Couple Ordered to Stop Holding Bible Study at Home Without Permit
Couple Ordered to Stop Holding Bible Study at Home Without Permit
Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary have been told that they cannot invite friends to their San Diego, Calif. home for a Bible study — unless they are willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to San Diego County.
“On Good Friday we had an employee from San Diego County come to our house, and inform us that the Bible study that we were having was a religious assembly, and in violation of the code in the county.” David Jones told FOX News.
“We told them this is not really a religious assembly — this is just a Bible study with friends. We have a meal, we pray, that was all,” Jones said.
A few days later, the couple received a written warning that cited “unlawful use of land,” ordering them to either “stop religious assembly or apply for a major use permit,” the couple’s attorney Dean Broyles told San Diego news station 10News.
But the major use permit could cost the Jones’ thousands of dollars just to have a few friends over.
For David and Mary Jones, it’s about more than a question of money.
“The government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion,” Broyles told FOX News. “I believe that our Founding Fathers would roll over in their grave if they saw that here in the year 2009, a pastor and his wife are being told that they cannot hold a simple Bible study in their own home.”
“The implications are great because it’s not only us that’s involved,” Mary Jones said. “There are thousands and thousands of Bible studies that are held all across the country. What we’re interested in is setting a precedent here — before it goes any further — and that we have it settled for the future.”
The couple is planning to dispute the county’s order this week.
If San Diego County refuses to allow the pastor and his wife to continue gathering without acquiring a permit, they will consider a lawsuit in federal court.
May 30, 2009 @ 15:19:10
This is bloody hilarious, they actually think they are above the law because it is about religion?
But this can have disturbing consequences. If they get their way, it would open a possibility to “unlawfully use” anything, as long as it is in the name of religion…
May 30, 2009 @ 18:15:03
bigup San Diego County! It’s about time something starts getting done about these religious nutbags. First we keep them from gathering in homes, next stop the churches, and with any luck in 20 years they’ll just be a distant memory.
May 30, 2009 @ 18:30:02
This is absolutely against free speach and freedom of religion, especially in the privacy of their own home. Whoever issued that order should pay the family’s permit or go to prison. People are entitled to believe in anything they want as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else. San Diego County is just trying to make some money believe me.
May 31, 2009 @ 12:12:02
“This is a land issue,” [county Chief Administrative Officer Walt] Ekard stated, and not an issue of religious expression.
“I deeply regret that a routine code enforcement issue has transformed into a debate over religious freedom in San Diego County,” he said.
The county had received complaints from a neighbor about traffic and parking issues resulting from the weekly Bible studies, Ekard noted.
Pastor Jones believes the complaint was prompted when a Bible study member hit the car belonging to a neighbor’s visitor. Jones paid for the car damage.
Jun 01, 2009 @ 12:28:52
Pay attention!!! Just because you don’t choose to
exercise a given right doesn’t mean the removal
of that right won’t affect you.
Jun 01, 2009 @ 14:31:01
I find that very disturbing. It is in a person’s free speech and right to religion to have Bible studies if they want. I’m not a Christian and I don’t agree with a lot of the things a fair few of them have said, but they still have the right to worship in their home just as I have the right to hold a movie and game night. This country is taking things way to far when it comes to faith or no faith or some faith or whatever the hell they’ll be fighting about tomorrow. Who the hell cares if they believe in an invisible sky man, a green lady that plant’s trees, or even Jeff the god of biscuits…just continue eating you toaster strudel and shut the hell up. We need to put more of our energies to making sure they keep their beliefs out OUR living rooms and not wasting it on whether or not some old fart and his wife hold it in THEIRS.
Jun 02, 2009 @ 08:03:59
I agree with Gwydion. They have their own right to do whatever that pleases them as long as they TRY to maintain peace and quiet.
It is really important to understand that as athiests or whatnot, we should not be getting ahead of ourselves and begin developing certain antagonisms towards those of religious faiths. They too are people. Requiring guidance as they may (we may be fortunate enough to be educated and driven, but there are many people out there who are really living in desperate conditions), they should not be treated any differently!
Jun 02, 2009 @ 08:07:50
If they were in violation of county law they should move to have that law changed and not simply expect to be able to have an assembly in their basement just because it’s a religious thing.
Jun 03, 2009 @ 22:36:12
Wow. I’m impressed at some of the commentary. Leave those people alone. It is bad enough that the only real place we can go anymore to debate religion is online. What’s next? Is someone going to tell me and a few of my friends that we are practicing atheism(whatever that might mean) without a permit if we decide to sit around my dinner table and talk about the evils of religion? So long as they aren’t clogging up the neighborhood with massive amounts of cars AND so long as they are paying their taxes I don’t see what the big deal is here.