Will NYC Implement the ABC Principle---Anything But Christ?<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
By Jerry Newcombe, Truth in Action Ministries
 
A terrible decision in New York City could have a chilling impact on religious liberty. If it spread to other cities, it could be devastating.
 
Because of a court's ruling against one particular small church of the Bronx, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has now decreed that come February 12, 2012, all churches and fellowships meeting in public schools have to be evicted. This will impact 160 churches, congregations, and fellowships.
 
These churches generally have great relationships with the community. Many of them offer important services to the needy, and they even provide revenue for the city. But it seems that among some today, the ABC principle trumps other considerations. ABC as in Anything But Christ.
 
This case goes back several years. In the name of "the separation of church and state," the educational establishment of New York City decided that churches could not meet in schools for worship. They could meet in schools for discussions or sports events, but not divine services.
 
So one small church, the Bronx Household of Faith, filed suit with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal group that fights against anti-religious bigotry in the courts and beyond. As long as the litigation continued, that church (and other churches) have been able to meet in schools.
 
Greg Baylor an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund said recently, "Unfortunately, even though they had a temporary injunction that allowed them to meet in the public schools, the New York City education officials kept fighting them in the courts. They were insistent upon their objective of keeping out the churches. And they eventually persuaded the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, which is headquartered in New York City, to say 'Yes, you school districts can keep out churches who want to engage in religious worship services.'"
 
After the Appeals Court decision, the ADF appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which declined to take the case.
The Supreme Court receives thousands of requests every year. (I remember hearing in a recent year, it was about 8,000.) But they turn down the vast majority of requests, only agreeing to a small number of cases (about 80-100). That means they turn down about 99.9% of the requests for appeals. Therefore, no one should read too much into the Supreme Court's refusal to take on any case. It's not on the same level as an out-and-out Supreme Court ruling on a particular issue.
 
Mayor Bloomberg is reading way too much into the Supreme Court's decision to not hear the appeal.
 
So here we are in a country founded for religious freedom---where residents of our largest city are about to lose theirs.
 
George Washington said, "If I could have entertained the slightest apprehension that the Constitution framed by the Convention, where I had the honor to preside, might possibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical Society, certainly I would never have placed my signature to it." So George Washington would not agree with Mayor Bloomberg's decision.
 
John Adams said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." So John Adams would not agree with Mayor Bloomberg's decision.
 
As president, Thomas Jefferson attended church every week at the U. S. Capitol. Clearly, he had no problem with government buildings being allowed for worship. So Thomas Jefferson would not agree with Mayor Bloomberg's decision.
 
Clearly the mayor's decision does not fit with our history or traditions or law. (The church had even won at the District Court level.)
 
Some of the congregations are so small and limited in their resources that they might end up folding if this decision goes through.
 
Imagine the net impact if this terrible decision doesn't get overturned. Today, New York. Tomorrow, California. Next day, perhaps your town. Cultural trends often spread from New York City to the rest of the country. Think of all the churches in our land that meet in schools. The church I happen to be a part of meets in a school.
 
Thankfully, the legislative body for the state of New York is considering an emergency bill that would address the issue statewide, thus overruling the mayor's decision. New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedom have been pushing for this.
 
Even if the mayor's edict goes into full effect (heaven forbid), the kingdom of God will continue---after all, we're talking about the religion of the catacombs. But it's just so ironic that this kind of thing could seriously be considered in a nation whose motto is still "In God We Trust."
 
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Jerry Newcombe is the senior producer and host of Truth that Transforms with D. James Kennedy (formerly The Coral Ridge Hour). He has also written or co-written 23 books, including The Book That Made America: How the Bible Formed Our Nation and Answers from the Founding Fathers. Jerry co-wrote (with Dr. Peter Lillback) the bestselling, George Washington's Sacred Fire. He hosts the website www.jerrynewcombe.com.