An Empire Built On Blind Faith
The Pope's Long Con
Louisville Public Media
4.6 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 14 December 2017
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Go inside the Heart of Fire Church and meet the motorcycle-friendly congregation and gun choir. Check out the fellowship hall — or biker bar — and learn more about Johnson's dark past.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From L.P. App. |
| 0:02.0 | Louisville Public Media. |
| 0:04.0 | A listener note. |
| 0:05.0 | This story contains adult content and language. |
| 0:08.0 | Danny Ray Johnson's Church, Heart of Fire, is no ordinary church. |
| 0:12.0 | Guns are common and openly displayed. heart of fire is no ordinary church. |
| 0:13.0 | Guns are common and openly displayed. |
| 0:15.2 | The marquee out front says bikers are welcome. |
| 0:17.8 | There's no dress code. |
| 0:19.2 | It appears to be non-denominational, and its evangelical mission is to convert people who don't go to church to Christianity. |
| 0:26.0 | Sometimes Johnson preaches in a cutoff shirt showing his tattooed arms. |
| 0:30.5 | He's given sermons about having sex with his wife on their honeymoon. |
| 0:34.0 | He's told stories from the pulpit about driving trucks through mudholes |
| 0:37.5 | and hanging out with Kentucky's Republican Governor Matt Bevin. |
| 0:41.0 | The sermons seem unscripted. They can go on for an hour or more. |
| 0:44.9 | Mixing Bible verses with philosophy, he leaves the pulpit to walk around the room while he talks. |
| 0:50.1 | Sometimes he sounds conversational. Other times he waves his arms and shouts and seems to be on the verge of tears. |
| 0:57.0 | Some afternoons, the church's on-site bar opens up. |
| 1:00.0 | Sometimes it turns into a tattoo parlor. |
| 1:03.0 | The guy is totally just a manipulator. |
| 1:10.0 | I've noticed that sometimes he gets his facts messed up. |
| 1:12.0 | He was belligerent. I've noticed that sometimes he gets his facts messed up. |
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