Lost Liberties: Abuses on the Western Front

24 CommentsLost Liberties

A various smattering of articles recently in the news about attempted suppression of religious freedom. Christian religious freedom.

Judge Says Man Can’t Hand Out Bibles at Twin Cities Pride Fest

A Wisconsin man who wants to hand out Bibles at the 40th Annual Twin Cities Pride festival in Loring Park this month will have to confine himself to a booth just outside of the event.

Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis issued a 41-page order Monday denying Brian Johnson’s request for an injunction that would force the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to allow him unfettered access to the festival grounds, reasoning that his constitutional challenge was unlikely to succeed. Read the rest by clicking here.

But wait! I just found this good news! Click here to read it.

North Carolina Prosecutor Drops Charge Against Missionary Arrested for Telling Officers to ‘Repent’

The criminal charge that was filed against a missionary who told police officers to repent on Independence Day has been dismissed.

Jesse Boyd of Full Proof Gospel Ministries had attended a fireworks display in a public park in Holly Ridge, North Carolina on the Fourth of July with fellow missionary Ricky Springer at the invitation of a local Christian. The two began distributing tracts to attendees, and then before the fireworks display began, Springer decided to preach in the open air. Read the rest here.

Jail Time for Phoenix Man Who Hosted Bible Study at His Home

A Phoenix man who held weekly Bible studies at his home has had the book thrown at him over the religious gatherings. Michael Salman (pictured above) has been sentenced to two months in jail and more than $12,000 in fines because the group sessions at his home were against the city’s building code.

“They’re cracking down on religious activities and religious use,” Salman told Fox News Radio. “They’re attacking what I as a Christian do in the privacy of my home.” Read the rest here.

Comments (24)

  1. Steve L.

    Reply

    The day may come when Christians will be forbidden to preach the gospel! That is when the “true” believers will be known for who they are; those that don’t shrink bank! (Hebrews 10:38)

    When Paul was imprisoned in Rome, (Phil. 1:14) the Christians “came out of the woodwork” to preach the gospel in hostile conditions and thus support Paul and honor God with their effort.

    In the words of William Ceary, “There are grave difficulties on every hand, and more are looming ahead – Therefore, we must go forward!”
    The time is drawing near when the faithful will have to leave their comfort zones behind!

    • perdita

      Reply

      Oh, please. Guy lies about his ‘game room’ and you cry persecution? Maybe he really is just trying to skirt a law that everyone else has to abide by. Maybe there’s good reasons for the zoning laws he’s attempting to usurp.

      Cops overreaching their authority? Yes, it’s a problem, but not just a Christian one. This happens far too many times to citizens regardless of their beliefs. Can you really not see that this sort of thing is a problem for everyone or is your only concern for your ‘tribe’?

      I don’t know too much about the Twin Cities example, but it seems to have worked itself out through the channels we’ve set up.

      Atheists have gone on record supporting freedom of speech for Christians. Will you go on record supporting freeddom of speech for atheists, Muslims, gays and others that believe differently than you?

      • perdita

        Of course. Everyone has that right!

        I actually wasn’t directing that question to you, because you’ve said that in the past. Although I would argue these sorts of posts encourage in-group/out-group thinking rather then “we’re all citizens and looking out for each other’s rights helps to protect our own”.

        In other news, what does everyone think of the Louisiana rep supported taxes be used to fund religious schools until she found out that would include Muslim schools? Do you want taxpayer support for religious schools and would that include schools for Scientology?

      • perdita

        lol. You’ve said similar in the past. Since secularism simply leaves questions of faith to families and individuals, why is this the worst thing?

      • vintango2k

        All schools! Why not? I am currently having to support the worst possible public education: secularism!

        Oh Steve, you want your schools doing your parental work for you? What if the schools were all catholic schools, there are a ton more catholics than baptists in the world after all…

      • perdita

        We home school.

        Still, what is wrong with public schools being neutral on religion?

      • Steve Sanchez

        Personally, I think the whole system was shot when public Christian prayer was outlawed.

        So, yes, I think “religion” is good. The “theory” of Creationism should be taught as a viable alternative to the theory of evolution.

      • perdita

        Personally, I think the whole system was shot when public Christian prayer was outlawed.

        First, Christian prayer – nor any prayer – is outlawed. And are you saying only Christian prayer should be allowed? Second, who’s version of Christianity? You can’t say “God’s”, because every version of Christianity claims to be God’s version and claims every other version has things wrong-end-up.

        So, yes, I think “religion” is good.

        Is any religion better then non-belief? If the government was run by Scientoligists and their version of creation was taught in schools (spoiler alert: it involves clams), would you find this better than a pluralistic secular government that leaves religious views to the individuals? (For the record, I think comparitive relgious classes would be good.)

        The “theory” of Creationism should be taught as a viable alternative to the theory of evolution.

        Hey, as soon as Creationism actually becomes a viable science, then it should be! But don’t hold your breath. Problem is, YEC is more propaganda then it is science. And it’s based on a narrow interpretation of mythology that actually contradicts the real world.

      • vintango2k

        “All schools! Why not? I am currently having to support the worst possible public education: secularism!”

        Steve do you not believe that a well informed and educated public is essential for a healthy democracy? Do you not see the advantages of providing free, public education to every child in this country…. so that, regardless of your social standing, you have a chance to excel in life if you possess the intelligence and drive to succeed? Would you also agree that your religious beliefs should not be a factor in whether you do or do not have access to that education?

        “Personally, I think the whole system was shot when public Christian prayer was outlawed.”

        Do you have any statistics that show a direct correlation between public prayer and school performance rates? How is it that the Japanese consistently beat us yet have a completely secular school system do you think?

        So, yes, I think “religion” is good. The “theory” of Creationism should be taught as a viable alternative to the theory of evolution.

        Finally some progress! Steve you’re putting quote marks around theory, just go a step further, “theory of Creationism” to let everyone know that you know its not a real theory just religion and has no place in the science class. If you’re curious about evolution Steve I’ll send you a book when we do our book exchange =)

    • Patrick

      Reply

      ‘WHEN you call yourself an Indian or a Muslim or a Christian or a European, or anything else, you are being violent. Do you see why it is violent? Because you are separating yourself from the rest of mankind. When you separate yourself by belief, by nationality, by tradition, it breeds violence. So a man who is seeking to understand violence does not belong to any country, to any religion, to any political party or partial system; he is concerned with the total understanding of mankind.’
      Sri Jiddu Krishnamurti

  2. Steve L.

    Reply

    Steve wrote:
    “The “theory” of Creationism should be taught as a viable alternative to the theory of evolution.”

    perdita wrote:
    ” as soon as Creationism actually becomes a viable science, then it should be”

    Man… I’m really getting excited! A group of scientists now believe (after a 15 billion dollar investment) they’ve discovered “The GOD PARTICLE!” Just think, if I live another 2 or 300,000,000 million years, I’ll bet they’ll come to the conclusion that God really does exist after all!!

    • perdita

      Reply

      Man… I’m really getting excited! A group of scientists now believe (after a 15 billion dollar investment) they’ve discovered “The GOD PARTICLE!” Just think, if I live another 2 or 300,000,000 million years, I’ll bet they’ll come to the conclusion that God really does exist after all!!

      You’re probably just as confused about Y-Chromosome Adam and Mitochondrial Eve.

      • Steve L.

        Oh, not at all! I dwell on those things all the time!

    • vintango2k

      Reply

      The Higgs Boson Particle is just nicknamed the God particle Steve, its not actually a particle of God, like part of his foot or something. And they working hard to further our understanding of mass and gravity, two important elements of physics that we don’t quite fully understand yet. (We understand the why and how part of how they work, just not what causes them to work part)

      • Steve L.

        “its not actually a particle of God, like part of his foot or something”

        Thanks for settin’ the record straight! I originally thought if they worked hard enough, long enough, they just might find all of Him :/

      • vintango2k

        Naw its okay Steve, you keep trivializing and impuning their efforts and they’ll continue to thanklessly improve your life. Its okay. =)

  3. Steve L.

    Reply

    Pray tell o’ wise one; how are they or will they improve my life in any way?

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