"Submitted by Thomas More Society on September 29, 2020, the case charges each of the named parties with eight distinct violations of Burfitt’s rights under the Constitution of California." - MCD
"Like millennia of Christians before them, CHBC believes (as do I) that something that never assembles, such as separate services or sites, is not actually a church." - Jonathan Leeman
"A federal judge quoted Hebrews 10:25 as he ruled against Mayor Muriel Bowser’s restriction on outdoor church services of more than 100 people, allowing Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., to resume in-person outdoor services." - C.Post
In response to new COVID outbreak clusters, the state "has decided to limit capacity of houses of worship within the clusters to ten people, and to entirely ban mass gatherings in the cluster areas. The two separate lawsuits against the restrictions were brought by Agudath Israel, an organization representing Orthodox Jews, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn." - N.Review
When governments place burdensome regulations on churches, what are their options?
I’ve argued that when these regulations are plausibly unconstitutional, or seriously hinder a church’s ability to function as a church—but don’t require disobedience to God—defiance is not the New Testament response. Rather, following the example of Paul’s use of the Roman legal system in his defense, a better option is to obey the authorities God has ordained but to also seek relief through legal means. For convenience, I’ve termed this strategy “comply and resist.”
I’m personally aware of four responses various congregations have chosen:
"The Department of Justice is backing Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., in its lawsuit against Mayor Murriel Bowser for unfairly applying a ban on outdoor church services of more than 100 people during the COVID-19 pandemic." - C.Post
"Los Angeles County representatives requested a hearing for civil contempt against MacArthur, who has continued to hold services at his Grace Community Church despite a ban on large gatherings issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom that includes services in houses of worship." - C.Leaders
"...it seems necessary to amend the statement, 'We must obey the government unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God,' to something like this: 'We must obey the government (1) unless the government explicitly tells us to disobey God, or (2) unless the government exceeds its jurisdiction so as to speak authoritatively into a sphere regulated by another, God-instituted authority.'" - Snoeberger
