This is all over the news lately.
Father of six faces 60 days behind bars for hosting Bible study in his OWN home against city rules.
If you have been following my blog you know I am a professed Christian. Just for the record right up front, I think this preacher is wrong. He is seriously wrong. While the entire world is increasing in acts of rebellion and anger at authority I believe a man of God should be setting an example for the world. Romans 13 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God.”
I especially believe one who claims to be a preacher which comes with a high level responsibility outlined by the Lord should be submitting to authority and showing the world how a Christian lives differently.
“The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the affairs of man; and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?”, Benjamin Franklin.
To all my fellow Christians, be careful, the world is watching us.
Read the news release and then I will continue: 
A Phoenix man who held weekly Bible studies at his home has had the book thrown at him over the religious gatherings. Michael Salman (pictured at right) has been sentenced to two months in jail and more than $12,000 in fines because the group sessions at his home were against the city’s building code, Fox News Radio reported.
“They’re cracking down on religious activities and religious use,” Salman told Fox News Radio. “They’re attacking what I as a Christian do in the privacy of my home.”
Vicki Hill, Phoenix’s chief assistant city prosecutor, said religious freedom had nothing to do with it and that it was a matter of public safety.
“Any time you are holding a gathering of people continuously, as he does – we have concerns about people being able to exit the facility properly in case there is a fire,” Hill told Fox News Radio. “It came down to zoning and proper permitting.”
Since 2007, The Salman family has fought to say the building in their backyard is for private worship, but Phoenix officials say its run as a church, and not up to code.
The battle between Salman and the city of Phoenix is a longstanding feud. Hill said that Salman’s neighbors complained of the gatherings back in 2007 because they were causing too much traffic congestion. Originally, about 15 people would attend the Bible studies, Fox News Radio reported.
But that number began to grow, and that’s when Phoenix officials sent Salman a letter saying that his living room gatherings were in violation of the city’s building codes.
When he didn’t stop hosting the groups, the Phoenix Fire Department broke up a Good Friday gathering Salman was hosting at his home in 2008 in which there were as many as 20 people in the backyard.
Salman then decided to construct a 2,000-square-foot building in his backyard and move the gatherings there. He said that he applied for and was granted the appropriate permits for the building. Hill, however, said that the permits Salman received were for converting his garage into a game room.
Finally, in 2009, a dozen cops raided Salman’s home and charged him with 67 code violations for hosting the gatherings. Since then, the courts have sided with the city, saying that Salman was using the building as a church and, therefore, was subject to city zoning laws. “He built a structure that he said wasn’t a church that is, in fact, a church,” Hill told Fox News Radio.
“The state is not saying that the Salmans can’t run a church or have worship services at the location,” read a Jan. 4, 2010, Arizona court ruling. “But the state is saying that if they do so, they must do it properly and in accord with fire and zoning laws.”
Salman doesn’t buy the court’s argument and has claimed that Phoenix officials are discriminating against him for his religious beliefs.
“If I had people coming to my home on a regular basis for poker night or Monday Night Football, it would be permitted,” he told Fox News Radio. “But when someone says to us we are not allowed to gather because of religious purposes – that is when you have discrimination.
Salman’s attorney is appealing the ruling and Salman’s sentencing, but unless a federal court intervenes, Salman will begin serving his sentence on July 9. End of news release.
Ok, so this man and his followers have garnered the attention of the entire United States. I wonder if he is proud of the scene he is making. The officials said publicly they didn’t care if Mr. Salman ran a church there as long he goes through the proper channels.
Christ said that Christians are to be the “light of the world” and the “salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13-16). They are always to shine as outstanding examples to the world. This includes a humble willingness to cheerfully obey all civil governments under which they find themselves. I have reviewed enough of this case to know that this preacher is holding regular and consistent meetings to preach and study the word of God and to fellowship together. (Sounds like a church) I reviewed photos of his property and there is a cross in front marking the property clearly for all to see and there is a pulpit in the meeting room. (Looks like a church) I usually say if it looks like duck, walks like duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. I have no idea why this man is rebelling against the city ordinances and crying discrimination but it looks to me as though he is wrong. Besides, didn’t anyone tell him that once you become a child of God the persecution would begin?
Continued… Click here to read part 2.
“The Tubthumper”