FOLLOW-UP: He was wrong. The police got him before the Rapture. To be fair, his arrest may not stop him from holding services again next Sunday. Stay tuned.
The original story:
“This is the clear and present danger … people continuing to congregate — squeezing into close quarters like sardines — and that’s exactly what happened Sunday at a Florida Church. The River Church in Tampa was packed to the gills with worshipers who clearly were looking for hope. Pastor Rodney Howard-Browne, who presides over the megachurch and has been reportedly defiant over social distancing, has claimed he’ll cure coronavirus just the way he did with Zika.”
Are we in the rapture now?
That would explain a lot of things, Aaron.
…Including Trump still being here.
I think constitutionally this would be OK, it’s “make no law regarding the establishment of religion”. But then the Supremes managed to misconscrew this as a loohole for employers to deny their workers health insurance, so who knows? At a minimum, they could revoke tax waivers for churches that help spread disease.
The 1st Amendment says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” it would be the second portion that I think would be the hinge point. However, I hope that this is not adjudicated at all at this point, and as I said in my earlier post – I don’t think you can justify it on theological grounds.
It may well be that government forcing churches to stop meeting is a violation of 1st Amendment rights, but as a pastor he should be more concerned with protecting the lives of others (to not do so would be a violation of the commandment not to kill). This guy is an irresponsible moron, it is shameful to include him with other people of faith because his incredible corona curing machine just proves him to be a fraudster.
I say all of this as a person of faith, and who is glad that my church is not meeting face to face.
In Reynolds v. U.S., 1878, the Supremes ruled that while the freedom to believe is absolute, the freedom to act on those beliefs is still subject to the laws of the land.
(Obviously. The government is not going to support your religious belief if it requires human sacrifice, cannibalism, etc.)
It would be difficult for a Christian to dispute that point because of that whole pesky “Render unto Caesar” thingy from the mouth of the person whose name is on the masthead.
What some might call a Darwinian solution is in the offing for Pastor Rodney and his parishioners. I only feel bad for any children involved, which is uncharitable of me. On the other hand, the adults who follow him will simply be reaping what they have sown. I wonder what they are like?
No words… The are no words