The Church Has Left the Building

For quite some time, there are lawmakers and judges who have restricted the freedom of religious expression for which brave Americans have laid down their lives. But, our culture is in such a sad state right now that we need the presence and principles of Almighty God. Proverbs 29 states:
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
3 Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, But a companion of harlots wastes his wealth.
4 The king establishes the land by justice, But he who receives bribes overthrows it.

OK, public officials decided that a church in Dillon, Colorado that had been holding Sunday services at a local amphitheater could no longer use the facility.  You know, separation of church and state.  So, by denying this usage, the church's First Amendment rights have been violated.  Why create a crisis when there may not have been one in the first place?

CBS News reported on its website:

For years, the Dillon Community Church held Sunday services at the Dillon Amphitheater, but the legality of the practice is being questioned.

The town's now-former attorney Kathleen Kelly advised Dillon Town Council to change its policy regarding the church to avoid violating freedom of religion protections. The council initially ignored this advice but has since reversed course, now halting the church services and looking into a new policy for amphitheater use among nonprofits.

Of course, you don't have to look very far to see the Freedom from Religion Foundation attempting to pull some strings. The article notes:

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the town, highlighting its vulnerability to lawsuits if the church truly is being given special treatment compared to other nonprofits. The FFRF argues that other nonprofit groups should have the chance to rent the amphitheater and that the church should pay the same rental rate, if there is a cost at all.

Summit Daily reported:

Back in April, Kelly and Dillon events and recreation director Jessie Klehfoth brought this to the Town Council’s attention, suggesting that the town formalize a policy for religious, political and other outside groups looking to rent the amphitheater. Klehfoth at the time said the amphitheater has grown to be “widely popular” and that many different religious, political and private groups have asked to use the space.

The council rejected a "draft proposal" that would have limited use of the facility to events that are sponsored by the town. After initially voting to continue to allow the church to use the amphitheater, it reversed course and decided that while this new policy was being drafted, there would be no further rentals.  

Citizens gathered in a council meeting to voice their opinion; the article notes that, "At least one public speaker noted that another legal group, the First Liberty Institute, had sent a letter to the Town Council, opining that the decision to allow the church to use the amphitheater doesn’t violate the First Amendment."

This is yet another example, apparently, of a church being singled out for engaging in religious activity. Under the guise of "separation of church and state," which is not a phrase that appears in the U.S. Constitution, as it's been repeatedly pointed out, religious speech and activities have been curtailed simply because the nature of the expression is religious. We see it here, we've seen it in graduation speeches, and saw it in the case of a football coach who demonstrated his love for God by praying at midfield after games. 

In an excellent commentary on The Meeting House recently, Nicole Hunt of Focus on the Family and The Daily Citizen, shared how the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in favor of Coach Kennedy's religious speech has completed a shift in jurisprudence regarding what is an unconstitutional expression of religion and what is not - the shift came in the Kennedy case to allow for "historical practices and understandings." This has, as she related, opened the door for Louisiana and potentially other states to require the Ten Commandments, which is a basis for American law, to be posted in public school classrooms. 

For the believer in Christ, we should not shy away from expressing ourselves.  If we believe that our governmental officials are wrongly clamping down on religious speech and activities, we can make our appeal to our civic leaders, and if they will not listen, then contact a Christian legal organization that makes free speech a priority.   

We need a Biblical, moral voice in our culture now like never before - when dealing with a host of issues from crime in our streets to immoral materials in libraries to preserving the sanctity of life and marriage, we can be actively pursuing the promotion of Biblical morality - collectively, in our society, we need it.