Bible Study Battle Goes Federal After Christian Couple Threatened with Eviction

万得福

A Virginia senior living community is facing a federal lawsuit after threatening to evict residents for leading a Bible study in their own apartment.
Attorneys with the First Liberty Institute and Hunton Andrews Kurth, LLP filed the lawsuit against The Evergreens at Smith Run in Fredericksburg, VA, and its parent company, Community Realty Company (CRC), alleging religious discrimination in housing by the apartment's management.
As CBN News reported, Ken and Liv Hauge were threatened with eviction by the company last year for hosting a small Bible study.  A retired pastor, Ken led the Bible study in his personal capacity at the request of other senior residents.  

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   Bible Study Banned: Managers Threatening to Evict Man from His Own Apartment




   

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The study grew so much that at one point they asked to use a community room. Their request was granted. But later they were told they couldn't hold the Bible study there.
The Hauges have lived at the senior community since 2017. They are both in their mid-80s.
The lawsuit claims that CRC and the Evergreens management discriminated against the Hauges and others on the basis of religion, by first banning all residents from publicly saying grace before their meals. They also prohibited the Hauges from hosting the Bible study anywhere at The Evergreens, including their own apartment under the threat of eviction.
"The management company's hostility to religious residents violates federal law and taints Virginia's long history of religious freedom," said Lea Patterson, associate counsel for First Liberty, in a press release. "We're asking the court to hold the management company accountable for violating the Hauges' right to exercise their faith in their home and to ensure no other residents have to suffer through what the Hauges have endured."
In October of 2017, First Liberty asked the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to investigate CRC for religious discrimination. The investigation is continuing.

万得福

Navy Chaplain Accused of Violating Constitution for Encouraging Soldiers to 'Lead like Jesus'

A U.S. Navy chaplain has been accused of violating the U.S. Constitution for teaching an optional 12-week seminar called "Lead Like Jesus" at a Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island.

According to the religious liberty legal organization First Liberty Institute, Cmdr. Richard Smothers is being antagonized by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation — a group that argues for a strictly secularist interpretation of the Constitution — for promoting the seminar at the base. MRFF sent an email demanding that Capt. Ian Johnson, commander of the Naval base, investigate Smothers and anyone else who promoted the seminar through emails or fliers. The organization argues that service members were being "voluntold" to attend the Christian-oriented event. Michael L. “Mikey” Weinstein, founder of MRFF, accused Smothers of having “weaponized Christianity” in an interview with the Navy Times published in January. He added that those behind the discussions should be “visibly and aggressively investigated and punished.” “Nothing could be more disruptive to good order and discipline and unit cohesion than a message like this,” he said. Commenting on the matter, First Liberty noted that encouraging troops through faith is in the job description of a chaplain. read more

THINK.
Since human beings consist of both body and soul (as referenced throughout the Bible), the health of both is vital to a service member’s effectiveness in the military. This is why George Washingtoncreated the Chaplain Corps in 1775 and is the reason military chaplains remain a crucial part of our military. As First Liberty Institute states, the optional seminar that Commander Smothers conducted was perfectly in line with his job description as a Christian chaplain. His intent was for Christians to apply their identity in Christ to their job, something we all should make a practice of doing, whether our vocation is military service, homemaking, or any position in the workforce (Colossians 3:23-24, Ephesians 6:5-9). It’s not only in the military where some are seeking to silence religion. Several state legislatorswalked out of a pastor’s opening prayer in the Virginia House of Delegates last Tuesday. During his prayer, Rev. Robert Grant rebuked the lawmakers for not fulfilling their duty to protect the rights of the unborn and prayed that they would uphold the Biblical definition of marriage. The Democrat-controlled legislature is advancing bills that would repeal current restrictions on abortion in Virginia. If we want to help preserve religious freedom in our nation, we must be aware of these stories and continue to elect leaders who will uphold our First Amendment rights.

PRAY.
Let’s pray that our government officials would indeed fulfill their God-ordained role as “servants of God,” (Romans 13:4) who would not be a threat to good conduct, but to bad. Pray that Christians in government and elsewhere would seek to apply a Biblical perspective to their jobs.

ACT.
Read more about Chaplain Richard Smother’s case through First Liberty Institute. We encourage you to pray for this case and consider supporting them in this important fight to protect religious freedom.