Snakes are Scary: In the spirit of Lies Preachers Tell...

So, if I'm a preacher, lying about this is one thing I wouldn't want to lie about.  Just say these guys found you.  You'd never hear them coming.  In fact, they may have found you already and you just don't know it.


After Osama bin Laden was killed, The Patriot-News reached out to find former Navy SEALs living in the midstate to tell our readers about life in that elite fighting force. Reporter Dan Miller, an Army veteran himself, was told the Rev. Jim Moats was a former SEAL, interviewed him and wrote the story for Saturday’s paper. It didn’t take long for some readers to label Moats a fraud. The Patriot-News regularly interviews veterans to tell their stories. We do not regularly ask those we interview for proof of their service, believing these men and women would not lie and dishonor those who have fought bravely defending our country. Unfortunately, this time we were deceived, and we will discuss steps to try and ensure that it does not happen again.

The Navy awards the gold Trident medal to those who have completed SEALs training and have earned the right to be called a SEAL.

The same gold Trident can be bought at a military surplus store, and that’s where the Rev. Jim Moats of Newville got his.

Moats was never a Navy SEAL — even though that’s what he told The Patriot-News on Friday, and that’s what Moats has allowed his congregation at Christian Bible Fellowship Church in Newville to believe for five years. SOURCE

Nice apology though!