Cops Bully Bible Distributors

Now, Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media.This week’s item is from Christian Post, April 24, 2007, with a headline:“Bible Distributors File Lawsuit After Arrest Police Bullying,” the following are excerpts:Gideon’s International and Evangelical Christian Organization, dedicated to distributing copies of the Bible filed a lawsuit on Friday after members of the organization were arrested for their activities in Florida.Defending the group is the Alliance Defense Fund, or ADF, a legal alliance that defends the right to speak the truth, which is arguing against the unlawful arrest.The Gideon members have been taken into custody because they were within 500 feet of a public school.Free speech in America exists even within 500 feet of public school property, explained ADF Senior Legal Counsel David Courtman, in a statement.Under the First Amendment the Gideons have every right to distribute Bibles on a public sidewalk to those who wish to accept them.There is no legal justification for the continued harassment of peaceful members of the community who wish to hand out Christian literature.The incident took place as members of the Gideon’s Key Largo camp were handing out Bibles outside Key LargoSchool, located on the southern tip of Florida.The group was on a public sidewalk when two of the Gideon’s, Myrtle and Earnest Simpson were approached and taken into custody by MonroeCounty sheriff officers.An arresting officer added that the Gideon’s had no right to be within 500 feet of school property, as well as telling his two detainees that they can pray to Jesus all the way to jail, according to ADF.According to the Gideon’s Key Largo camp, they did not step onto school grounds, and they had contacted the MonroeCounty sheriff’s office beforehand.They also notified school officials on the day of distribution.According to the group both parties had said the activity was allowed.

Tom:

We try to support Gideon’s, we restore some of their Bibles here in Bend, and you couldn’t find a more gentle, considerate group of people.Not only that, but they step out and offer the Word of God to people.I’ve seen them in action, if the student is not interested, there is no following them down and pushing, or in many cases there is no conversation with them, they just have it for them.So, this is a bit outrageous, but we are seeing more and more of this a the time of the Lord draws near.

Dave:

Tom, it is shocking that this is happening, not just this incident but many others here in America.I traveled a bit in the Soviet Union, and in other Communist countries in the iron curtain days, this sounds like something you would experience in the Soviet Union, you couldn’t pass out a Bible on the street.You also sounds like something you would experience in Saudi Arabia.You wouldn’t dare to even carry a Bible in Saudi Arabia.Now, this is, supposedly, a country where we have freedom of speech, freedom of press, and so forth, you have none of that in Saudi Arabia, I’ll guarantee you.You must be a Muslim to be a citizen. But here in the U.S. this was founded by people who believed in the Bible, and now you can’t pass out a Bible on a public sidewalk.Now it could be just a mistake on the part of the arresting officers.Maybe they got their legal matters twisted in their brains, I don’t know.

Tom:

Well, Dave, according to this article it was bad enough for the Alliance Defense Fund to take this to court to stop it from happening again.It doesn’t sound like they just went and it was a misunderstanding, because you know, it’s the Gideons.If it was a misunderstanding, there is no way that they would press this issue.

Dave:

Yeah, so apparently charges were being pressed against them after the school officials and the sheriff’s office had okayed it.Now, Tom, why would this happen?The Word of God is our guide.How do we know about Jesus Christ through the Bible?How do we know the gospel?Well, somebody didn’t just dream it up, it is backed in the Bible by prophecy.It is so solidly proven in the Bible itself that Jesus Christ is God, became a man, lived a perfect sinless life, died for our sins, took the penalty for our sins on the cross, and rose again the third day, and we can prove all of that.Now this is the Book that brings us to life.A man shall not live by bread alone, Jesus is citing from Deuteronomy 8—Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.And we are born again by the Word of God, Peter says, and this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you.So, why is this happening?Because Satan hates the Word of God.He’s got to destroy the Word of God.If he could shut down the freedom of everybody in this world to read the Bible, to know what it says, he’s won a big victory.Of course he’s not going to be able to do that, but I just wanted to point out, that is what is behind this.This is not the sheriff’s department, this is satanic, this is Satan influencing human beings to try to prevent others from knowing God’s Word.

Tom:

Dave, talk about counter-productive, what does a law enforcement agency, what are they all about?They want to keep peace, they want people to obey the laws and rules, and what better vehicle could you have than the Word of God, which tells us to submit to those in authority?

Dave:

Tom, it doesn’t make any more sense than what they were doing in the Soviet Union.And yet, today the new Russia, although there are a lot of problems, they want the Bible in public schools, they want students to be able to consider carefully the Ten Commandments.They recognize—for seventy years they tried to destroy faith in God.You can’t do it, but what God?—that’s the problem, because as you know, now we’ve got all kinds of cults and false ideas coming in, and they’ve got psychics on TV in Russia, and so forth.

Tom:

But again, Dave, it’s the Word of God that gives discernment about those things.

Dave:

Absolutely.What a tragedy we are seeing happen in our own country.

Tom:

And Dave, you remember, I don’t know how many weeks back it was that we even have SWAT teams trying to prevent issues that they place on campuses and so on, but they were using fundamentalist Christians as the enemy, I know, in terms of going through this dramatic scenario.

Dave:

As though fundamentalist Christians would come there with guns and start shooting people.Tom, that again shows some pretty bad prejudice,but this was a simulation, why did they have to choose the enemy as fundamental Christians?