Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 10
September 11, 1958
NUMBER 19, PAGE 2-3b

Saint Paul's Picnic

Earl Fly, Valley Station, Kentucky

Shively (Ky.) Newsweek carried an advertisement on August 8, 1957, of a picnic sponsored by St. Paul's Catholic Church of Pleasure Ridge Park. It offered the "Best Chicken Dinner in Jefferson Co." It also featured "Amusements — games — refreshments," and, as grand prize "A 1957 4-door Ford Station Wagon — Complete" was to be given away to the holder of the lucky gambling ticket.

Dan Hogue and I decided to attend in order to get firsthand knowledge of the kind of amusements, games and refreshments characteristic of Catholic Church picnics. So on Saturday night (August 17) we spent about two hours taking in "St. Paul's" picnic as observers.

The name "picnic" was a misnomer. The apostle Paul would have been shocked to see such ungodly activities being sponsored, supposedly, in the name of Christ's church. The carnival spirit was everywhere manifested by the noisy throng of about 3,000. Such a spirit seemed appropriate for, indeed, it was a carnival — complete with eats, rides, beer and numerous gambling activities. As we observed beer-drinking gambling, cigarette-smoking old women and indecently dressed young women in tight short shorts and low-cut blouses, I was sick at heart, and appalled at Satan's success in deceiving the people into believing this was Christianity.

We counted 28 booths where people of all ages were gambling, from 5 cents on the wheel to $6 at the dice table. The nuns, dressed in their flowing black religious robes, were gambling. One young boy was gambling and winning a little on one of the wheels. The mother, beaming because of his winnings, proudly told us he was only 5 years old. Young girls, old men and women were gambling. A loud-speaker in one of the buildings frequently urged the crowd to gamble at various booths. Once we heard a hawker cry, "Win a statue of the Blessed Virgin." The Bingo gambling was in full swing, requiring 5 attendants to run it. Gambling prizes included hams and other foods; dolls, radios, money, cameras, wine and beer. "Twelve cans of beer for a dime" was the cry at one gambling wheel.

The coffers of the Catholics, no doubt, were filled with filthy lucre from the picnic. We saw the dice table rake in $15 in less than one minute! That would amount to $900 an hour! A six-hour picnic would net $5,400 from the crap game alone!

One stand was doing a thriving business selling cold beer to both men and women. One very young mother was pushing a baby in its carriage with one hand and drinking beer with the other. Several boys were policing the grounds, picking up empty beer cans and carrying them in boxes to a large dump truck, parked to haul them away later. But they could not pick up as fast as the crowd emptied beer cans and littered the grounds.

At the beer stand a sign read, "NO MINORS." At first we wondered why this sign? Since minors were allowed to gamble, why not allow them to buy and drink beer? It could not be because the Catholic Church believes beer drinking to be wrong. Indeed not! Beer was almost flowing in streams. We had been in such a daze by all the things we had seen and heard that we had almost forgotten that the law of the land forbids the saleof beer to minors. But what does the Catholic Church care about the law? Does it not violate the law of God? Is it not also a violation of the Kentucky state low to conduct gambling activities? And if the law is going to wink at gambling, why not also at beer sales to minors? Does the law recognize some evil in beer drinking by minors? Then what evil is there for minors that is not there for adults? Would the law allow the taverns to conduct the same kind of gambling activities as does the Catholic Church? No! But why is it right for Catholics and wrong for the taverns? The truth is, it is wrong for both. The following quotation is from the Ky. Revised Statutes, chapter 436, dealing with offences against morality: "Lotteries and gift enterprises are forbidden and no privileges shall be granted for such purposes, and none shall be exercised, and no schemes for similar purposes shall be allowed. The General Assembly shall enforce this section by proper penalties. All lottery privileges or charters heretofore granted are revoked. Among the penalties listed is a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000. Yet the Catholic Church regularly conducts many gambling activities in violation of this law, while law enforcement officials look the other way. Men have been arrested and fined for paying a small amount to winners on pinball machines, but dice games and lotteries are openly conducted. The law strains out the gnat and swallows the camel.

As we saw the priest in his official black robe giving sanction of the "Holy" Roman Catholic Church to these ungodly activities, we wondered how people can become so blinded as to actually believe this to be Christ's church. We could not keep from thinking about the little innocent children being reared in a religion that violates the laws of God and man by drinking and gambling. We thought, too, about the apostle Peter's statement ". . . there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that brought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction, And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you; whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." (2 Pet. 2:1-3.) We also thought of Paul's words, "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16.) As we beheld the long flowing black robes, supposedly a symbol of purity and holiness, our minds went readily to the Bible description of such men. (See Matthew 7:15; 23:27,28; 2 Cor; 11:13-15.) They appear to be the servants of Christ, but are the ministers of Satan. They are as the old testament false prophets, described by Ezekiel as follows: "There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean . . ." (Ezek. 22:25-26.)

Many good Catholic people have been deceived by the corrupt system of Roman Catholicism. Many of her practices appeal to the lust of the flesh. We are prepared to prove by the Word of God that the Catholic Church is unscriptural in origin, organization, name, doctrine and practices. We challenge Catholicism to produce a representative man to discuss the proposition.

We have no ill will toward our Catholic neighbors and would welcome an opportunity to present to them the truth which would free them from the slavish laws based upon superstition, paganism, Judaism and a perverted gospel. For further tracts exposing Catholicism write to us. Attend the discussion of Catholic errors at the Preston Hwy. Church of Christ August 27 — September 7, nightly. Priests and officials are invited.