Posted on 10/26/2016 6:33:45 PM PDT by marshmallow
Family Research Council (FRC) today expressed outrage after the State of Georgia issued a legal demand that Dr. Eric Walsh, a lay pastor, hand over his sermons, sermon notes and all pastoral documentation, including his Bible. FRC launched a petition today at frc.org/walsh that calls on Governor Deal to "correct this egregious over-reach of the state into church affairs."
"This demand for Dr. Eric Walsh's sermons, sermons notes and ministerial documentation is an alarming display of government intrusion into the sanctity of the church, pastor's study and pulpit," said Tony Perkins, Family Research Council president and himself an ordained pastor. "This is something that I would have expected to see in a communist country, not America. The pulpit is to be governed only by the Word of God. Government scrutiny of speech in the pulpit is unconstitutional and unconscionable. Family Research Council stands with Dr. Walsh, and any other pastor who is targeted by the government because of what is said in the pulpit. We call on Gov. Deal to correct this egregious over-reach of the state into church affairs."
Travis Weber, director of FRC's Center for Religious Liberty, joins Dr. Eric Walsh at a press conference later today at the Georgia State Capitol, along with Walsh's attorneys at First Liberty Institute and an array of pastors and ministry leaders calling for the State of Georgia to cease its hostility toward people of faith.
(Excerpt) Read more at charismanews.com ...
In a better America, the Cops would instead go to the governor’s office and arrest him.
Interesting how separation of church and state is always used to suppress the church but never used to make the state back down and stay out of the affairs of the church.
Here's something to think on government - If you want the church to stay out of your affairs, stay out of church affairs.
"Pastor Sues Government Over Claims He Was Fired For Sermons On Homosexuality"
[Anyone have more details on this issue?]
He apparently was fired for holding Biblical beliefs on the family
(article)
Dr. Eric Walsh was one of the nation’s leading health administrators until being fired in 2014 by the Georgia Department of Public Health. A lay minister in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Walsh was fired after Georgia officials learned of his faith. Documents released by First Liberty include emails showing that Georgia officials assigned employees to examine his sermons on YouTube—sermons dealing with common Christian themes including creation, compassion, spiritual growth, the family and Christian living. He was fired after this examination.
Walsh has filed a federal lawsuit against Georgia, alleging unlawful religious discrimination. Now, as part of that lawsuit, the state of Georgia—which ironically claims it did not fire Walsh for religious reasons—is demanding he hand over religious documents: his most intimate, private sermon notes, along with sermons themselves.
If the guy is the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the State of Georgia and/or the governor over a religious matter in civil court, then he can't hide behind his First Amendment protections to keep evidence out of the hands of the defendant(s).
I wonder if the government would go after anti-gay sermons by muslims, and if Christians would defend the muslims religious freedoms if they did.
Yeah. As if anybody would go after Muzzies for anything.
BTW, I think Scientologists are nut jobs, but in this country that is their right.
Of course the government would never go after any Muslim or any leftist of any kind.
Yes Christians would defend a Muslims preaching against homosexuality. They would not defend Muslims trying to murder anyone tho.
1) vetoed campus carry
2) got on his knees before coke and home depot to support the homosexual agenda
3) now this.
I’m not lawyer, but I have questions about this. He sued because he claims a job offer was rescinded because of his religious speech and views. The state denies this. What relevance could his sermons and sermon notes possibly have to the state’s case?
You’re forgetting his support for common core as well.
Another incompetent news report.
WHY did the GA Gov demand Yadda yadda...?
A funny Constitution for GA? The U.S. Constitution no longer applies?
What they gonna do? Arrest the pastor if he ignores the demand?
Remember -- in a discovery process, the defendant doesn't have to prove to anyone that the information they are seeking is absolutely relevant to the case. They simply have to demonstrate that it might yield information that would help make their case.
I'm not a lawyer, but I've seen how this works in my own state. Here's a perfect case in point: I am familiar with a case where a plaintiff (a shareholder) sued several defendants (a small corporation and several of its officers) in civil court over a corporate matter (we'll call it Situation X), and as part of the proceedings the defendants turned around and named the corporation's legal counsel as a third-party defendant in the case. Basically, the corporation's defense in the civil suit was that the plaintiff's damages were caused by the corporation's attorney. In a case like this, the defendants have legally waived their own attorney-client privilege (for the situation that precipitated the lawsuit, not this lawsuit), so the plaintiff now has the right to depose the lawyer and force him to turn over any and all documents related to Situation X.
He’s the guy that was fired from his state job at the Department of Public Health after they found out he was a Seventh Day Adventist preacher and had investigators watch his sermons on Youtube.
Fired for preaching: Georgia dumps doctor over church sermons
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/04/20/fired-for-preaching-georgia-dumps-doctor-over-church-sermons.html
Federal Lawsuit: Doctor Allegedly Fired by State of Georgia over Church Sermons
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/04/20/federal-lawsuit-doctor-allegedly-fired-by-state-of-georgia-over-church-sermons/
It’s probably grandstanding to drag ‘Let’s make a’ Deal into this one. AG in Georgia is an elected office and the governor has no control over him. (footnote - the AG quit to take another state job made available to him and the governor has named his replacement, but the switch hasn’t taken place yet). This stunt makes me think there are some real weaknesses in the plaintiff’s case.
Scientologists and Seventh Day Adventists are NOT the same.
huge difference
But soon after Dr. Walsh accepted the offer, state officials asked him to submit recordings of his sermons for their review. After inspecting his sermons, they fired him.
Since he turned the recordings of his sermons over the first time, and he's using the contents of those sermons as the basis of his claim that he was fired on religious grounds, I don't see what reason he would have to fight a subpoena for his notes for those sermons.
Quite frankly, I'm a little surprised that this lawsuit was filed at all. If they really wanted to make this a religious liberty case, he should have refused to turn the recordings of the sermons over in the first place.
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