Belfast OutReach: Carlisle council admits it was wrong to stop man handing out Christian leaflets

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Carlisle council admits it was wrong to stop man handing out Christian leaflets

Carlisle Council has been forced to apologise for getting the law wrong after it tried to stop a street evangelist handing out gospel tracts.

An official from Carlisle Council told Keith Bullock, an evangelist with Open-Air Mission (OAM), that he could not hand out Christian literature in the city centre without their permission.

The Council claimed it was exercising legal powers that came into force last year. The new powers are aimed at preventing litter caused by large numbers of handbills handed out by nightclubs and other businesses. However, Carlisle Council seemed unaware that these laws do not apply to religious literature.

Open-Air Mission contacted The Christian Institute for help. After checking out the law we helped their Director, Andy Banton, write to Carlisle Council explaining their legal rights. He pointed out that religious literature was exempt and asked for confirmation that Mr Bullock could continue his work.

The council responded immediately with an unconditional apology. OAM have asked for the religious exemptions (found in section 1(4) of Schedule 3A to the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005) to be brought to the attention of other council officials so this unfortunate mistake is not repeated.

After the Council climb-down, Andy Banton said, "We are grateful to The Christian Institute for helping us. It was their advice that has enabled us to resolve this issue so quickly and protect our freedom to proclaim the gospel. We appreciate the willingness of the Council to admit its mistake and we are glad Keith can get on with his work of bringing the Gospel to the people of Carlisle."

Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, said "This case illustrates the importance of Christians knowing the law. It also shows how public bodies can unwittingly go beyond the law. Christians have the freedom to handout Christian literature in the open air on public land without interference from the state. That is an important protection of free speech and religious liberty. We were glad we could help this street evangelist continue his good work."

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Testimony

ˈtɛstɪməni/

noun

plural noun: testimonies

a formal written or spoken statement,
especially one given in a court of law.

"the testimony of an eyewitness"

evidence, sworn statement, attestation, affidavit; More

statement, declaration, assertion, affirmation, avowal, protestation;

allegation, submission, claim;

technicaldeposition;

rareasseveration

"Smith was in court to hear her testimony"

evidence or proof of something.

"his blackened finger was testimony to the fact that he had played in pain"

synonyms:

testament, proof, evidence, attestation, witness; More

confirmation, verification, corroboration;

demonstration, indication, manifestation

"the work is a testimony to his professional commitment"

a public recounting of a religious conversion or experience.

THAT MAN OF CALVARY

Fairest of all the earth beside,
Chiefest of all unto Thy bride,
Fullness divine in Thee I see,
Beautiful Man of Calvary!

That Man of Calvary
Has won my heart from me,
And died to set me free,
Blest Man of Calvary!

Granting the sinner life and peace,
Granting the captive sweet release,
Shedding His blood to make us free,
Merciful Man of Calvary!

Giving the gifts obtained for men,
Pouring out love beyond our ken,
Giving us spotless purity,
Bountiful Man of Calvary!

Comfort of all my earthly way,
Jesus I'll meet Thee some sweet day;
Center of glory Thee I'll see,
Wonderful Man of Calvary!

The Romans Road of Salvation

The Romans Road lays out the plan of salvation through
a series of Bible verses from the book of Romans.

1. Everyone needs salvation because we have all sinned.
Romans 3:70-12, and 23
As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands; There is none who
seeks after God. They have all turned aside;
They have together become unproﬁtable; There is none
who does good, no, not one.”
Vs. 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God.

2. The price (or consequence) of sin is death.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in ChristJesus our Lord.

3. Jesus Christ died for our sins. He paid the price for our
death.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

4. We receive salvation and eternal life through faith
in Jesus Christ.
Romans 70:9-70, and 73
that ifyou confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
Vs. 13 For”whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall
be saved.”

5. Salvation through Jesus Christ brings us into a
relationship of peace with God.
Romans 5:7
Therefore, having been justiﬁed by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 8:7
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who
are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the
ﬂesh, but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:38-39

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, norangels
nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor
things to come, verse 39, nor height nor depth, nor any
other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the
love ofGod which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Responding to Romans Road
If you believe Romans Road leads to the path of truth,
you can respond by receiving God's free gift of salvation
today. Here's how to take a personal journey down
Romans Road:
1.Admit you are a sinner.
2. Understand that as a sinner, you deserve death.
3. Believe Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you
from sin and death.
4. Repent by turning from your old life of sin to a
new life in Christ.
5. Receive, through faith in Jesus Christ, his free
gift of salvation.

If you have got any time on your hands read the following conversation by a very famous personality.

Mr. Nice Guy Professor : You are a Christian,
aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?
Student : Yes. Professor: My brother died of
cancer even though he prayed
to GOD to heal him. Most of us
would attempt to help others
who are ill. But GOD didn’t.
How is this GOD good then? Hmm? (Student was silent.) Professor: You can’t answer,
can you ?
Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Is satan good ?
Student : No. Professor: Where does satan
come from ? Student : From … GOD …
Professor: That’s right. Tell me
son, is there evil in this world?
Student : Yes. Professor: Evil is everywhere,
isn’t it ? And GOD did make
everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor: So who created evil ?
(Student did not answer.)
Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness?
All these terrible things exist
in the world, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created them ?
(Student had no answer.)
Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to
identify and observe the world around you. Tell me,
son, have you ever seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD,
smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory
perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes. Professor : According to Empirical, Testable,
Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t
exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.
Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of
events.)
Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat,
superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat.
But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any
further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only
a word we use to describe the absence of heat.
We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy.
Cold is not the opposite of
heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)
Student : What about darkness,
Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Professor: Yes. What is night
if there isn’t darkness?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of
something. You can have low light, normal light, bright
light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality,
darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make
darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You
argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD
and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity
and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of
life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as
a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of
life: just the absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that
they evolved from a monkey? Professor: If you are referring
to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your
own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argumentwas going.)
Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of
evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is
an on-going endeavor. Are
you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a
scientist but a preacher? (The class was in uproar.) Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen
the Professor’s brain?
(The class broke out into laughter.)
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the
Professor’s brain, felt it,
touched or smelt it? No one
appears to have done so. So,
according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable,
Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says that you have no
brain, sir. With all due respect,
sir, how do we then trust
your lectures, sir?
(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the
student, his face unfathomable.)
Professor: I guess you’ll have
to take them on faith, son.
Student : That is it sir …
Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all
that keeps things alive and moving.
P.S. I believe you have enjoyed
the conversation. And if so,
you’ll probably want your
friends / colleagues to enjoy
the same, won’t you? Forward this to increase their
knowledge … or FAITH. By the way, that student was
EINSTEIN.

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Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Carlisle council admits it was wrong to stop man handing out Christian leaflets

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