A church in Arkansas is facing a ton of criticism after posting a sign that reads, “Heaven Has Strict Immigration Laws, Hell Has Open Borders.”
According to reports from FOX 35, the community is not happy with Springdale Apostolic Church and their hateful message, especially since the area has a large Hispanic population. But according to the people in charge at the church, they say the message is biblical, not political.
Assistant Pastor Michael Pennington says that his wife is the one who came up with the concept. “My wife actually came up with it before anyone else,” said Pennington. “The reason we put that sign up was to tell everybody it is not easy to make heaven. If you read scriptures, it tells them the road to hell is wide and broad, but the road to heaven is narrow and straight.”
He also added that several church members praised him for the idea and supposedly did not see the message as political at all. “Every nationality of people saying we know this is a biblical meaning, we know what the meaning was behind us, we read the Bible, we know what you’re getting at.”
Even though the church insists their message was solely biblical and had nothing to do with actual immigration laws, an apology was issued and Pennington said in a statement on Monday that anyone is welcomed to their church.
