Post by pitbull on Dec 12, 2005 9:06:47 GMT -5
Keep this in your soul winning Bible for when you are accused of solicitation!
“The Great Commission”, as it is commonly called, is God’s commandment to Christians to take the Gospel to public places using written [tracts, pamphlets, and other printed materials] and spoken word. This commandment is found in many passages in the Bible, including but not limited to Proverbs 11:30, Matthew 18:11, Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 19:10, and Acts 1:8. A Christian cannot be obedient to God without propagating the Gospel to others.
A Christian’s right to obediently serve God is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
This right is also protected in many of the constitutions of the states, including the Constitution of the State Of Ohio:
§ 07 Rights of conscience; education; the necessity of religion and knowledge (1851)
All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience. No person shall be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or maintain any form of worship, against his consent; and no preference shall be given, by law, to any religious society; nor shall any interference with the rights of conscience be permitted. No religious test shall be required, as a qualification for office, nor shall any person be incompetent to be a witness on account of his religious belief; but nothing herein shall be construed to dispense with oaths and affirmations. Religion, morality, and knowledge, however, being essential to good government, it shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass suitable laws to protect every religious denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of public worship, and to encourage schools and the means of instruction.
For over sixty years, the United States Supreme Court has examined cases involving sharing the Gospel on public streets, on public sidewalks, in public parks, in parking lots, airport terminals, bus stations, train stations, walkways and sidewalks surrounding government-owned coliseums and stadiums, at most tourist attractions, and at other places that are open to the general public.
In the Kokinda case, the U.S. Supreme Court distinguished between soliciting and leafleting:
As residents of metropolitan areas know from daily experience, confrontation by a person asking for money disrupts passage and is more intrusive and intimidating than an encounter with a person giving out information. One need not ponder the contents of a leaflet or pamphlet in order mechanically to take it out of someone’s hand, but one must listen, comprehend, decide and act in order to respond to a solicitation.
As long as a Christian is giving out information freely [written or verbally], and he or she is not panhandling for donations, that Christian is participating in the most protected form of speech. Solicitation involves the asking for a donation and sharing the Gospel is a free gift to the receiver. Hence, sharing the Gospel [in written or verbal form] is not legally considered to be solicitation and cannot be legally banned in areas opened to the general public.
“The Great Commission”, as it is commonly called, is God’s commandment to Christians to take the Gospel to public places using written [tracts, pamphlets, and other printed materials] and spoken word. This commandment is found in many passages in the Bible, including but not limited to Proverbs 11:30, Matthew 18:11, Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 19:10, and Acts 1:8. A Christian cannot be obedient to God without propagating the Gospel to others.
A Christian’s right to obediently serve God is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
This right is also protected in many of the constitutions of the states, including the Constitution of the State Of Ohio:
§ 07 Rights of conscience; education; the necessity of religion and knowledge (1851)
All men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own conscience. No person shall be compelled to attend, erect, or support any place of worship, or maintain any form of worship, against his consent; and no preference shall be given, by law, to any religious society; nor shall any interference with the rights of conscience be permitted. No religious test shall be required, as a qualification for office, nor shall any person be incompetent to be a witness on account of his religious belief; but nothing herein shall be construed to dispense with oaths and affirmations. Religion, morality, and knowledge, however, being essential to good government, it shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass suitable laws to protect every religious denomination in the peaceable enjoyment of its own mode of public worship, and to encourage schools and the means of instruction.
For over sixty years, the United States Supreme Court has examined cases involving sharing the Gospel on public streets, on public sidewalks, in public parks, in parking lots, airport terminals, bus stations, train stations, walkways and sidewalks surrounding government-owned coliseums and stadiums, at most tourist attractions, and at other places that are open to the general public.
In the Kokinda case, the U.S. Supreme Court distinguished between soliciting and leafleting:
As residents of metropolitan areas know from daily experience, confrontation by a person asking for money disrupts passage and is more intrusive and intimidating than an encounter with a person giving out information. One need not ponder the contents of a leaflet or pamphlet in order mechanically to take it out of someone’s hand, but one must listen, comprehend, decide and act in order to respond to a solicitation.
As long as a Christian is giving out information freely [written or verbally], and he or she is not panhandling for donations, that Christian is participating in the most protected form of speech. Solicitation involves the asking for a donation and sharing the Gospel is a free gift to the receiver. Hence, sharing the Gospel [in written or verbal form] is not legally considered to be solicitation and cannot be legally banned in areas opened to the general public.