Federal judge asked to allow Gideons scripture distribution
Allie Martin
OneNewsNow.com
June 25, 2007
An attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund says a policy in one Florida city that bans the distribution of Christian literature makes believers out to be second-class citizens. Now a federal judge has now been asked to review and strike the policy that was used earlier this year to intimidate Christians who were handing out Bibles near a public school.
In January, Thomas Gray, a member of Gideons International, was threatened with arrest if he did not stop distributing Bibles within 500 feet of Key Largo School. Gray was told that he had "no right" to be there. Gray, as well as other Gideons, were on a public sidewalk and had notified authorities of the plans. Prior to the distribution, both school officials and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office had said the activity was permissible.
But during the distribution, Gray learned that two of his fellow Gideons had been arrested. After being threatened himself with arrest, Gray contacted the Alliance Defense Fund -- and as spokesman Jeremy Tedesco says, a federal judge has been asked to review the case. Tedesco says the ruling could have a big impact.
"The First Amendment knows no second-class citizen," Tedesco notes. "And more importantly, it protects the right of anybody to use the public sidewalk, to be present on a public sidewalk and to be engaged in speech. And the state certainly can't get away with telling religious people they can't be there, but permitting others to be there."
ADF attorneys have asked for the statute, which could ultimately affect every public school in the Sunshine State, to be struck down.
"You're talking probably thousands of schools," exclaims Tedesco. "They are literally speech-free zones around each one of those schools [under this statute]. All day, every day, people -- including the Gideons -- could be hauled off to jail and prosecuted for engaging in protected First Amendment expression. So this statute needs to be stricken as a violation of the First Amendment."
A decision on the preliminary injunction request could come later this year. The case is Gray v. Kohl.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Angry Mob Assaults Peaceful Christians
Dan Musick’s testimony:
I went to the parade armed with 500+ tracts and my camera. My prayer was for God to show me what He wanted me to do. Before the parade I passed out some tracts. At the parade I took lots of pictures and video, and passed out a few tracts. The sidewalk and area behind the barriers was packed.
After the parade there was a steady flow of crowd traffic so I started passing out the “I Was Gay” tracts. I did this for about an hour, and passed out about 300. Many ended up on the sidewalk.
I experienced every form of mockery you could imagine, but only from one or two at a time at the most. At one point two lesbians were circling me and warning others not to take my tracts. One tore up a tract and threw it at me. Another knocked the tracts out of my hand.
Overall the response was excellent. For every negative there had to be at least three positives — those who came up from behind me when I was turned a different direction to ask for a tract, and many who seemed desperate for some kind of hope as they took the tracts. I saw one or two people bend over to pick up the tracts off the sidewalk.
Several engaged me in serious conversation; there were several opportunities to lay out the gospel. Others just wanted to argue and prove I was wrong.
One man came up and asked what I was doing. I explained I was offering good news for homosexuals by the gospel of Christ and I laid out the gospel for him. I asked if he believed it. He said, “Yes,” and asked if he could join me. He said it was better for him to work with someone and that another person with whom he had teamed up with did not work out.
I stopped, removed my hat and we prayed together, acknowledging that God’s Word would never return void.
He proceeded to unroll a big banner and to strap it to a pole with bungee cords. It was a telescoping pole, and suddenly he lifted the banner up into the sky another 6 feet. It was huge.
He started preaching from a format I had learned called the ”Way of the Master,” a series with Ray Comfort. This stresses the importance of preaching Law before Grace ….
Joe’s approach was loving, clear and direct — a model presentation of the Gospel, beginning with the law and the reality that we have all sinned.
The mood of the place changed suddenly. First a small crowd gathered around us. Joe continued preaching and the crowd grew in size.
Then several things started happening all at once.
First, I remember a bright lady coming up to me and started telling me that what we were doing was wrong. Gays can’t help being who they are; that’s the way God made them; when you call their actions sin you are condemning them. She had the air of a Pharisee — I suspect in hindsight she was a pastor from one of the churches that defends homosexuality as good.
While talking to her, several things began to occur. First, I remember the most sinister laughter, mocking and jeering I have ever heard. The crowd despised Joe’s preaching. People from the crowd were yelling out at us and moving closer to us. Someone from a balcony up above us threw some kind of bottle — I think it was plastic - and hit Joe on his left shoulder. Another man came up and tried to light the banner with his cigarette lighter. While trying to do this someone sprayed beer on both of us and another man poured beer on Joe. At about this point it crossed my mind that we might just be casting our pearls before swine.
I also remembered one point when people were taking pictures of the humiliation they were trying to impose [on us]. One guy stuck up his middle finger in front of the banner and I held up the tract next to him so that would be in the picture as well.
Then one of the men got behind Joe and started to make sexual gestures like he wanted to have anal sex. Then He reached for Joe’s pants to try to take them off.
At this point I abandoned my conversation with the lady to pull the man away from Joe. It was at about that time that someone knocked the tracts out of my hand. Some one else tried to take the pole and banner away from Joe, and I told him to be strong.
At this point it turned into a wrestling match for the banner. The crowd had evolved into a mob. Several hands were grasping the pole supporting the banner. Then those who did not want us there began pulling the banner and us with it into a recessed area or an alley.
At this point I called 911 … I couldn’t remember where we were, just that we were just north of Belmont. Within a minute or so the police were there and shortly thereafter there were 20-40 police.
We got our banner back. I asked the police to defend our free speech rights. He said, “Let’s be practical. There are 400,000 of them and only a handful of us.” He said the banner was inflammatory and that the police could not control the crowd if Joe continued preaching. If he continued preaching he would have to arrest us. I think he was thinking of his duty to protect us.
I told Joe the police had a good point. I was willing to go to jail but I couldn’t see what would be gained by it. It was time to shake the dust off our sandals; they had not received our message. Joe couldn’t see anything to be gained, either, so we agreed to leave.
We thanked the senior officer for his help. I told him, “Sometimes God sends His angels to help us; sometimes He sends the police.” He chuckled, we shook hands, and we left on good terms.
The mob clearly ruled the police at this point; our free speech rights were trampled. But that was a peripheral issue for us at this time. Joe’s passion and concern, which he also expressed to the police, was that those who had mistreated him were going to hell; that was his motivation for wanting to continue preaching to a hostile mob. It was well past my time to reconnect with [other Americans For Truth volunteers] and I felt my time for evangelizing was finished. The thought of evangelizing to assert my free speech rights never occurred to me, and it is, at best, a twisted motive for evangelizing.
Joe and I walked a couple blocks until he had to go a different direction. I thanked him for letting me share in the experience we had there and I hugged him. Suffering together for the Gospel creates a bond that is not easily broken.
This is my story.
Dan Musick
http://www.americansfortruth.org/contact.php
--------------------------------------------------
Joe Christopherson's Testimony:
I Was Attacked By a Homosexual Mob!
I went into Chicago today, to preach the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ at the gay pride parade. After finally finding a good place to park, I made my way down the parade route. The parade was done there but there were thousands of people in the streets.
I walked down the route and met up with and joined a brother [Dan Musick] passing out gospel tracts. I unfurled a fairly new 4-by-6 foot banner I have which says, “Lied, Stolen, Lusted? Homosexual, Fornicator, Drunkard? Repent and call on the Lord Jesus to Escape Hell” (at the bottom is the website: burningheartsoutreach.com). Then I started open-air preaching.
It must have been about 10 to 20 minutes, and a violent crowd formed around us. They were cursing at me like mad dogs. And before it was all over I was basically molested – they handled me in vile ways – trying to pull my pants off (thank God I wear a belt). They tried to burn my banner, steal my banner; my banner and I were soaked with various alcoholic drinks that were hurled at me. They spit and threw something. They bent and tried to steal my banner pole.
A bunch of police showed up and rescued us from the mob. I was assaulted by the crowd but the police threatened me with arrest if I did not leave. Absolutely incredible. It was like Sodom and Gomorrah. “They loved darkness and hated the light.” [John 3:19] I prayed that this sin be not laid to their charge.
Please pray that God will save these lost souls bound in perversion. Jesus is their only hope. I rejoice in the Lord that I was counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. [See Matthew 5:11-13] I only got a couple of scratches so I really didn’t suffer that much at all. Thank You Jesus for your divine protection. And this weekend [I will be preaching at] the “Taste of Chicago.” Thousands to preach to and a much, much less violent crowd; please pray for me and for souls to be won to Christ. Thank you.
In the harvest,
Joe Christopherson, http://www.burningheartsoutreach.com/
I went to the parade armed with 500+ tracts and my camera. My prayer was for God to show me what He wanted me to do. Before the parade I passed out some tracts. At the parade I took lots of pictures and video, and passed out a few tracts. The sidewalk and area behind the barriers was packed.
After the parade there was a steady flow of crowd traffic so I started passing out the “I Was Gay” tracts. I did this for about an hour, and passed out about 300. Many ended up on the sidewalk.
I experienced every form of mockery you could imagine, but only from one or two at a time at the most. At one point two lesbians were circling me and warning others not to take my tracts. One tore up a tract and threw it at me. Another knocked the tracts out of my hand.
Overall the response was excellent. For every negative there had to be at least three positives — those who came up from behind me when I was turned a different direction to ask for a tract, and many who seemed desperate for some kind of hope as they took the tracts. I saw one or two people bend over to pick up the tracts off the sidewalk.
Several engaged me in serious conversation; there were several opportunities to lay out the gospel. Others just wanted to argue and prove I was wrong.
One man came up and asked what I was doing. I explained I was offering good news for homosexuals by the gospel of Christ and I laid out the gospel for him. I asked if he believed it. He said, “Yes,” and asked if he could join me. He said it was better for him to work with someone and that another person with whom he had teamed up with did not work out.
I stopped, removed my hat and we prayed together, acknowledging that God’s Word would never return void.
He proceeded to unroll a big banner and to strap it to a pole with bungee cords. It was a telescoping pole, and suddenly he lifted the banner up into the sky another 6 feet. It was huge.
He started preaching from a format I had learned called the ”Way of the Master,” a series with Ray Comfort. This stresses the importance of preaching Law before Grace ….
Joe’s approach was loving, clear and direct — a model presentation of the Gospel, beginning with the law and the reality that we have all sinned.
The mood of the place changed suddenly. First a small crowd gathered around us. Joe continued preaching and the crowd grew in size.
Then several things started happening all at once.
First, I remember a bright lady coming up to me and started telling me that what we were doing was wrong. Gays can’t help being who they are; that’s the way God made them; when you call their actions sin you are condemning them. She had the air of a Pharisee — I suspect in hindsight she was a pastor from one of the churches that defends homosexuality as good.
While talking to her, several things began to occur. First, I remember the most sinister laughter, mocking and jeering I have ever heard. The crowd despised Joe’s preaching. People from the crowd were yelling out at us and moving closer to us. Someone from a balcony up above us threw some kind of bottle — I think it was plastic - and hit Joe on his left shoulder. Another man came up and tried to light the banner with his cigarette lighter. While trying to do this someone sprayed beer on both of us and another man poured beer on Joe. At about this point it crossed my mind that we might just be casting our pearls before swine.
I also remembered one point when people were taking pictures of the humiliation they were trying to impose [on us]. One guy stuck up his middle finger in front of the banner and I held up the tract next to him so that would be in the picture as well.
Then one of the men got behind Joe and started to make sexual gestures like he wanted to have anal sex. Then He reached for Joe’s pants to try to take them off.
At this point I abandoned my conversation with the lady to pull the man away from Joe. It was at about that time that someone knocked the tracts out of my hand. Some one else tried to take the pole and banner away from Joe, and I told him to be strong.
At this point it turned into a wrestling match for the banner. The crowd had evolved into a mob. Several hands were grasping the pole supporting the banner. Then those who did not want us there began pulling the banner and us with it into a recessed area or an alley.
At this point I called 911 … I couldn’t remember where we were, just that we were just north of Belmont. Within a minute or so the police were there and shortly thereafter there were 20-40 police.
We got our banner back. I asked the police to defend our free speech rights. He said, “Let’s be practical. There are 400,000 of them and only a handful of us.” He said the banner was inflammatory and that the police could not control the crowd if Joe continued preaching. If he continued preaching he would have to arrest us. I think he was thinking of his duty to protect us.
I told Joe the police had a good point. I was willing to go to jail but I couldn’t see what would be gained by it. It was time to shake the dust off our sandals; they had not received our message. Joe couldn’t see anything to be gained, either, so we agreed to leave.
We thanked the senior officer for his help. I told him, “Sometimes God sends His angels to help us; sometimes He sends the police.” He chuckled, we shook hands, and we left on good terms.
The mob clearly ruled the police at this point; our free speech rights were trampled. But that was a peripheral issue for us at this time. Joe’s passion and concern, which he also expressed to the police, was that those who had mistreated him were going to hell; that was his motivation for wanting to continue preaching to a hostile mob. It was well past my time to reconnect with [other Americans For Truth volunteers] and I felt my time for evangelizing was finished. The thought of evangelizing to assert my free speech rights never occurred to me, and it is, at best, a twisted motive for evangelizing.
Joe and I walked a couple blocks until he had to go a different direction. I thanked him for letting me share in the experience we had there and I hugged him. Suffering together for the Gospel creates a bond that is not easily broken.
This is my story.
Dan Musick
http://www.americansfortruth.org/contact.php
--------------------------------------------------
Joe Christopherson's Testimony:
I Was Attacked By a Homosexual Mob!
I went into Chicago today, to preach the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ at the gay pride parade. After finally finding a good place to park, I made my way down the parade route. The parade was done there but there were thousands of people in the streets.
I walked down the route and met up with and joined a brother [Dan Musick] passing out gospel tracts. I unfurled a fairly new 4-by-6 foot banner I have which says, “Lied, Stolen, Lusted? Homosexual, Fornicator, Drunkard? Repent and call on the Lord Jesus to Escape Hell” (at the bottom is the website: burningheartsoutreach.com). Then I started open-air preaching.
It must have been about 10 to 20 minutes, and a violent crowd formed around us. They were cursing at me like mad dogs. And before it was all over I was basically molested – they handled me in vile ways – trying to pull my pants off (thank God I wear a belt). They tried to burn my banner, steal my banner; my banner and I were soaked with various alcoholic drinks that were hurled at me. They spit and threw something. They bent and tried to steal my banner pole.
A bunch of police showed up and rescued us from the mob. I was assaulted by the crowd but the police threatened me with arrest if I did not leave. Absolutely incredible. It was like Sodom and Gomorrah. “They loved darkness and hated the light.” [John 3:19] I prayed that this sin be not laid to their charge.
Please pray that God will save these lost souls bound in perversion. Jesus is their only hope. I rejoice in the Lord that I was counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. [See Matthew 5:11-13] I only got a couple of scratches so I really didn’t suffer that much at all. Thank You Jesus for your divine protection. And this weekend [I will be preaching at] the “Taste of Chicago.” Thousands to preach to and a much, much less violent crowd; please pray for me and for souls to be won to Christ. Thank you.
In the harvest,
Joe Christopherson, http://www.burningheartsoutreach.com/
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