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Suit: Residents harassed into Bible study
Chicago Sun-Times ^ | 8/9/05 | Natasha Korecki

Posted on 08/09/2005 7:05:40 PM PDT by Crackingham

Residents of a Westmont public housing complex for seniors said in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that they were coerced and harassed by management into practicing Christianity and pressured to attend Bible study classes. Five former and current residents of the complex, along with housing advocate Hope Fair Housing, are suing the complex and its property manager, saying they used "coercive, harassing and restrictive rules and regulations to impose their 'Christian' beliefs upon current residents."

Hope Fair Housing, based in Wheaton, also alleges the complex only invites low-income Chinese tenants and discriminates against any other potential residents.

The defendants in the case include the Illinois Chinese American Residence for the Elderly, 501 N. Cass Ave. in Westmont, Angela Yuan, president of the board of directors, and Providence Management and Development Company Inc.

Elderly non-Christian residents of the 60-unit complex said they live in a "religiously hostile and intimidating environment," where they are barred from using common rooms for anything non-Christian, including card playing, according to the lawsuit.

Plaintiffs Shen Tong Bea Tu, 87, and Yue Ru Lee, 86, who are non-Christian, say they hid in their apartment bathrooms with the lights off every Wednesday so they wouldn't be forced to attend Bible classes.

Other tenants claim in the lawsuit that Yuan visited them individually and demanded they kneel down with her and pray after she learned they had played Mah Jongg, a Chinese game similar to dominoes, in the building.


TOPICS: US: Illinois
KEYWORDS: biblestudy; housing; publichousing; seniors

1 posted on 08/09/2005 7:05:40 PM PDT by Crackingham
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To: Crackingham

Maybe they should have read the fine print...


2 posted on 08/09/2005 7:08:12 PM PDT by Fitzcarraldo
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To: Fitzcarraldo
Maybe they should have read the fine print...

Fine print was too small for fine eyes.

3 posted on 08/09/2005 7:10:09 PM PDT by nwrep
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To: Crackingham
Hmmm....I guess those defendants will receive much harsher treatment than Islamic terrorists, the new American way being what it is...
4 posted on 08/09/2005 7:13:18 PM PDT by KStorm (I'll bet Karl Marx would like some of that opium by now.)
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To: Crackingham

So is evangelism illegal now?


5 posted on 08/09/2005 7:14:09 PM PDT by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Darwinists are slime.)
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To: Crackingham

I guess it's better than having your brains beat out in a Communist prison...


6 posted on 08/09/2005 7:14:10 PM PDT by PetroniusMaximus
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past
So is evangelism illegal now?

You've got a pretty weird definition of evangelism.

7 posted on 08/09/2005 7:18:18 PM PDT by Strategerist
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To: Jeremiah Jr; aculeus; dighton; general_re
Other tenants claim in the lawsuit that Yuan visited them individually and demanded they kneel down with her and pray after she learned they had played Mah Jongg, a Chinese game similar to dominoes, in the building.

What was the penalty for being caught with a Harry Potter book?

8 posted on 08/09/2005 7:23:44 PM PDT by Thinkin' Gal (Wisely investing in quality tin foil wardrobe basics since 1998)
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To: Crackingham

God forbid. I'm sure reading the Bible took them away from their "How To Light a Crack Pipe" manuals.


9 posted on 08/09/2005 7:24:22 PM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of news)
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To: Strategerist

No. I just think this story is one-sided, representing only the plantiffs. Of course I do not think anyone should be pressured into Christianity. I just know that Christians are lied about a lot. We can talk about it again when all the facts come out and both sides are told.


10 posted on 08/09/2005 7:24:50 PM PDT by The Ghost of FReepers Past (Darwinists are slime.)
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To: Crackingham

Guess no one ever told them about the miracle with the fish........


11 posted on 08/09/2005 8:01:00 PM PDT by festus (The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now.)
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

Both sides are told??? You're no fun! : P (Actually, I think you're right. There's more to this story.)


12 posted on 08/09/2005 8:28:01 PM PDT by CO Gal (Liberals, like puppies, are cute to look at, but shouldn't vote...)
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To: festus
> Guess no one ever told them about the miracle with the fish........

What, this fish?


13 posted on 08/09/2005 9:13:45 PM PDT by orionblamblam ("You're the poster boy for what ID would turn out if it were taught in our schools." VadeRetro)
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To: LS
God forbid. I'm sure reading the Bible took them away from their "How To Light a Crack Pipe" manuals.

The story seems to concern elderly Asian people. Maybe they are drug addicts, but it sounds like they just want to play Mah-Jongg without interference.

14 posted on 08/09/2005 9:17:06 PM PDT by Dianna
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To: Dianna

Course, I'm just joking. I don't believe in forcing the Bible on anyone, but I do think that in the case of "faith based" charity, if you take the cheese, you gotta take the manna too (or some metaphor to that effect).


15 posted on 08/10/2005 7:16:57 AM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of news)
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To: Crackingham

This is the WHOLE story????? Nobody can be forced to be a Christian, the individual must choose.


16 posted on 08/10/2005 7:27:03 AM PDT by Just mythoughts
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To: Crackingham; LS
MSM.

Ergo, I doubt it.

No opinion until I hear the rest of the story.

Dan
Biblical Christianity BLOG

PS -- LS... you're naughty today!

17 posted on 08/10/2005 7:33:31 AM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: BibChr

How about, "If you want the cheese, ya gotta take the cheddar?"


18 posted on 08/10/2005 8:36:21 AM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of news)
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To: LS

LOL.

Smell-test Alert: low-income housing... but can afford a lawyer.

Dan


19 posted on 08/10/2005 8:44:05 AM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: BibChr

. . . and an agent, to get them on Oprah!~


20 posted on 08/10/2005 8:45:02 AM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of news)
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