According to Lori Windham of The Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty the senior counsel who is handling the case:

“This little town has decided that churches don’t help it produce revenue, they don’t produce property tax or sales tax revenue, and so they have excluded churches from 12 of the 13 districts in the city.”

A federal judge agreed with the city so now the case is being taken to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A ruling is expected later this year. Here’s more info on the situation.

Response: This is one of many similar cases where cities want to limit or even block churches in their jurisdictions because they do not produce taxable income for the city. Years ago churches were considered as assets to any community but that is no longer the case all across America.

Many cases like this have arisen particularly in California where land is at a premium. This case it surprising to me since it is in a small town in Texas. It does show that the secularization of America is progressing even to the so-called Bible belt and small town America.

Now that many cities all across the country are finding themselves standing in ‘red ink’ we can expect these type of cases to explode. Especially this will be increasingly the case since America is supposedly entering a ‘post-Christian’ era where organized religion is no longer as important as it use to be to most Americans.

I’m still praying for a new awakening to reverse this unfortunate trend.            *Top

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"Whatever we (America) once were, we are no longer. We have changed."

"Most of the founding fathers of this nation … built the worldview of this nation on the authority of the Word of God. Because of that, there have been reminders in this culture concerning God’s Word, the God of creation."

"A historic transition is occurring, barely noticed. Slowly, quietly, imperceptibly, religion is shriveling in America, as it already has in Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan – across the developed world. Increasingly, supernatural faith belongs to the third world. The first world is entering the long-predicted Secular Age, when science and knowledge dominate."

Ham goes on to challenge Christians and the church:

"Who is on the Lord’s side? Who is prepared to stand unashamedly on God’s Word in this nation?"

Response: Ham makes some valid points but are we really past the point of no return in America? Maybe, maybe not. Is the country really following other Western countries down the secular path? If you view the media and the academic realm in this country you would certainly think so.

The church does need to stand up and clearly enunciate a Biblical world view. Unfortunately this is not the case with many mainline churches.

Recent polling of American Christians show that many no longer consider the Christian faith to be the only path to God nor his Son Jesus to be the only door to salvation. This includes a large number of evangelicals who belong to churches who remain faithful to the Word of God. This indicates that the dominant secular culture may becoming more influential in the lives of many Christians than their churches and their faith?

Well, I am not ready to concede the battle. I still believe that a new ‘awakening’ or revival could reverse this trend in a dramatic way. Is God done with America? I don’t think so—at least not yet.                 *Top

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According to the article, similar movements are spreading to other countries, including a well organized move against Catholicism in Argentina.

<<Read the rest on the Apologetica page>>            *Top

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