During this pandemic, we are all working together to flatten the curve and prevent the virus from spreading further. This means unless you are an essential worker you are not leaving the house aside from getting groceries or in order to handle medical emergencies. By following this simple guideline we hope will help to end this pandemic and prevent countless deaths. But some people don’t understand that like Pastor Tony Spell. Spell is refusing to listen to reason and is even going as far as to sue the State for stopping him from holding service. Spell feels the governor is wrong.
“Pastor Tony Spell, who was arrested last week for holding services, summoned his faithful again, three weeks after the state’s governor, John Bel Edwards, banned gatherings of 10 people or more.
Hundreds of worshippers, about half of them black and half white, converged on the church, many arriving in 26 buses sent to pick them up. Everyone but immediate family members kept a social distance of at least six feet, a lawyer for the pastor said.
“They would rather come to church and worship like free people than live like prisoners in their homes,” Spell told reporters.
Referring to depression and anxiety suffered by people forced to stay home, he asked, “Could it be that it is worse than the people who have already contracted this virus and died?”
Watch The Clip Below.
“We derive our inalienable rights from God, not any government,” he told CBS News on Monday.
Spell said attendees did observe six feet of distancing at the services, but did not wear face masks. The pastor said the church is cleaned daily and boasted it’s cleaner than open gas stations, Walmart and Sam’s Club.
Spell confirmed to CBS News that he is preparing to sue over the governor’s ban. Joe Long, Spell’s lawyer, told Reuters that he believed Edwards’ order violated the U.S. constitutional rights to freedom of religion and to peaceably assemble. States like Florida, North Carolina and Arizona have exempted religious services from their state-wide stay-at-home orders. However, Louisiana has not.
“We believe the governor is wrong,” he said. “And we look forward to proving our case in court.”
There are many elderly that attend service regularly and Spell here would be putting them at risk, as the virus is far more deadly to those over 70. I hope he loses his case. He is being selfish and putting people at risk. If he must have a service then he should figure out how to broadcast it online, otherwise, he should wait this out like the rest of us.
It’s an attack on our constitutional rights! It’s another form of religious persecution and these liberal loons will use anything to push their hatred towards Christians.
This has nothing to do with religious rights, or individual freedoms. The gov is about protecting the citizens. This preacher is about money, attention, and fame.
IF none of the members are sick or have been exposed, then he might be right.
IF none of those attending get sick or dies, he might be OK.
IF he is prepared for “suffering and cause-of-death” lawsuits should a member gets sick
and/or dies, he should survive financially.
HE IS FORGETTING ONE BIG THING!!!!! When Jesus was tempted concerning the conflict between the laws of God and the Romans, HE asked for a coin and whose inscription was on it. Jesus then answered, “Render unto God the things that are God’s and unto Caesar the things that are Ceasar’s.”
As I see it, by ignoring the Fov’s ruling, that pastor has selfishly exposed his congregation to possible harm and willfully disobeyed a reasonable directive by Jesus. By personally leading his congregation to ignore and violate state and federal law, he places himself in the same kind of position as the religious leader of Jones Town, David koresch, and other such “religious” leaders.