Now, this is certainly interesting.
The church, of course, has a long history of illegal home churches. From the early Christians to the Anabaptists in the 16th century, Christians have often had to ‘illegaly’ meet in their homes. And, of course, the penalty was often death. So, perhaps the 60 days in jail Pastor Michael Salmon received (along with the rather steep fine) isn’t so bad. Granted, that’s not the issue. The issue here (as it was not the case in the early church or for the Anabaptists) revolves around safety codes. Whether or not that matters may or may not be a moot point.
Here’s the article which includes some videos, so check them out:
CHRISTIAN FINED & SENTENCED TO 60 DAYS IN JAIL OVER AZ HOME BIBLE STUDIES
By Billy Hallowell, The Blaze
We’ve told you before about government regulations hampering home Bible studies, but this story is even more pervasive, perplexing and complicated than the others. Michael Salman, who lives in Phoenix, Ariz., has been sentenced to a startling 60 days in jail, given a $12,180 fine and granted three years probation for refusing to stop hosting Bible studies at his home. Why, you ask? He‘s apparently in violation of the city’s building code laws.
Continue reading the article here:
Now, I wonder . . . if these folks were not fundamentalists would our initial reaction (whatever that may be) be any different? I used to meet in a house church (Mennonite) in Evanston, IL. I have no idea what the laws were in Evanston, and if the pastor did know I assume we would have complied (insofar as it did not rail against our basic convictions about what it means to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar). So, this, if anything, is certainly interesting.
Personally, I’d much rather him kept it ‘in-house’–especially, if his only other option is confronting people ‘with Jesus’ on the street.
(My apologies to the fine Zach Hunt over at The American Jesus–you beat me to the punch in posting this story. You don’t waste anytime, my friend!)