https://www.rawstory.com/2020/04/death-is-a-welcomed-friend-pastor-calls-on-christians-to-defy-coronavirus-lockdown-even-if-it-kills-them/

Pastor Tony Spell of Life Tabernacle Church in Baton Rouge spoke to TMZ this Wednesday, saying that if his church members die from coronavirus, they’ve done so in the name of religious freedom.

Spell was charged with violating an executive order that bans churches from holding large gatherings, but showed his defiance last Tuesday by holding a service that was attended by over 1,000 people. Speaking to TMZ, Spell said that true Christians would be willing to die from coronavirus, adding that those who “prefer tyranny over freedom do not deserve freedom.”

“The bible teaches us to be absent from our bodies so we can be present with the Lord,” Spell said. “So like any revolutionary, or like any zealot, or like any pure religious person, death looks to them like a welcomed friend.”

Now we're seeing the criminally stupid rise to the surface.

That is exactly right LR...excellent point.

Romans 13: 1-2:

1: "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

2: "Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."


The pastor is certainly free to be "absent from" his own body if that is his choice. He should not be free to counsel others to follow him over the edge of the cliff.

Religious zealotry has a lot to answer for.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/08/2020 06:25PM by Nightingale.

@Nightingale:
"Romans 13: 1-2:
1: Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
2: Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.""

==Wait a minute. The jews regarded their roman overlords as evil and were waiting for a messiah to come and knock them down.
Here, you are quoting lines from the letters of Paul, who is a roman or a greek, who is saying that jews should obey their roman overlords.

Very interesting indeed.

>> "......if his church members die from coronavirus, they’ve done so in the name of religious freedom."

Wow, so free they're dead! Now that's some religious freedom for ya! Bless their little hearts!

What a tool!

He told them to show up. The first law of heaven is obedience, so what were they supposed to do? Think for themselves?

The voting demographic is changing by attrition.

bradley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He told them to show up. The first law of heaven
> is obedience, so what were they supposed to do?

Not obedience to your **pastor**.

Obedience to the government.

Of course, many don't appreciate the word or concept of 'obedience' but you could say follow or respect or comply and it would be a similar meaning in this instance.

Well, that pastor isn’t Russell M Nelson.

Is this the same government that spent $1T in Iraq but didn’t stockpile any masks or PPE and dismantled its pandemic response unit? The same one that told us not to wear masks? No wonder nobody believes the government. Except when Reagan said government is the problem. They believed that.

Figure that half of the population is heeding the “order”. That’s what I see when I’m out. Traffic is maybe half. Jesus freaks such as this are a small enough percentage of the population that they won’t make much difference.

America was born in rebellion, can only change through rebellion, and will only be saved through rebellion. They get it. Maybe that’s what should worry us, not some virus.

They should have the right to meet as a group for religious purposes.

After in the meeting hall - Lock the doors and keep them all together for the full time needed for finding out no infections - or the full time needed for treatment.

Food can be passed in through a window - but NO ONE gets out early.

Let the be Believers in close contact and see how it works out.

I could get behind that. They are free to make their own choices, my beef is when they take away the choice of being safe from others.

It would be a way of compromising religious freedom and public safety. It's a good idea. Let 'em worship themselves to death. Actually, the pastor is afraid of going out of business...needs those donations rolling in.

I would support that, since it would keep innocent people from getting infected, especially healthcare workers. After all, they can just rely on their prayers and faith to heal them instead.

I guess he'll have to start calling his church the death tabernacle church.

@Dave the Atheist:
"I guess he'll have to start calling his church the death tabernacle church."

==We can learn from them.
I use them as an example: "See kids, don't be like these guys.".

On TV, they show people being mean to each other or cheating on their SO. That does not mean that we should replicate such behavior. It's on TV to show us the negative effects of such behavior. It is a "3 little pigs" story.

Ambivalence

Lol...yep

These pastors are criminals. And, the “obedient” (AKA “stupid”) drag children to these crazy things.

Christmas and Easter are the big money making days of the year for churches.

These pastors can't afford to miss out on the cash cow.

Maybe he knows that they put him in their wills.

Haha. So true !

"...was attended by over 1,000 people." But by how many ghosts?