Ariz. town: No church meetings at home. Period.

Image via Wikipedia

Be sure to see the letter here.
http://www.telladf.org/UserDocs/OATCGilbertLetter.pdf
“Christian church groups shouldn’t be singled out for discrimination and banned from meeting in their own homes,” said ADF Litigation Counsel Daniel Blomberg. “The interpretation and enforcement of the town’s code is clearly unconstitutional. It bans 200,000 Gilbert residents from meeting in their private homes for organized religious purposes—an activity encouraged in the Bible, practiced for thousands of years, and protected by the First Amendment.”

clipped from www.adfmedia.org ADF attorneys appeal town of Gilbert’s use of zoning code to shut down small house church GILBERT, Ariz. — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys filed an appeal Wednesday with the town of Gilbert’s zoning Board of Adjustment to overturn a decision banning churches from meeting, holding Bible studies, or having any other activities in private homes. The pastor of the seven-member Oasis of Truth Church received a cease-and-desist letter ordering him to terminate all religious meetings in his home, regardless of their size, nature, or frequency. Sutherland stopped the home meetings in December and requested a clarification of the restrictions from the town zoning administrator the next month. The initial informal response was followed in February by a zoning interpretation letter--offered at a $305 fee--confirming the alleged basis of the ban. The church currently holds its Sunday meetings at a local school, where it can only meet for one weekly service due to rental costs.

Related articles by Zemanta

• ADF Defends Against Home Church Ban (dakotavoice.com)
• Gilbert Arenas Is Now 'Agent 006' (ballhype.com)
• 'Why Does Glenn Beck Hate Jesus?' (huffingtonpost.com)

State takes custody of 7-year-old over homeschooling

clipped from www.wnd.com Social workers have been visiting a Swedish couple whose son was "abducted" by government agents last year because he was being homeschooled, but that's not necessarily a good sign, and now two major rights organizations are exploring options to reunite the family. The Home School Legal Defense Association and members of the Alliance Defense Fund have been advising Christer and Annie Johansson on the "state-napping" of their son, Dominic, 7, from an airliner as the family was preparing to move to India last year. "HSLDA and the Alliance Defense Fund are jointly advising the family and exploring all available avenues to help reunite Dominic with his family," the HSLDA  said in a published statement. "Swedish social workers have recently visited Christer and Annie and inquired about their current ability to take care of Dominic The parents are allowed to see their son for 60 minutes every fifth week.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Swedish government seizes child from home-schooling family (deaconforlife.blogspot.com)
• In memory of Chris Klicka (thankevann.com)
• State Homeschool Requirements (blisstree.com)
• U.S. Federal Judge Agrees Germany Violated Basic Human Rights of Homeschoolers (deaconforlife.blogspot.com)
• A New Basis for U.S. Asylum Claims: Homeschooling (time.com)
• Homeschool regulation must be a top priority for the Obama administration (endhereditaryreligion.com)
• How To Get Started Homeschooling (howcast.com)

CNSNews.com - Hate-Crimes Law Named No.1 Anti-Christian Act of 2009

Image by The Alex Jones Show via Flickr

• CNSNews.com - Hate-Crimes Law Named No.1 Anti-Christian Act of 2009

  "(CNSNews.com) - The new federal hate crimes law has all the potential to be a major attack on religious liberty and freedom of speech, according to top religious liberty attorneys. The law was chosen the number one anti-Christian act of 2009 by the Christian Anti-Defamation League. Attorneys who defend religious rights agree: The recently enacted hate-crimes law is a threat to religious liberty. “The very fact that this law elevates ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ to the same protected status as race – that in and of itself is a cataclysmic shift in policy,” said Mathew Staver, president of the religious liberty law firm Liberty Counsel and dean of the Liberty University Law School. “That will have a ripple effect far beyond the specific words of this bill,” he added. “That is contrary to our Judeo-Christian heritage and beliefs, far beyond any particular disclaimer that it is not going to affect speech.” Erik Stanley, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, which is based in Scottsdale, Ariz., said the hate-crimes law is not about punishing crimes. It’s about punishing beliefs and ideas. “It is actually a thought-crimes law,” Stanley said. “There is no difference between, say, an assault that is already punishable, and an assault that is punishable as a hate crime, other than the belief of the perpetrator.” "

  tags: hatecrimes, cnsnews, US, Law, Global, Government, Attack, on, Religion, Christianity, prophecy

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Will New Hate Crimes Law Threaten Religious Liberties? (usnews.com)
• Does the Hate Crimes Bill Threaten Religious Liberties? (usnews.com)
• Having Faith in the Hate-Crimes Bill (swampland.blogs.time.com)
• Pat Robertson denounces hate-crimes bill, falsely claims it doesn't cover religious bias (crooksandliars.com)