Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 4, 1991                   TAG: 9102040089
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: FAIRBANKS, ALASKA                                LENGTH: Short

CHURCH DEFENDS SIGN ATTACKING SADDAM

One side reads: "Saddam solution? Nuke him till he glows and shoot him in the dark."

The other side: "What does Iraq and a parking lot have in common? Nothing yet."

Most callers expressed surprise, said John Coghill, the church's administrative assistant.

"Their first reaction was that it was a non-Christian attitude," he said. "And in a lot of ways, it's more politically than spiritually oriented."

The message was intended, he said, as a tongue-in-cheek, thought-provoking comment on a serious issue. Bible Baptist strongly supports President Bush and U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, Coghill said.

"Saddam is wreaking havoc upon all kinds of lives. We didn't mind singling him out," he said.

That doesn't mean Saddam's life is not also precious, Coghill added.

"His life, we feel, is just as valuable to God as anybody. But when he starts tearing down other peoples' lives, it's worth a mention," he said.

- Associated Press