insisting that he does not hate Muslims, Harrington pointed out that his intention behind the signs is only to educate people who have been misinformed.

“It isn’t against any particular denomination,” the 74-year-old pastor asserted. “It’s just the fact that I have taught and will continue to teach that I have one God, one way of salvation and one Bible that’s holy.”

The Baptist leader says that he is trying to expose the lies being spread about Christianity — his way of setting the record straight about the God of the Bible.

“People are misled and confused about the true God,” Harrington told The Oregonian. “I was letting them know the difference between Allah and God.”

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