Memphis Housing Authority Needs to Be Evicted

The Bible belt may have to switch to suspenders if the anti-Christian trend continues. Barry Towers is a government subsidized housing project for seniors in the Memphis area.

A couple dozen residents of the Towers are not able to freely move about being in some compromised state of health so the Healing Hearts Outreach Ministries began holding a worship service there on Sunday mornings. Things were going fine; why shouldn't they? This is after all the land of the free and home of the brave. This is the country which guarantees religious freedom right?

But about a year after the services had been going--stop me if you've heard this one-- Memphis Housing Authority employee, Albert Sanders told these elderly believers they "had to stop meeting and couldn't have no church in a Federal building."

Executive Director of the Memphis Housing Authority, Robert Lipscomb, tried to use the separation of church and state canard asserting it as if it were federal law. "That's a national rule against that. That's a HUD (Housing and Urban Development) policy, that's not our policy…" Lipscomb said.

Lawyers for the faithful stated, "Separation of church and state is not a federal law. It is not found in the Constitution. It is a concept that is interpreted by the MHA and perhaps by HUD, but it doesn't justify their religious discrimination." Predictably, this one is headed for court.

Now silly me is sitting here, sighing out of exasperation at the asinine assault on Christianity, wondering how this would go down if it was a group of Muslims gathering together for their daily prayers.

Would it be unwarranted to presume that;

1. This would never happen to a Muslim group and

2. If somehow it did, not only would it be permitted but the government would probably offer to pay any associated expenses in converting a room at the towers to a mini-mosque.

Pardon my sarcasm but we have seen just as ridiculous accommodations elsewhere in the country.

I predict the ladies will again be able to worship freely. But what a stupid, and costly hassle. Part of the judgment in their favor ought to include a caning of the folks at the MHA. Maybe someone will start realizing this is America--again.