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22 Sep 2011 19:02

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U.S.: A local government cracks down on … wait for it … Bible study

  • San Juan Capistrano, calif. claims it’s a zoning issue. A couple in California has held a number of twice-weekly Bible study meetings in their home, but the city says that went against city zoning codes. So they fined them $300. A spokeswoman for the city says that it was to stop them from “transforming a residential area into a place where people regularly assemble” — but emphasizing that the city was in fact not trying to block people from being able to hold Bible studies. Pacific Justice Institute (a “religious legal non-profit group” which sounds like the ACLU, except for issues of Christian faith) is fully prepared to take this to the Supreme Court “if necessary.” source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2011 11:23

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World: More in Chinese Easter arrests: Many others under house arrest

  • One of the deacons returned to his home last Friday afternoon and the police came to ask him if he planned to attend the Easter Sunday service. He said yes, so the police said from this moment, you cannot leave this house. I spoke to him an hour ago, and he was still not able to leave the house.
  • Shouwang Church member Kathy Lu • Describing what happened to one of the deacons before an attempted Easter service — authorities put him under house arrest. He and hundreds of others, in fact. But what’s absolutely bizarre is that while authorities arrested much of Shouwang Church’s congregation, the nearby Haidian Christian Church — which is state-sanctioned — was able to hold a service without any problems. The split emphasizes some big differences between the two churches — since Shouwang doesn’t tow to China’s regulations, it is “undergound” — a type of church that as many as 50 million Chinese people may take part in. We realize China has an atheist government and everything, but limiting this sort of free expression arbitrarily seems silly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Apr 2011 11:06

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World: Christians in China arrested for trying to hold Easter service

  • 20+ people arrested in Beijing for holding an Easter service source
  • » The church expected this to happen: With China’s officially atheist government completely at odds with any sort of religious celebration, Shouwang Church’s senior pastor, Jin Tianming, appeared ready for retribution for his church’s decision to hold an outdoor mass on Easter. “This is our uncompromising position and a matter of faith,” he said. “If they arrest our followers, this is the price we are willing to pay.” While you guys think of cute bunnies and Easter Eggs, keep in mind that people are still fighting for their right to celebrate this holiday. (UPDATE: We just threw up another post with more context.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Dec 2010 23:37

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Politics: Poor guy: Dude loses joint custody of kids ’cause he’s agnostic

  • The poor guy in this Young Turks/MSNBC joint recently lost joint custody of his kids because he’s agnostic. No, really. The judge in the case cited Craig Scarberry’s (lack of) religion twice in making the decision to rescind the joint custody he had for four years. Anyone else see this as a first amendment/freedom of religion violation? Because we certainly do. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Sep 2010 11:02

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Politics: Should fired Koran-burner have lost his New Jersey state transit job?

Turns out that this dude, who burned pages of the Koran at Ground Zero for some reason, was a New Jersey state employee. And he was fired for his free-speech act. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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