Home Bible Study Group Illegal?

[quade 3]

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perhaps, but the county is freely admitting that they asked the pastor and his wife if they pray, say amen, praise the Lord, etc.

No. Wallar, the county official, said she wasn't there and didn't know exactly what was said. She specifically said the county doesn't care if they practice religion in the house. The county needed to determine what activity was going on in the house in case there was some other sort of violation involved, but that's a far cry from a government stand against home bible study groups.

What she did care about was public access.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[BikerBabe 0]

ok, fine. they aren't denying it.

and why should they? they're the ones who later sent a notice requesting purchase of a permit for religious assemblies.

Seriously. parking violation or not? if it is, then why the attempt to extract permit money from them later? why the religious questions?

My argument is if it's just a parking spat as you claim, then the purpose of the meeting shouldn't matter. The county official should say "your parties are against zoning/parking laws, move the cars" and that's IT.

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[quade 3]

Ok, so let's say you're the code enforcement guy. You don't know jack shit about the history of it. All you know is that some guy has complained about people meeting at a home on a regular basis and screwing up parking and possibly fire access to the rest of the neighbors.

You arrive on the scene. You knock on the door.

"Hi, I'm from the county and I'm investigating a complaint about cars regularly blocking the street."

The woman that answers the door says, "Why? Is that a problem?"

"Well, it depends on what you're doing. If you're holding a floating craps game or an illegal strip bar, yeah, it kind of does," you say.

"We hold a Bible study meeting on Tuesdays," says the woman.

"A Bible study. So, you pray and say amen?" you ask.

"Well certainly we do!" says the woman.

"Got it. Ok, just keep the cars out of the street and don't block other people's drive ways."

You leave.

Woman inside relays story to Pastor (who by the way kinda sounds like he has a bit of a persecution complex himself from the interviews). He contacts his lawyer. The lawyer contacts the media and finds a reporter looking to make a mountain out of a mole hill.



Taking everything into account from what we've seen so far, this is exactly how I see it as having gone down.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[BikerBabe 0]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,522637,00.html

why, then, the subsequent demands by the county to pay for permits for religious assemblies?

Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!

[MikeForsythe 0]

Just another reason not to live in California (JK, yes I know this could have happened anywhere) That is why I am glad that I live where I do. I own the street and the property around it and have enough property to park about 300 cars.

Time and pressure will always show you who a person really is!

[stoneycase 0]

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I also have to say that I think the reporter is a bit of an asshat for covering the story the way he has.

True, he's finally talked to a city official, but he continues to play up the Pastor's belief that the city is "out to get him."

100% agree. Asshat award to the reporter. But hey, he needs something to talk about...and somewhere to take that nifty news van

Does whisky count as beer? - Homer
There's no justice like angry mob justice. - Skinner
Be careful. There's a limited future in low pulls - JohnMitchell

[quade 3]

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,522637,00.html

why, then, the subsequent demands by the county to pay for permits for religious assemblies?

My guess? It's probably not actually a permit for religious services, but instead something that covers regular gatherings over a certain size.

Let's be reasonable about this, where would you draw the line if this was happening in the house next door to you? 10 people? 1,000 people?

At some point it really isn't a "home" Bible study any more.

I personally don't know where that line is and in fact I had a next door neighbor that held quite a bit more than a Bible study in his house right next to mine for years. They were some form of Evangelicals that called for a lot of very vocal "Amen!" recitations on a regular basis. Seemed like after every line that was read.

Because of my personal work schedule, this screwed up my sleep on a number of occasions, but . . . I never complained about it because it was just once a week and involved maybe 10 people tops.

Had that group grown to 20 . . . I dunno . . . I might have been the asshole neighbor in the story.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[jakee 1,254]

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I was saved, that is I knew that I knew I was saved, at Mono Lake in Lee Vining, CA on 16 Mar 81. The sense of love, acceptance, safety and peace of mind was overwhelming. From that moment on I have been compelled to share that experience whenever possible. I have appeared on national and local TV, local radio, ran Bible study groups, had a private Christian counseling practice and started various ministries. The one thing I have had impressed upon me is, you can talk about anything as long as you don't mention Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

There is something about that name.

We may soon be as the first century Christians, underground covert witnesses, drawing half a circle in the sand to see if the other person completes the other half, making the fish symbol.

Really? Do you honestly feel that in AMERICA Christians are being hunted down and now have to have an underground movement in order to survive?

Really?!?

Never underestimate the paranoia of the ruling majority.

They're so used to power that for them losing control probably does feel like being persecuted.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[LyraM45 0]

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just the whole "government telling us what we can and can't do in the privacy of our homes" thing is all....

I get the feeling that this wasn't about what was going on inside the house. If somebody has 20 cars parked out front of their little duplex or rancher in a very tight residential neighborhood at the same time once or twice a week, no matter what kind of meeting it was, I can see neighbors getting angry. (especially after it causes an accident) Now, I don't know if it were that many cars, or if it was in a tiny neighborhood, or if the guy that got his car hit went through the proper channels by calling the police and then turned around and did this stunt as icing on the cake. Either way, there is a possibility that this has nothing to do with what was going on inside the house, and its just a grouchy neighbor with a bug up their bum who decided to get the zoning officer to split hairs and enforce the zoning code. Do I think its a little rediculous? Probably.... but they also might be legally right if the group is violating zoning issues by crowding that street the same time every week. It's a technicality.

Apologies for the spelling (and grammar).... I got a B.S, not a B.A. :)

[quade 3]

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Never underestimate the paranoia of the ruling majority.

They're so used to power that for them losing control probably does feel like being persecuted.

But that's the thing, Christians aren't in the minority and haven't "lost control" of the country.

WTF?

Wanna be persecuted? Try being one of the less popular religions, like maybe Muslim or none at all, but to even suggest that there's some governmental war on Christianity is simply paranoid delusion.

Tell me how long it would take say on September 12, 2001 for the cops to have visited a house with 20 cars parked in front of it having a Muslim prayer meeting in most neighborhoods and how that meeting would have gone down.

Most people don't have a clue about real persecution, yet they can certainly seem to have all the paranoia in some instances.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver