Jail Time for Bible Study

Discussion in 'Christian Issues' started by JosieB, Jul 8, 2012.

  1. JosieB

    JosieB Active Member

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  3. Brooke

    Brooke New Member

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    I saw that on Foxnews.com and was outraged until I read to the end where it says he built a building and everything, but he isn't calling it a church. I'll have to read the article you posted and see what angle it is written from. Fox News wanted us to be outraged--and it work until I got down to the part where he really is trying to skirt the city's zoning regulations. If it had only been a Bible study I don't think it would have gotten so ridiculous.
     
  4. Birbitt

    Birbitt New Member

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    I have to agree with Brooke on this one. He deliberately tried to avoid complying with city laws, and that is where he got into trouble. In this case he's using religion to try and get people outraged at the treatment he's receiving. You have to think from the other side though, what if a fire had broken out in that building he built? Would everyone have been able to escape safely, were there fire extinguishers? sprinklers? Enough space to allow for ingress and egress safely? There are certain procedures that need to be followed in order for this to work properly, and had it just been a simple Bible study in his living room this would not have been an issue. I know many people here in the Phoenix area that hold small group studies in their homes and it's not a problem, because the CHURCH service is held at CHURCH, the mini groups meet in homes weekly or bi-weekly and it's not a problem.
     
  5. Emma's#1fan

    Emma's#1fan Active Member

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    Assuming the article is accurate, then I think the man is wrong! IF he did not get permits to operate a church, he is going against building codes and giving Christians a black eye. Whether he likes it or not, codes exist. There are many church houses in my city and they all have a permit to operate out of their homes as long as they are NOT disturbing the neighbors, holding up traffic, or basically disturbing everyday life. The same applies to Bible studies or any gathering that takes place on a regular basis.

    There was a house on the next street that had numerous of parties, at least one a week. They were loud, had numerous people attending (over 100 people), and cars were blocking the streets. After one party got out of control and two people were killed, the city restricted the people to one party every other month with a temporary permit. IF they wanted to have more, they needed to get the signature of surrounding neighbors to make sure the neighborhood was not disrupted by traffic, all night music, and an influx of party goers and trouble makers.



    While I believe that some people are trying to silence Christians, I do not see this as the case in this story, at least not from what I read.
     
  6. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    I read one some time ago that somebody was ... arrested and fined? ... in trouble, anyway, for having Backyard Bible Studies for kids in his own yard. Is this the same person? BBS is kind of like VBS, only you do it in someone's yard instead of at church, and it's usually just a small team of people (like a husband/wife or a couple of mamas) and a smallish number of kids, instead of huge numbers at a church, and it would include all ages in one group instead of breaking it out to age-groups like at a church.
     
  7. Actressdancer

    Actressdancer New Member

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    I've read a number of articles like this one, where the small group IS actually meeting in the home itself (not a building like the guy in Phoenix built). So it really stinks that this man is crying wolf when so many others are staring at snarling teeth.
     
  8. JosieB

    JosieB Active Member

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    I think this is the same guy I heard about a while back. But I don't know all the details. There is always a spin on every news story.

    Like, did he build the building to start a 'church' or did he build it because holding it in his house was an issue?

    Either way I can see both sides. As Christians we should obey laws that don't go directly against God's Word. But then again, it's those grey areas that we let slide that start the downfall...like taking prayer out of school, I believe was the first step to getting secular humanism into the schools, by letting that 'grey' area slide we opened our schools up to be a training ground for the indoctrination of our children into many things that go against the word of God.
     
  9. Emma's#1fan

    Emma's#1fan Active Member

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    I understand what you are saying and I agree that as Christians we can't allow things to slide when it comes to Christ. However, according to the article, the man was being dishonest. We are to follow the example of Jesus. Nowhere in scripture did Jesus attempt to deceive the government in order to accomplish the plans of the father. My point being, this isn't about grey areas or about Christians allowing this to slide. This is about a man being dishonest in his attempts to run a Bible study or church through his home. I believe that God will open doors according to his plan. We do not need to be dishonest to accomplish God's will. If this is the case, then I would have to ask whose plan it was to begin with.

    This is just my opinion, but I do not believe this is a grey area. Again, I am only going by what I read in the article. Perhaps the man is being completely honest and we just aren't reading the other side of the story. This is always a possibility when it comes to articles. :)
     
  10. JosieB

    JosieB Active Member

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    I agree. I always read all news articles with a grain of salt ;) You never get the whole story, becuase there or words, space and time limits on news stories. :confused: then you have the personal spin of the journalist.
     

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