Taking Liberties: Arrested for reading the Bible?
Mar 30, 2012 13:28:12 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Mar 30, 2012 13:28:12 GMT -5
A lot of Christian sites are talking about this, and see it as a terrible thing. If you haven't read the article yet, please do so before continuing on with my post:
Taking Liberties: Arrested for reading the Bible?
By Douglas Kennedy
Published March 29, 2012
The video begins with Mark Mackey opening his Bible.
“Good morning, everyone,” he says to a group of 15 onlookers waiting outside the Hemet California Division of Motor Vehicles. “I would like to read a little bit of the word of God this morning.”
The video, shot in February of last year, ends with Mackey’s arrest.
“You can preach on your own property,” an officer from the California Highway Patrol tells Mackey as he leads him away in handcuffs. “Folks, this is what the United States is coming to,” Mackey says to the crowd, who were standing outside waiting for the DMV to open. “You can talk about anything you want, but you can’t talk about the Bible.”
Mackey is a reverend with Calvary Chapel Hemet, a conservative Christian church that practices an “evangelical ministry,” requiring public testimonials and Scripture readings.
Church officials believe Mackey was arrested because of “Christian bigotry.”
The officer who made the arrest disagrees, claiming he arrested Mackey for preaching to a public audience who had no choice but to listen.
“You’re not allowed to preach here," he told Mackey, “because this is a captive audience.”
Mackey’s lawyer calls that “ridiculous.”
“That doesn’t make sense in America,” says Robert Tyler of Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit law firm which defends Christian Liberties. “If the doctrine of the captive audience is going to apply broad brush, no one is going to be allowed to [preach in] a public park…that’s not America.”
Tyler also points out Mackey was cited for “impeding an open business,” but he points out the DMV wasn’t even open at the time.
“The DMV was closed,” he said. “They had no business arresting him.”
Not so, observes constitutional attorney Dan Conaway, saying those waiting for the DMV doors to open have no choice but to listen to Mackey.
“He's creating an intimidating situation for people who simply want to get their drivers licenses renewed,” says Conaway, who says it’s OK to preach in public, but not when your listeners can’t leave.
“He does not have the right to intimidate others and force them to listen and impede their ability to do normal business activities such as going to the DMV.”
Tyler points out that the “captive audience” statute requires more than simple intimidation.
“Mackey had to be threatening them. Is reading the Bible threatening?”
Tyler says that, in the end, Mackey has simply been charged with trespassing.
How can that be trespassing?” Tyler asks. “This is a public place. He was not blocking or impeding anyone. He was standing over 50 feet from the entrance. This is crazy.”
Mackey sees it in biblical terms.
“The devil is holding everyone captive to do his will," he said as he was led away. “Repent, and trust in Jesus Christ. Judgment Day is coming, folks.”
Video at link:
Read more: www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/29/taking-liberties-arrested-for-reading-bible/#ixzz1qcoeUuqM
Are we supposed to preach the Word and evangelize? Yes, we are. But...these people were a captive audience who had no choice but to have to listen.
Would Jesus have done that? I don't think so. In John 6:66 it says that many walked away from Jesus because they couldn't accept His teachings. Did He run after them, pin them down, and demand they listen? No...He asked His disciples if they were going to leave too.
Note, the authorities didn't say this man couldn't preach at all....it was his choice of venue that was inappropriate.
How would you like it if, like these people, you were someplace where you couldn't leave, and a JW or Mormon came up and started preaching to you? Or a Muslim? Yes, we know we have the truth, and they don't - but is this really the way to go about it?
There used to be a man who stood at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets in NYC every day at lunchtime and preach the Gospel. Many would stop and listen to him...but even more walked away: the choice was theirs.
Personally, I think forcing someone to listen to the Gospel against their will will do more harm than good, antagonize them, and turn them against Christianity.
This reminds me of a woman I spoke to years ago who told me she was being discriminated against, because she got fired for reading her Bible at work. At first I was horrified....but upon questioning her and getting the full story, I learned that she was fired because she wasn't doing her work - she felt it was "more important" to read the Bible. Uh...that's not what she was being paid to do - she was, in essence, stealing from her employer! Reading during her break or at lunch was one thing....spending the time when she should have been working to read the Bible was another.
What do you all think?
Taking Liberties: Arrested for reading the Bible?
By Douglas Kennedy
Published March 29, 2012
The video begins with Mark Mackey opening his Bible.
“Good morning, everyone,” he says to a group of 15 onlookers waiting outside the Hemet California Division of Motor Vehicles. “I would like to read a little bit of the word of God this morning.”
The video, shot in February of last year, ends with Mackey’s arrest.
“You can preach on your own property,” an officer from the California Highway Patrol tells Mackey as he leads him away in handcuffs. “Folks, this is what the United States is coming to,” Mackey says to the crowd, who were standing outside waiting for the DMV to open. “You can talk about anything you want, but you can’t talk about the Bible.”
Mackey is a reverend with Calvary Chapel Hemet, a conservative Christian church that practices an “evangelical ministry,” requiring public testimonials and Scripture readings.
Church officials believe Mackey was arrested because of “Christian bigotry.”
The officer who made the arrest disagrees, claiming he arrested Mackey for preaching to a public audience who had no choice but to listen.
“You’re not allowed to preach here," he told Mackey, “because this is a captive audience.”
Mackey’s lawyer calls that “ridiculous.”
“That doesn’t make sense in America,” says Robert Tyler of Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a non-profit law firm which defends Christian Liberties. “If the doctrine of the captive audience is going to apply broad brush, no one is going to be allowed to [preach in] a public park…that’s not America.”
Tyler also points out Mackey was cited for “impeding an open business,” but he points out the DMV wasn’t even open at the time.
“The DMV was closed,” he said. “They had no business arresting him.”
Not so, observes constitutional attorney Dan Conaway, saying those waiting for the DMV doors to open have no choice but to listen to Mackey.
“He's creating an intimidating situation for people who simply want to get their drivers licenses renewed,” says Conaway, who says it’s OK to preach in public, but not when your listeners can’t leave.
“He does not have the right to intimidate others and force them to listen and impede their ability to do normal business activities such as going to the DMV.”
Tyler points out that the “captive audience” statute requires more than simple intimidation.
“Mackey had to be threatening them. Is reading the Bible threatening?”
Tyler says that, in the end, Mackey has simply been charged with trespassing.
How can that be trespassing?” Tyler asks. “This is a public place. He was not blocking or impeding anyone. He was standing over 50 feet from the entrance. This is crazy.”
Mackey sees it in biblical terms.
“The devil is holding everyone captive to do his will," he said as he was led away. “Repent, and trust in Jesus Christ. Judgment Day is coming, folks.”
Video at link:
Read more: www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/29/taking-liberties-arrested-for-reading-bible/#ixzz1qcoeUuqM
Are we supposed to preach the Word and evangelize? Yes, we are. But...these people were a captive audience who had no choice but to have to listen.
Would Jesus have done that? I don't think so. In John 6:66 it says that many walked away from Jesus because they couldn't accept His teachings. Did He run after them, pin them down, and demand they listen? No...He asked His disciples if they were going to leave too.
Note, the authorities didn't say this man couldn't preach at all....it was his choice of venue that was inappropriate.
How would you like it if, like these people, you were someplace where you couldn't leave, and a JW or Mormon came up and started preaching to you? Or a Muslim? Yes, we know we have the truth, and they don't - but is this really the way to go about it?
There used to be a man who stood at the corner of Wall and Broad Streets in NYC every day at lunchtime and preach the Gospel. Many would stop and listen to him...but even more walked away: the choice was theirs.
Personally, I think forcing someone to listen to the Gospel against their will will do more harm than good, antagonize them, and turn them against Christianity.
This reminds me of a woman I spoke to years ago who told me she was being discriminated against, because she got fired for reading her Bible at work. At first I was horrified....but upon questioning her and getting the full story, I learned that she was fired because she wasn't doing her work - she felt it was "more important" to read the Bible. Uh...that's not what she was being paid to do - she was, in essence, stealing from her employer! Reading during her break or at lunch was one thing....spending the time when she should have been working to read the Bible was another.
What do you all think?