Christian Wire: Feds "threatening" evangelist over tracts

[Bluebear]

:eyes:

To: National Desk

Contact: Joseph Farah, WorldNetDaily.com, [e-mail]

NEWS ADVISORY, June 2 /Christian Newswire/ -- Secret Service agents today threatened a Denton, Texas, evangelist with arrest for counterfeiting and seized 8,300 gospel tracts designed as “million-dollar bills,” the leading independent Internet news source WorldNetDaily.com reports exclusively.

Three Secret Service agents visited the Great News Network offices about 1 p.m. asking staffer Tim Crawford if he was responsible for printing “the million-dollar bills.”

Crawford suggested they talk to his boss, Darrel Rudus, the founder of the organization that trains evangelists from around the country in the techniques of witnessing their faith.

By telephone, Rudus offered his opinion that it was impossible to counterfeit something that wasn’t real – a $1 million bill.

But the agents explained that someone in North Carolina had attempted to deposit one of the million-dollar bills in a bank account.:rofl: The address of the Great News Network was on the back, and the Secret Service went into action.

Rudus also explained to the agents that his organization had not designed the tracts. They are the work of the Living Waters Ministry of Ray Comfort in Southern California, which distributes millions of them a year.

Before he got off the phone with the agents, Rudus was convinced the agents were going to drop their demand for the Great News Network’s tracts.

But later, he reports, the agents against demanded them from Crawford, threatening him with arrest for “concealing evidence.” Rather than face arrest, Crawford turned over the approximately 8,300 million-dollar tracts the group had stored. The agents left a receipt and their business cards.

Comfort told WND he was stunned by the action of the Secret Service and expects agents to visit his offices soon. He said he has no plans to abandon the use of the tracts, which are among the most popular of the many his organization distributes. Living Waters is known for its television program, “The Way of the Master,” and an association with actor Kirk Cameron.

“I’m not going to stop printing them,” Comfort said. “How can you possibly counterfeit something that is not real – a $1 million bill?”

http://www.earnedmedia.org/wnd0602.htm

[Mojorabbit]

1. I didn't know the SS did conterfeiting law enforcement

I thought that was the FBI's domain?

[MrBenchley]

2. Nope, Secret Service handles that....

[Mojorabbit]

10. Thanks! Learn something new every day! eom

[meow2u3]

16. That was the Secret Service's original function

To investigate and root out counterfeiting.

[SPKrazy]

20. I Thought That Since SS Isn't Under Treasury Anymore

that their mission had changed too

DHS now is over SS

[charlie]

3. Before it was shoehorned into DHS

the SS was part of the Treasury Dept.

[Hubert Flottz]

4. I wonder if those SS were wearing their rings...

[sutz12]

5. This sounds fishy to me.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is either entirely false, or if true, staged.

Gotta get the fundie vote insensed about something. Gay bashing and flag burning don't have the same impact lately. Time to pull some "raids" on some churches to get them roused.

[WePurrsevere]

6. LoL, it does seem a bit surreal .... but.... OTOH...

Although I would not put it past these gnits to make stuff like this up to feed the martyr complex their followers have...

When I Googled million-dollar tracts - images ( http://tinyurl.com/n8oj4 ) they actually are made to look rather real. It looks like they even changed their design to look like the new money the gov is putting out.

Now I tend to agree that you can't technically counterfeit something that doesn't exist but apparently not everyone knows it doesn't (although you do have to wonder why someone would think a real "million dollar bill" would be just given to them) and from what I can see the printing/design company is deliberately making them look as real as possible (I wonder if they're the exact same size or close even...)

I vaguely remember something very similar happening many years ago... I think it was "play" money that looked to real and the gov got the toy company to change the design so there was no question that it was not real because some folks truly are incredibly naive and some folks don't seem to have more then one or two functional brain cells. Since both the former and the later are the audience this type of tract is made to reach they really should make it clearer that those bills are FAKE.


(btw: The back looks just as "real" from what I could see on the Google thumbnail... the larger images no longer come up for me.)

[maine_raptor]

9. If both the front and the back were printed as if they were real

then that would be a cause for concern. In order to produce a "counterfeit" bill that violates the law BOTH sides need to be copied.

Now had they added a line of large type (in Red perhaps) across the front and back that said something to the effect; "This is Fake", the the SS would have left them alone.

[WePurrsevere]

19. Both sides look pretty "real"...well as "real" as a non-existing bill can

look of course with a bible verse, etc printed on the back of it. ;)

I couldn't find an active link that shows the larger pic of both sides but if you click on the Google search link (1st one) it hopefully will still show the cached thumbnail. (btw: They did it with Aussie dollars as well.. I wonder how their gov is dealing with it.)

Here's a link to it on the printers site with some reviews that rave about how real it looks: http://www.livingwaters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=298

A few reviews from above link:
"I love these tracts, I put these on the counter in my store and customers ask if they can have some free money? Of course I agree and happily hand one over. I also like to go into a store or a fast food restaurant and then tuck one between the newspapers or things in front of the register. People grab it thinking they found a million dollars instead I pray a seed has been planted."

"I love the new look. The picture above just does not do it justice though. It's much more realistic looking in real life."

"Everyone loves it. They think it is real money and everyone wants it. Great tract."

[TecnoCrat]

25. Interesting Mention

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_denominations_of_United_States_currency

There are, or should I say were, One Hundred Thousand Dollar bills, but were used for bank transfers. Large currency is a weird hobby of mine. Wish I could afford some of it though.


Plus, this event has already been added to the wiki. I love the wiki.

[WePurrsevere]

26. Interesting hobby and yes, Wiki can be amazing and useful. :-) n/t

[Pab Sungenis]

14. Hell, we Rintellites have had stuff that looks like that for years.

But the Feds won't come after us because they know Rintellism is the One True Faith!

[cantstandbush]

7. The real message: Money is the root of all evangelism in US. n/t

[Swamp Rat]

8. Good one!

[Tsiyu]

11. I'm staring at one right now

My youngest received it from somewhere ( while at his dad's) and he gave it to me.

www.livingwaters.com is the only identification on the back, after some bible verses printed around the margins of the back of the bill.

This one looks a little fakier than the others. I only put it up because I'm doing a visualization exercise :P. Maybe if I stare at it long enough a milion will be manifested in my bank account.

Praise Jeebus!!!!

Really though, any bank that would accept one of these is no place I'd trust my money.

On edit. Just checked that lnk. Scroll down and these puppes are still for sale :shrug:

[karlrschneider]

18. I have a bunch of "million dollar bills". Sometimes I'll hand one to

a clerk just to see the reaction. :D


(They're not tracts, just novelties)
edit: here's what they look like

[CatholicEdHead]

12. Copyright

Remember to limit your article posts to only 4 paragraphs in the future.

[Bluebear]

15. This was a press release, not an article, thanks. nt

[Tsiyu]

13. Get your own

before the Feds shut 'em down!

http://www.livingwaters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=298

[dsc]

17. I remember looking down and seeing what I thought was a hundred

and I was poor so I really needed the dough. Turned out it was a religious tract. I was so pissed I would have never gone to that church. It was deliberatly made to look like a folded over and lost bill.

[me b zola]

22. What is a "religious tract"?

I've never heard the term before.

[Bluebear]

23. It's a pamphlet . . .here is an example

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0071/0071_01.asp

[SPKrazy]

21. Here's One

[Irreverend IX]

24. I was hoping they nailed Jack Chick...

Too bad.