Yeah, no. Che Ahn is one of the more egregious false teachers of our day but he is also wrong on the merits here. Virtual assembly, while not ideal, is certainly a plausible temporary replacement. Not to mention, no one said they could not assemble! Just that they need to protect themselves if they did. As for the lawyer - who cares? You cannot address biblical issues by trying to find legal loopholes. What's the message then from McClure? Because we do not think the mask mandate was applied evenly, we are not going to comply? Is that the issue at hand? Shouldn't a pastor care about his sheep more than legally nuance arguments after the fact?
"This is not the first time that Pastor Mike McClure and his church have been the target of the California court system. The AP reports that "The church and its pastors were previously held in contempt of court and fined for violating limits on indoor public gatherings. But a state appellate court reversed those decisions last year, saying that the restrictions on indoor worship services were stricter than for secular activities such as going to grocery stores." As the world continues recovering not only from the pandemic but the government overreach that resulted in massively restricted freedoms for the entire world, there are radical government entities still targeting Christians and their houses of worship to this day." - Charisma News
Let's make sure we are straight about some things here. Pastor McClure and his church are not targets of the court system. They are violators of law. That would be like robbing a store and then feeling indignant because the police targeted you by arresting you. There are mechanisms built into our system for disagreement, starting at the ballot box. We cannot just randomly decide what laws we will and will not follow. The church especially cannot due to the key verses today. People do not see a shining city on a hill in San Jose California. They see a whiny petulant child stamping their feet up and down like a snowflake because the bill for their disobedience has come due. They should be thankful because this is just the carnal bill. The eternal bill is still pending.
"Satan is relentless, and he will stop at nothing to intimidate Christians from worshipping God. This stripping of freedom is not overt though, it is often disguised to help keep people safe from an outside threat even when the restrictions turn out to be more harmful than the threat they are established to prevent. Lift up all Christians around the world who are being persecuted today for their faith, and pray that the Lord give them the strength and provision to endure and persevere in the face of these attacks." - Charisma News
Stop with the faux-persecution and pearl clutching! No one tried to stop Christians from worshipping! They just tried to stop them from spreading a lethal contagion. The state wanted them to continue to worship but to also care about each other and their fellow man at the same time and the church said no. This story from a Christian perspective has nothing to do with the stripping of freedoms. It had to do with a church that thought they were a tough guy and thumbed their nose at society and government for daring to try and limit the amount of deaths from a worldwide pandemic. Each week they held service, maskless, and not socially distanced they were racking up fines for ignoring the law. They were told this over and over again. They did not care. Now that the bill has come due, it seems they are trying to care by avoiding their personal responsibility. Real Christian are being persecuted across the globe every day for their faith. From the underground church in China to the abuses in the Sudan. People facing execution for refusing to renounce Christ in the Middle East. How insulting that these snowflake pastors cry persecution for being asked to wear a mask. Unconscionable. They will answer for the blood on their hands. Until then, mark and avoid.
Reverend Anthony Wade - April 25, 2023
