What has this country come too?
Pastors being arrested for holding services? Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Has the country really gone so far as arresting preachers? If you read my other article about closing churches during this pandemic, you may think you know how this article will go… but you would be wrong. When I heard this news I immediately questioned it. I am a Christian through and through and support churches that are staying open. It isn’t what I would do, but I support them doing it. I was outraged when I saw the news that some of the governors were saying that if churches tried to hold services they would close the church and fine them and maybe even close them permanently. Then I heard about them arresting Pastors and I knew that it had gone too far. I spoke to my wife about it who agreed, but when I started speaking with friends they said that they think that during this time of national crisis, public safety is critical, that rights don’t matter.
It is extremely concerning to me that people actually feel this way. I have heard it repeated several times by news organizations and people in government but, that doesn’t make it true. That’s when I knew that this week’s article would be about this. Rights do matter. Making any of our rights illegal during a public safety concern is a slippery slope. Right now its a real issue dealing with the lives of people, but 2 months from now it could be “Global Warming” or any number of things that the government makes up to take away our Rights. If the government wants to adjust our rights they need to ratify the constitution. Making laws to do that does not work. Even if the courts somehow decided that this is acceptable, that is just the government giving itself permission to do something it clearly doesn’t have the ability to do.
Our Rights Are Clear
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution clearly states our rights here. “The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The governors of states, the mayors of cities, the courts and even the President of the United States Of America do not have the ability to stop our worship by force.
If you are one of the people in the government passing these laws, I say to you, did you not take an oath to uphold the constitution? Does your oath mean nothing? If you are a police officer of any kind, did you not take an oath to protect the constitution? I call on you now to see the error in your ways and repent. Call back your laws. Apologize for suggesting or creating them. If you are a police officer tasked with arresting a pastor or closing the doors of a church, I call on you to disobey your orders. Stand in protest to them. If you are a member of a church that is not shuttering its doors and your Pastors being arrested, I call on you stand in protest should one of these events happen at your church. I may not be able to physically stand next to you, but you have my full support.
Closing
Remember that the bible tells us that we should not fear because if we fear we don’t love/trust in God. 1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.” We should, however, remember that we need to be cautious. The life we live every day has a certain amount of risk in (now more than ever) and weighing the risks is the most important part. I recommend worshiping from home if possible. If attending church is a risk worth taking for you, please exercise caution. Try to keep some distance from other people, don’t shake hands, and if you think you need to wear a mask.
God Bless