If you haven’t heard the story of preacher Dale McAlpine, then you will want to take notice.  Mr. McAlpine is a British man who preaches on the streets of his hometown in Cumbria.  He was recently arrested by a police officer who told him that it was against the law to preach that homosexual behavior was sinful.

Dale was preaching on April 20 when he was approached by a police officer who warned him not to preach that homosexual behavior was a sin because to do so would be against the law.  Later in the conversation, the police officer identified himself as a person who engages in homosexual behavior and then arrested Mr. McAlpine for creating “harassment, alarm or distress” contrary to Section 5 of the public order act.  I couldn’t help but think of Peter and the Apostles in Acts 5 when I read that Mr. McAlpine was charged and released on bail on the condition that he not preach in public.

As the Christian Institute points out, speech saying that homosexual behavior is sinful is not in violation of the Public Order Act. But something is indeed wrong when a law like the Public Order Act in Britain, which was intended to combat rowdy sports fans, leads to the arrest of someone peacefully sharing their faith.  Indeed, as Kevin Theriot points out, there is an increasing attack on the speech of Christians sharing their faith, not just in places like Britain, but also here in the United States.

That attack comes from many fronts, but primarily is from those espousing the homosexual agenda, which ADF’s President Alan Sears rightly calls “the principal threat to religious freedom today.”  Alan states in his book The Homosexual Agenda that “The bottom line is that the right of people of faith to hold sincere beliefs. . . is under attack unless they are willing to muzzle any expression of their faith.”  And if there are still any doubters about whether what Alan says is true, then just listen to the homosexual activists who have clearly communicated what their end-game strategy is.  Alan quotes in his book homosexual activists Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen who stated, “[In regards to those] who feel compelled to adhere rigidly to an authoritarian belief structure (i.e. an orthodox religion), that condemns homosexuality. . . our primary objective regarding die-hard homohaters of this sort is to cow and silence them.”

Dale McAlpine’s recent run-in with the British constabulary should disturb all of us. While it may not be against the law yet to speak Biblical Truth about issues in our society like homosexual behavior, we must recognize that Truth is under attack.  And for those who tell us that we cannot speak the Truth, we must be prepared to declare, as Peter did so forcefully before the Sanhedrin, “We must obey God rather than men!”

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Last year, Bishop Rick Painter, pastor of Cathedral of Christ the King in Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced to jail for playing the sound of church bells.  The City of Phoenix said he violated a noise ordinance by ringing the church bells and sentenced him to ten days in jail (suspended) and three years of probation.  This case was so astounding that ADF stepped in to represent Bishop Painter and the church to protect their right to ring their church bells.  Little did we know that shortly after stepping in to represent Bishop Painter, the City of Phoenix sent two City Prosecutors and two Police Officers to St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish and threatened the church with prosecution if it did not alter its bell-ringing that had been going on for more than twenty years.

Here’s the kicker – the noise ordinance prohibited the bell sounds but allowed for sounds louder than the bells to go on unchallenged.  Sounds like ice cream trucks and public address systems.  Amazingly, the noise ordinance said it was okay for someone to play music from an ice cream truck at a louder volume and with more frequency than the church bells at these churches.

ADF filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of St. Mark, Cathedral of Christ the King, and First Christian Church in Phoenix who wanted to repair its bell tower but feared prosecution if it started ringing bells again.

A federal judge granted a temporary injunction prohibiting the City from enforcing its noise ordinance against the church bells.  And just recently, the federal court entered an order declaring that the City’s efforts to criminally prosecute churches and pastors for ringing church bells was unconstitutional.  The Court also issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the City from ever using its noise ordinance to censor “sounds generated in the course of religious expression.”

This is a phenomenal win for religious freedom!  No pastor should ever fear being hauled off to jail for ringing church bells – especially since churches have been ringing bells for centuries.

While it is true that this is one case, it is indicative of a growing trend of marginalizing churches and pastors.  The Church as a whole has lost its uniqueness in the eyes of an increasingly secular society and is treated today the same as any other business.  But it is cases like this that should stand as reminders that Churches are unique and special and that our Constitution protects the right of churches to minister and speak freely.

ADF continues to fight to protect the right of the Church to speak and minister freely.  Go to our website and sign up for more information about the Church Project.

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On March 16, 2010, the Ninth Circuit held courts have no jurisdiction to tell churches how much they should be paying their ministers. Courts have long held that the First Amendment creates a ministerial exception for churches. The exception recognizes that government has no business interfering with the relationship between a church and its pastors – whether that be determining whom to hire, the terms of employment, or when they should be fired.
A candidate for the priesthood, Jesus Alcazar, argued this principle shouldn’t apply to him because he wasn’t a priest yet, but was still in training. He reasoned that his job duties not only included assisting with mass, but also janitorial responsibilities at the church.

But the Ninth Circuit correctly rejected this argument in Alcazar v. Corporation of the Archbishop of Seattle, holding a church can require its candidates for the priesthood to spend a year cleaning sinks if it wants to. Only a church can determine whether a seemingly secular activity will be a beneficial part of helping a pastor minister. When government officials entangle themselves in that determination, they violate churchs’ Constitutional right to freedom of religion.