How big is his back yard ?
Looks like a church already, to me.
Nice Driveway.
Maybe he just needs more room.
I knew there had to be more to the story.
How big is his back yard ?
Looks like a church already, to me.
Nice Driveway.
Maybe he just needs more room.
He's already built a small building in his back yard - not a church. He built it because he was told he could not have bible studies in his house.
He has over four acres of land. His house and land are well separated from neighbors.
He uses the little building in the back to host a weekly bible study. The building is sound proof, and nothing that goes on in the building can be heard by neighbors. All cars coming to his house are parked on his property. The neighbors are the jerks here, not this man or his family.
This is a glaring example:
This country was settled by people who wanted the freedom to practice their faith as they saw fit. But there's a reason the Pilgrims had to get out of Europe, and it's the same reason Michael Salman is encountering so much resistance from his neighborhood.
At the time the pilgrims left England, there was a state run church. Those who didn't want to follow the exact edicts of the church were imprisoned and executed. That isn't even close to what is going on here, so the mere comparison is evidence of the writer being a whacked out prejudiced nit-wit.
Being imprisoned for being a unreasoned lout, IS NOT the same thing as being imprisoned or executed because you disagree with a dictate of the state church.
What drives this man, or his specific behaviors that differ from that of the writer, are also unrelated to this matter, in that this is not why the man is being taken to task by the law. We shouldn't be reviewing his fervor here. We should be reviewing what he has done that warrants intervention. Unfortunately this is a point lost on the writer of the Rest of the Story. Fervor is only a problem when it is forced on others.
The fact that this guy is on fire, isn't the problem. His religion isn't the problem. The fact he wants to witness to others isn't either. It's when the pursuit of his rights begins to push back the rights of others, that a problem arises. And that is what should be addressed, without the personal barbs.
Congregating should be arranged so that the size of the group does not impact other people. A church side room would be appropriate if the group is large. Even then, some consideration should be given to how loud and frequent the meetings will be, and whether neighbors will be impacted too frequently to be considered reasoned.
If a group of four to six wants to meet for prayer meetings or religious study, it should be fine. It would be even better if the host home were switched up among the participants, so that neighbors of one home aren't always subject to noise or a street with no parking spaces on a frequent basis.
As Christians we should expect to have rights, and to be free to exercise them. At the same time, we need to be good neighbors.
The Christian religion is focused in part on witnessing. What type of message is conveyed if a Christian is so careless that he turns his neighbors off not only to him and his group, but in all likelihood to Christ Himself.
Moderation in all things... Salman needs to rethink his approach.
From the article you cited:
“The real problem is that Salman is intent on building a church in his own backyard — and not just any church, but a 4,200-square-foot building that will sit only a few feet from his neighbor’s property line.”
What you fail to mention is that the City gave him grief even when he was holding the Bible studies in his home, before the auxiliary building was erected.
Still he should watch it and consider the case of David Koresh and Waco. The Govment don’t like it when a preacher gets too uppity.
Maybe next they can determine that "s**t is legal tender". Ought to help them out quite a bit.
“False reporting at its finest.”
Good catch!
I think we at FR do ourselves a big disservice when we go off half-cocked jumping to conclusion without knowing the full story.
We’re quick to condemn Obama when he jumps to conclusion about the “stupid” cop that arrested his friend “breaking into his house”, yet so often we do the same.
Glad there are Freepers keeping up on this jerk.
He is an arrogant A-hole pushing his schtick for validation his brand of Christianity is important and through his game seeking relevance.
Dude’s a Bozo and Homie duh Klown Don’t Play Dat Game....