CSE's
Battle with Escambia County
Creation Science Evangelism Needs Your Help!
News Flash! -- July 18, 2002
Our ministry needs your help one more time!
The battle with the county over our refusal to get building permits has been
going for over two years now and is heating up fast. It may boil over or be
resolved this week so we need your help soon if possible. This battle we have
been fighting has the potential of regaining lost freedoms for ministries and
churches all over America.
As you may or may not know, for nearly two years now our ministry has been
involved in a skirmish with building inspectors from Escambia County, Florida.
In early 1999 the property was deeded over to Faith Baptist Fellowship, a free
church (not an unincorporated) and New Testament ministry. (Churches that are
501c3 corporations cannot get out of the permitting process.) At the direction
of our pastor we built our next building, our science center/museum without a
permit since the civil authority has no jurisdiction over the Lord’s church.
The county attempted to issue a $50 citation to me but I refused to sign it
since A. I was not the pastor, and B. They had no jurisdiction. They asked a
county judge named Patricia Kinsey to have me arrested and she issued a warrant
for my arrest. I posted a $5,000 bond and we immediately filed a lawsuit in the
federal court against the county for violating our religious rights.
For nearly 2000 years it has been the conviction of Christians that Jesus is
the head of the church and the state has no jurisdiction over the Lord’s
church. Colossians 1:18 "And he is the head of the body, the church: who
is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all [things] he might
have the preeminence."
Millions of Christians in the early centuries died rather than submit the
Lord’s church to Caesar. It has only been in the last 100 years or so that many
have bowed the knee to make Caesar the head of their church. See:
www.hushmoney.com or order the book, "In Caesar’s Grip" from CSE
($15) for more. The Amish object to (and never obtain) building permits for
similar religious reasons and Disneyland in Florida never gets county permits.
See www.state.fl.us/rcid/ for more info. We are a peace loving people
who simply wish to serve the Lord. We cannot ask a lower authority like the
civil government for permission to do what God has called us to do, once
jurisdiction is granted in one area, where does it stop? Those who have lived
under communist control know that it does not!
Our buildings are safe. Several county inspectors did come, at our
invitation, in their private capacity and could find nothing wrong. The
certified electrician we paid to inspect it said it was one of the best jobs he
had seen. We think the state’s electrical codes are an excellent standard to
insure safety and we read and follow them. Two state certified engineers also
inspected the building and certified that it was safe. The county inspectors
have been invited 5 times to come in their private capacity to inspect our work
and offer suggestions. The issue is not safety but government control over
God’s work.
In accord with the teachings of Scriptures, I have met with the county
officials several times to try to resolve this conflict. I told them, "The
question at issue is a simple one: Does the Escambia County, Florida civil
government have jurisdiction over a Church of the Sovereign God of the
universe? We were not the aggressors. We were simply trying to serve the Lord
and the county stuck its nose in where it has no business."
"As a church of the Lord Jesus Christ we answer to a much higher
authority than Escambia County. We are not lawless. We believe everyone,
including the government, should obey the laws of the land unless they are in
violation of God’s Laws."
"We are not looking to do anything illegal. Ever since this property
was given to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ we have not knowingly
submitted God’s church to any lesser authority." I repeatedly asked them
who gave them authority over the Lord’s church. They have never answered our
questions about jurisdiction but just arrogantly plow ahead assuming they have
authority.
Our decision to build without permits from the county was based on our
understanding of the Bible and, to a lesser degree, the constitutions of the
united States and the State of Florida as well as the Religious Freedoms
Restoration Act.
The history of governments attempting to regulate people peacefully trying
to obey God’s commands is a long and blood one. Pharaoh tried to tell Moses
how, when and where he could obey God. Exodus 8-12. More on this below.
The disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were constantly harassed by
government officials trying to regulate their lives as they obeyed the Lord.
From Acts 4 through 28, all but 3 chapters record examples of this. We see from
Acts 16 how we are to handle ourselves when this happens. In verse 19 the
leaders saw they would lose money (just as county officials see permits as a
source of income and control) so Paul and Silas were unjustly beaten and
imprisoned. In verse 37 we see that Paul and Silas refused to simply go away
quietly. They demanded a public apology from the rulers and magistrates for
their illegal actions. We intend to do the same.
Ever since Jesus established His church the civil magistrates have resented
not having authority. The followers of Jesus have been persecuted, tortured,
and burned by the civil magistrates to attempt to make them surrender the
authority of the church to Caesar. See Foxes Book of Martyrs!
When 7000 of the best and brightest young men were taken captive to Babylon
in Daniel’s day, only three refused to bow a short time later. See Daniel 3:12.
I’m sure the 6997 had good excuses for why they disobeyed the first of God’s
ten commandments they had been brought up with and I’m sure they thought the
three "radical Bible believers" not kissing the dirt that day made a
bad choice but we only know the names of those three today. They were right and
the 6997 were wrong! See the "Dear Shadrach" letter below.
My job is to study God’s Word, try to obey it and leave the results up to
God. Just as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not know what would happen
when they were thrown into the furnace, we do not know the outcome of our
stand. Please pray that God will turn the hearts of those involved.
What the king does or threatens to do I cannot control. I only know I cannot
bow and I pray I will not burn!
While we are doing fine in the lawsuit so far, and the county has left us
alone until this is settled, the cost in time and money has been great.
This Affidavit was submitted to the court in support of our position:
Affidavit of Facts
1. God created the earth and is unquestionably the owner. He has authority
over His creation.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth.
Psalm 24:1 The earth is
the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell
therein.
Exodus 9:29 And Moses said
unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands
unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more
hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S.
Exodus 19:5 Now therefore,
if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar
treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
King David said in 1
Chronicles 29:11: Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the
glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and
in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted
as head above all.
2. In Genesis 9:6 God commissioned human government to carry out His laws.
Government was not to change God’s laws but rather to enforce them.
3. Jesus Christ is God Almighty in the flesh as is shown by many verses in
the Bible. He has all power and authority.
Matthew 7:29-- For he taught
them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Matthew 28:18-- And Jesus came
and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth.
Luke 4:36-- And they were all
amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with
authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
1 Timothy 2:1-5 I exhort
therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are
in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge
of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus;
4. Jesus established His church to carry out His commands on earth. The
founding fathers of the united States recognized the Sovereignty of God and
established our constitution to limit government and protect God’s
church. They made it clear that no government was to establish a religion or
prohibit the free exercise thereof. They established a constitutional republic,
not a democracy, to enforce the laws. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the
Constitution stated, "A simple democracy is one of the greatest of
evils." The founders remembered that most infamous democratic vote in
history when the ‘will of the people’ cried – "Crucify Him." This
would not have happened in a Republic because a Republic is ‘rule of law’ not
the rule of the mob. A republican form of government is where citizens elect
representatives who will then enforce the laws by which we are to be governed.
In forming our republic, the framers of the Constitution cited nearly 15,000
references, but the three main reference sources were: the King James Bible,
Spirit Of The Laws, by Baron Charles Montesquieu and - Commentaries
On The Laws Of England, by Sir William Blackstone. All three identify the
‘rule of law’ as "Principles that do not change." The rule of law was
based on ‘natural law’, which is the law God gave His people through the Bible
and the Ten Commandments. Taking from the pattern given in Isaiah 33:22,
"God is our King, God is our lawgiver, God is our Judge," the
founders gave us the very formation of our government, thus the Executive, the
Legislative and Judicial branches. Historians know that the Bible is the
basis for our American system of Jurisprudence and Constitution.
5. Many Americans have been taught to believe the erroneous concept that
"a wall of separation of church and State" exists between religion
and government. The truth is that our founding fathers did not want government
to attempt to grant to any one Christian church power over another. Religion
was fundamental to every aspect of life. They did not want religion out of
government as is seen from their swearing on the Bible, promising to uphold
their duties "so help me God" etc. —they wanted government out of
religion!
There is no "Wall of separation of church and state." That phrase
is not found anywhere in our founding documents. When signing the
Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams, the father of the Revolution
declared: "We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought
to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven and from the rising to the setting of the
sun – let His Kingdom come." James Madison, the father of the Constitution
said, "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon
the power of government, far from it…but upon the capacity of mankind for self
government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to
control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to The Ten Commandments of
God."
The first of those Ten Commandments is, Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no
other gods before me." It is our sincerely held religious belief that
for a church of the Lord Jesus Christ to ask permission of the county to do the
Lord’s work would be a violation of this commandment.
In the immortal words of Patrick Henry: "It cannot be emphasized too
strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists,
but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ".
John Adams, our second President said, "The general principles on which
the fathers achieved independence were … the general principles of Christianity
… now I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general
principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and
attributes of God … I could therefore safely say … that I believe they (the
people) would never make discoveries in contradiction to these general
principles." Thomas Jefferson called the Bible the cornerstone for
American liberty and wanted it placed in our schools as the light that should
lead the way.
The power to tax is the power to control and even to destroy. Government may
only tax what they have been granted jurisdiction over. A building permit is a
tax. Our church is subject to the Lord Jesus Christ and is not subject to the
jurisdiction of the civil magistrates.
But beyond all these matters
no purpose of action against religion can be imputed to any legislation, State
or Nation, because this is a religious people. This is historically true. From
the discovery of this continent to the present hour there is a single voice
making this affirmation. The Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of The
Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 US 457 at 465 (1892) Taken
from In Caesar’s Grip, Peter Kershaw, page 9
Young Christian attorney
Patrick Henry saw why a JURY of PEERS is so vital to FREEDOM! It was March 1775
when he rode into the small town of Culpeper, Va. He was totally shocked by
what he saw! There, in the middle of the town square was a minister tied to a
whipping post, his back laid bare and bloody with the bones of his ribs
showing. He had been scourged mercilessly like JESUS, with whips laced with
metal.
Patrick Henry is quoted as
saying: "When they stopped beating him, I could see the bones of his rib
cage. I turned to someone and asked what the man had done to deserve such a
beating as this."
SCOURAGED FOR NOT TAKING A
LICENSE!
The Reply given him was that
the man being scourged was a minister who refused to take a license. He was one
of twelve who were locked in jail because they refused to take a license. A
license often becomes an arbitrary control by government that makes a crime out
of what ordinarily would not be a crime. IT TURNS A RIGHT INTO A PRIVILEGE!
Three days later they scourged the preacher to death!
This was the incident which
sparked Christian attorney Patrick Henry to write the famous words, which later
became the rallying cry of the Revolution. "What is that Gentlemen wish?
What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at
the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what
course others may take, but as for me, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!"
Later he made this part of his famous speech at St. John’s Episcopal Church in
Richmond, VA. From: Citizens Rule Book, A Paladium of Liberty,
Whitten Printers, Phoenix, Arizona (available from CSE $1)
In 1846 the Supreme Court of South Carolina declared: "Christianity is
a part of the common law of the land, with liberty of conscience to all. It has
always been so recognized… it is the foundation of those morals and manners
upon which our society is formed; it is their basis. Remove this and they would
fall. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1892 ruled --"Our laws and institutions
must necessarily be based upon the teachings of the Redeemer of Mankind. It is
impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent
our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian." Again
the Supreme Court in 1952 stated: "We are a religious people whose
institutions all presuppose a Supreme Being …" These quotations are
representative of many which support the facts; that this is supposed to be a
Constitutional Republic - based entirely upon Christian principles – with no
separation of Church and State. Our very form of government and legal system
were formed from, and based on, God’s natural law and the Bible.
6. The civil government has authority to create and regulate corporations.
During the last 100 years many churches in America have surrender their
sovereign position and lowered their position by asking civil government to
make them a corporation for some reason. This act of incorporation
automatically grants the government jurisdiction over the church of the Lord
Jesus Christ. If Escambia County has enacted legislation to give them
jurisdiction over an unincorporated church their legislation is null and void.
The general rule is that an
unconstitutional statute, whether federal or state, though having the form and
name of law, is in reality no law, but is wholly void, and ineffective for any
purpose; since unconstitutionally dates from the time of its enactment, and not
merely from the date of the decision so branding it, an unconstitutional law,
in legal contemplation, is as inoperative as if it had never been passed.
Since an unconstitutional
law is void, the general principles follow that it imposes no duties, confers
no rights, creates no office, bestows no power or authority on anyone, affords
no protection, and justifies no acts performed under it.
No one is bound to obey an
unconstitutional law and no courts are bound to enforce it.
16 American Jurisprudence
2d, Constitutional law, 256
From In Caesar’s Grip by
Peter Kershaw
7. The elders of Faith Baptist Fellowship have never incorporated or granted
jurisdiction of the Lord’s church to a secular authority. We hold to the
Biblical and historical position that God is sovereign over His church. Our
long established history goes back two thousand years to the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself.
The Amish never get permits or inspections of their buildings in any state,
including Florida. They have a long history of maintaining their sovereign
status, as do the Anabaptists. It seems like every generation or so Caesar
needs to be reminded where his power stops.
John Bunyon spent 13 years in the Bedford County jail rather than take a
license to preach. During his stay in jail he wrote Pilgrim’s Progress.
8. At Faith Baptist Fellowship we build new buildings as needed to carry out
the commands of our Lord. We did not ask the county for permission or for an
"exemption" so we can build. To do so would imply that they have
jurisdiction. The county has intruded where it has no jurisdiction.
9. On March 29, 2000 I, Kent E Hovind, was peacefully obeying the command of
my Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator and Owner of the earth, by conducting the
various aspects of our ministry when Escambia County building inspector Rene
Pelotte and an assistant came onto our church property, in their official
capacity, without invitation and in direct violation of our clearly posted
NOTICE which clearly mentions "INSPECTORS". (Attached as exhibit A)
Ms, Pelotte and her assistant entered one of our buildings and proceeded to
ask questions about whether we had acquired Escambia County's permission to
build the science building on the property. One of our ministry staff members
called me out to the building where I met with the inspectors. I told them we
have nothing to hide and are doing nothing illegal or unsafe, but they were not
to return in an official capacity unless they could prove they had jurisdiction
over our church. I then gave Ms. Pelotte a copy of the posted notice, which
explains the laws, and told her that we were a church ministry and that she had
no jurisdiction on church property. When she indicated she disagreed, I told
her that she would have to leave immediately unless she could prove she had
jurisdiction. I explained to her that the Bible said Jesus was the head of the
church and civil government had no authority over the Lord’s church. The first
amendment to the Constitution of the United States and the Florida statutes are
very clear on this matter also, as well as the Florida Religious Freedoms
Restoration Act.
I also told her that there was a long bloody history of government rulers
attempting to regulate the church of Jesus Christ and that since most churches
in the last 100 years have become corporations of the state, (which does indeed
grant jurisdiction) I could see why she may not understand how the county's
regulations did not apply to a true, unregistered, unincorporated church.
She told me that Pensacola Christian College Inc. gets building permits and
that I must also. I explained to her that Pensacola Christian College Inc. is
clearly a corporation licensed by the state of Florida and not a ministry of
the Lord Jesus Christ. She did not seem to want to grasp this vital difference.
I told both Ms. Pelotte and her partner that they were welcome to come
anytime in their private capacity and we would gladly give them a tour and let
any inspectors look at any work we do and even offer advice. We would value
their expert opinion and experience. We have nothing to hide and are doing
nothing illegal or unsafe. I further told them that they were talking to the
wrong person in that Pastor Mooneyhan was the one they needed to talk with if
they had any questions concerning this property.
A few days later Ms. Pelotte came back onto the church property in direct
violation of our clearly posted notice to issue a $50 citation to me. I told
her I could not sign it since, 1) she had not yet demonstrated that she had
jurisdiction, and 2) I was not the pastor. I also told her that she must leave
unless she could prove the county had jurisdiction. At no time did she tell me
that there was a civil penalty for failing to sign the citation nor was
anything about this written on the citation. She said I must contact their
office within 72 hours. We voluntarily sent a letter and called them
within 72 hours requesting a hearing on this matter, but our requests were
ignored. The next thing I heard about the matter was the call from the Sheriff
telling me that a warrant had been issued by Judge Patricia Kinsey for my
arrest! I voluntarily went to the jail, posted a $5,000 bond and went home.
[Rapists, thieves and muggers get less bond than this!]
10. I have, at my request, met with the county officials several times to
try to resolve this conflict. I told them, "The question at issue is a
simple one: Does the Escambia County, Florida civil government have
jurisdiction over a Church of the Sovereign God of the universe?" We are
not the aggressors in this case, the county is. We were simply trying to serve
the Lord and the county stuck its nose in where it simply has no business.
Disney gets no permits and allows no county or state inspections. In 1967,
the Florida Legislature granted Disney autonomy through Chapter 67-764 Laws of
Florida. This information is also available in Chapter 163.167 Florida
Statutes, and in particular, subsection 9, which grants Reedy Creek (i.e.
Disney) the same powers and duties as any other Florida county or municipality.
See www.state.fl.us/rcid/. The county initiated
proceedings against us based on their flawed idea that we are under their
jurisdiction even though we have challenged this from their first contact with
us.
11. We are a peaceful people and do not wish to be involved in litigation to
insure our God given rights and duties. We are asking the court to explain to
the county that they have no jurisdiction over the Lord's church. As a church
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we answer to a much higher authority than Escambia
County. We are not lawless. We believe everyone, including the government,
should obey the laws of the land unless they are in violation of God's Laws.
Obviously we want our buildings and those who visit our ministry to be safe. We
have regularly scheduled fire safety training for our entire staff. At our
expense we hired a state licensed electrician to inspect our new building’s
electrical system to insure it was safe and would meet or surpass the states
electrical codes. We think the state's electrical codes are an excellent
standard to insure safety and we voluntarily read and follow them. We also had
two certified engineers inspect our building. These inspectors certified that
the building is safe. If the county inspectors were truly concerned about
safety they would have accepted our invitation (extended many times) to come in
their private capacity and look at our work. It is obvious that safety is not
the issue. The real issue is one of the state attempting to control the Lord's
church. Ever since 1999, when this property was given to the Church of the Lord
Jesus Christ, we have not knowingly submitted God's church to any lesser
authority. Our decision to build without permits from the county was based on
our understanding of the Bible and, to a lesser degree, the constitutions of
the united States and the State of Florida.
The history of government trying to regulate people peacefully trying to
obey God's commands is a long and bloody one. Pharaoh tried four times to tell
Moses how, when and where he could obey God.
Exodus 8:25 And Pharaoh
called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in
the land. (attempting to regulate by limiting where he could
worship), Exodus 8:28 "And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may
sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very
far away" (a similar attempt to regulate): Ex. 10:11 "Not so: go
now ye that are men," (attempting to regulate who could go)
"and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire." Ex. 10:24 "And
Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your
flocks and your herds be stayed:" (attempting to regulate what
property could be used to obey God) "let your little ones also go with
you." After much frustration to Moses and great cost to himself and his
domain, in Ex. 12:31 Pharaoh finally got the message and let them go. Then he
changed his mind again (slow learner!) and went for one final swim in the Red
Sea.
Ever since Jesus established His church the civil magistrates have resented
not having authority. The followers of Jesus have been deceived, persecuted,
tortured, and burned by the civil magistrates to attempt to make them surrender
the authority of the church to Caesar.
Some people say we should get the permit because of Mark 12:17 but they
often quote only the first part, "And Jesus answering said unto them,
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that
are God's." The church is not Caesar’s!
The disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were constantly harassed by
government officials trying to regulate their lives as they obeyed the Lord.
From Acts 4 through 28, all but three chapters record examples of this. We see
from Acts 16 how we are to handle ourselves when this happens. In verse 19 the
leaders saw they would lose money (just as county officials see permits as a
source of income as well as control), so Paul and Silas were beaten and
imprisoned by them. In verse 37, we see that Paul and Silas demanded a public
apology from the rulers and magistrates for their illegal actions. We have
filed a federal lawsuit against the county to force them to admit they have no
jurisdiction, leave us alone, pay for the damages they have caused our ministry
and apologize for their treatment of God's servants.
12. Even though most other "churches" in the county and Pensacola
Christian College Incorporated see nothing wrong with bowing to Caesar and
asking permission of the heathen to obey God's commands we cannot. Just as
there are two types of churches in communist Russia and China (the state
regulated church and the free church), so it is in America.
The record will show that the property at 29 Cummings Road has been built on
several times in the past and the proper permits and inspections were obtained
while the property was not owned by Faith Baptist Fellowship. In 1999, the
entire property was given to Faith Baptist Fellowship, which is not a
creation or corporation of the state of Florida or any other state. Since that
time, this ministry has never knowingly asked for any permits from the state or
county authority.
If it is the money they want for the permit fees, we would be willing to
consider donating that, if needed. If it is control over the church they want,
we are not permitted by our Lord to grant this.
13. For nearly 2000 years, it has been the conviction of Christians that
Jesus is the head of the church and the state has no jurisdiction over the
Lord's church. Eph. 5:23 "Christ is the head of the church: and he is the
saviour of the body." Millions of Christians in the early centuries died
rather than submit the Lord's church to Caesar. See Foxes Book of Martyrs or
The Trail of Blood! It has only been in the last 100 years or so that
many have bowed the knee to make Caesar the head of their church.
14. The civil government of Escambia County obviously has limited
jurisdiction. They have admitted numerous times that they do not inspect or
permit the buildings on the Navy base, Federal buildings or state buildings
even though they are all located in Escambia County. They do not maliciously
hinder these places from receiving services from the local utilities. They
would have no jurisdiction over Indian lands or Amish in the county. They do
not seem to grasp the fact that they have no jurisdiction over the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ. The county officials cannot just decide that they do not
want to be subject to laws. Their lawless behavior must be stopped and punished.
15. The civil government in Escambia County has continually assumed
that they have jurisdiction over The Lord’s church by attempting to require
that the church get their permission to carry out God’s work. Since our first
contact with the county we have consistently maintained the position that they
have no jurisdiction over the church. We have asked them numerous times to show
us why they erroneously think they have been given authority over the church of
the Lord Jesus Christ. They have never responded. They have illegally hindered
the church’s ability to obtain electricity from the local utility. They have
trespassed on the churches property, with malice and for thought, in direct
violation of our protests and clearly posted NOTICE. They have caused me to be
arrested and have tied up many thousands of dollars in bonds and legal fees in
this battle. They have, for no reason and under color of law, caused both
myself and the church of the Lord Jesus Christ great damage, harm and
embarrassment in the community.
16. This court has jurisdiction over Escambia County. We are asking this
court to force the county to:
a) Admit they have no jurisdiction over the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
b) Make right the damages they have caused.
_____________________________________
Elder Kent E Hovind
4-3-02
Update on our battle over the building permit.
The battle over the building permits is still going well. If you are not
aware of what is happening and would like to know please contact our office and
we can email you the original letter. Basically, we built our museum/science
center with no permits since the property belongs to an unincorporated church
and the county has no jurisdiction over God’s church. The county has harassed
our ministry a great deal over this and there has been much legal fighting for
over a year over this issue. They are suing me for $50 and compliance and we
are suing them for proof of jurisdiction and damages caused to our ministry.
While the battle has been costly, our ministry has not slowed down. My son
Eric and I continue to travel and hold seminars all over the world and we
continue to produce more videos and materials on creation vs. evolutionism. See
our web site www.drdino.com for all the new
material we offer. Since our Dinosaur Adventure Land museum www.dinosauradventureland.com
and science center opened last fall we have had thousands of visitors! More and
more people come every week. We continue to add exciting new attractions and
reach the lost with the gospel. Some people and corporations are sponsoring
different displays and science activities. This is great advertising for them
and helps us develop faster.
The county has received over 10,000 emails asking them to leave us alone and
less than 5 against us. Since our letter about our legal battle went out last
month we have also had tons of response. While the vast majority (90+%) has
been supportive of our position and many have even sent gifts to supply much
needed help in the legal battle there have been several people, pastors and
leaders of incorporated organizations that have questioned the wisdom of our
stance. Even Pensacola Christian College Incorporated, my neighbor and wife’s
(as well as half my staff’s) alma mater, has come out publicly on TV against us
and in favor of the county making us get permits.
I was a little surprised at the statements some people who oppose us have
made. I don’t think they see the same picture that I see.
I thought the following "old" letter I "stumbled across"
might shed a little light on the current situation and maybe help them see this
issue from my side.
Sincerely,
Kent Hovind
From the learned elders of the Exiled Jewish Youth Group (EJYG)
3254 Hard Times Way
Babylon, Middle East 32503
Nissan 5, 605 B.C.
Dear Shadrach,
We recently learned that you and your friends, Meshach, and Abednego, are
not planning to bow to the golden image tomorrow. We have known you for years,
and we know you are bright young men with a sincere love for God, but we were
shocked to learn that anyone would even consider doing such a foolish thing! As
the highly esteemed leaders of the EJYG, we feel it is our duty to ask you to
prayerfully consider the following advice and reconsider your rash plan of
action before it is too late.
When Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took all 7,000 of us "best and
brightest" young men captive, we knew it would be necessary to change many
things in order to survive. We Jews have a long history of surviving captivity,
as you well know.
This king is used to getting everything he wants and no one has
successfully challenged him and survived. As you well know, nearly all of
us lost family members and we were all taken captive because King Jehoiakim
would not submit to Nebuchadnezzar. He got some wild patriot ideas about Jewish
sovereignty somewhere. Jehoiakim had been "his servant three years:
then he turned and rebelled against him." II Kings 24:1. Look at all
the suffering this caused and is still causing us today! Do you intend to do
the same thing?
The Word of God clearly teaches us that Kings and leaders are given by God
to protect us. See Romans 13 (when it comes out in 660 years).
Let every soul be subject
unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers
that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth
the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves
damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt
thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt
have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good.
But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in
vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to [execute] wrath upon
him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath,
but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute [permits]
also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very
thing. [They only want to insure your safety] Render therefore to all their
dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear;
honour to whom honour.
As you can see the Word of God is clear that what you are intending to do is
wrong! God gives us leaders and expects us to obey them. We, as servants of the
king, have an obligation before God to obey our masters. Nebuchadnezzar’s
command was very clear.
"To you it is commanded,
O people, nations, and languages, That at what time ye hear the sound of the
cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall
down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace."
Kings have been making their subjects bow for hundreds of years. There is
nothing wrong with bowing. Even David bowed before Saul. Everyone knows that
you can’t fight city hall. No one has ever done this before and lived. Do you
really think God will protect you even though you are out of His will?
I know you say, "It’s the principal of the thing." If bowing
really bothers you, just do it symbolically. You can be bowing on the outside
but standing tall on the inside. After all, we all know that man looks on the
outside, but God looks on the heart.
You are all still young and can do great things for God for many years to
come. Think of all the souls you can reach for God! All of this will be wasted
if you die (and you will die!) tomorrow. How will you ever witness to the king
if you are dead? Your entire ministry will be destroyed for nothing. One little
compromise over such a trivial issue as this won’t hurt you.
Besides, if you do not bow it will make the other 6,997 of us who intend to
bow look bad, and after the king kills you he may think all of us Jews are
rebellious like you. Your actions may get all of us killed! We know you have
been telling the other youth that God commanded us not to bow in the 10
commandments.
Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I
the LORD thy God am a jealous God, …"
Do you really think that only your interpretation of Exodus 20:4-5 is right?
Read the passage carefully. Since we did not make the image this passage
obviously does not apply to our situation tomorrow. There are many ways to
interpret this passage. We have many more years of experience between us than
you, and 6,997 of the 7,000 in the youth group we surveyed see nothing wrong
with bowing either. That’s 99.96%! Do you really thing all these other godly
young men are wrong and you three, with only .04%, are right? We can assure you
that we will all be bowing tomorrow and see nothing wrong with it!
We feel it is our duty to go on record publicly to warn others that we feel
you have dangerous ideas, and the other youth should avoid having contact or
fellowship with you. We shudder to think what would happen if everyone became
infected with your rebellious attitude! We will certainly not allow them to
come to your tent. If we find out that any of our youth have gone to see you we
will immediately expel them from the EJYG.
In light of the above worldly wisdom, with which God has abundantly endowed
us, we ask that you please bow tomorrow for the sake of the kingdom of
God.
Sincerely,
Dr. Arlin Hortonstien
Dr. Joel Mullenberg
Cc: King Nebuchadnezzar, the fiery furnace operators, the 6,997 sensible
young men, city commissioners, county inspectors, TV 3, Babylon News Journal,
etc.
5-1-02
Update on our battle over the building permit.
Four of the five county commissioners that voted to proceed against our
ministry have been indicted for various crimes (not involving us) and have been
removed from office. We will need to wait for new commissioners to be appointed
before much happens in the county’s suit against us. The county is suing me for
the $50 building permit and compliance. In the mean time, the federal judge may
rule any day in our suit against the county. Nearly two months ago we asked for
summary judgment since the county has never been able to demonstrate their
jurisdiction over a church. It is very unusual for a decision to take this
long. We suspect he knows we are right but is looking for some way out of this
dilemma. I’m sure he realizes that other churches in America will follow our
lead in this matter. Please pray that he will rule in our favor soon.
Update 7-19-02
This morning I went in for a "bond hearing." The county wanted
county Judge Thomas Johnson to order us to cease construction on our creation
science center. The previous creation museum building that this court battle is
about is finished and in use. I was up early praying for this situation and
wrote the following for the court to consider:
1. "I, Kent E. Hovind, have never been
convicted of any crime in my life. I have no previous record.
2. "I pose no flight risk. Why would I
run when it is obvious, considering the incredible amount of time and money I
have spent defending our church's position, that I feel we have done no wrong
in this case? Also, where would I run? My parents are both gone on to Heaven.
My gorgeous wife of 29 years lives with me, our three married children (and two
coming grandchildren!) all live around me and work in my ministry. I have over
30 people on our staff assisting me in my ministry. I am known all over the
world because of my evangelistic work. I have traveled to all 50 states and 30
countries. Plus, my word as a Christian is good. I will not run.
3. "I have only missed one court
appearance and that was only due to my complete lack of understanding of the
legal process.
4. "I had no counsel on my first visit
before Judge Kinsey over this matter.
5. "When Judge Kinsey told me on
Wednesday to appear or have the papers filed by 8 am that Friday I gave the job
to my secretary and went about my duties. Friday morning I asked her if they
had been filed. She said no but she was going to do it right away. As the
record shows, I came down immediately myself and filed the papers but it was
too late for Judge Kinsey.
6. "A warrant was issued for my arrest
for this failure to appear. When this new warrant was issued I came immediately
myself to Judge Kinsey's chambers to explain what had happened where I was
arrested on the spot and hauled off to jail. An additional $10,000 bond was
ordered for this simple failure to appear. I have since settled the failure to
appear charge so there is no logical reason for the court to hold this money.
7. "The county inspectors only want to
have our ministry's money tied up to hinder us since, for two years now, they
have not been able to show legally where we are wrong in our position over the
permit issue or demonstrate that they have legitimate jurisdiction. They want
us to fight them while they tie up our funds. They don't want a level playing
field.
8. "This battle has been very long and
frustrating for our ministry, staff, myself and especially my wife. The county
has nearly unlimited funds while we are fighting for our rights and the rights
of churches all over America on a very limited ministry budget.
9. "We did not ask for this fight. We
were simply trying to obey the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ when the
county violated the law by trespassing on our clearly marked church property to
intrude where they have never proven they have jurisdiction. Even when I gave
the county officials a copy of the POSTED NOTICE (which they had just walked
past) and explained that we were obeying the law and expected them to do the
same, they came back anyway three days later to issue the bogus citation this
entire case is over.
10. "We have been courteous to the county inspectors at all times even
while they have had me falsely charged, arrested, imprisoned, threatened,
impoverished, embarrassed and have invaded our ministry unannounced and
uninvited, three times so far.
11. "We are a peace loving people trying to serve the Lord and obey the
law.
12. "We have a duty to God to obey both His word and our legal system.
If it is later determined that we are breaking a law then we will do our best
to make it right. In the mean time, it is not right to have the church's money
tied up over an unproven allegation such as the court has before it now. The
bond should be returned and the courts should decide the merits of the case
later as scheduled."
I do not understand why, but the judge would not listen to arguments for the
bond to be returned even though our motion was submitted long before the
county's motion. He only listened to arguments about making us cease
construction. He ordered that we must cease construction on the building in
question (it is done anyway) but would not order us to stop the new one as the
county requested.
During the hearing Christy Hankin's secretary came in and gave her a big
stack of emails they had already received. They then whined to the judge about
the way all this email would distract them from doing their jobs! I thought,
"Your job is to obey the law and leave the Lord's church alone. This
entire problem could be solved if you stayed within your jurisdiction and went
after real criminals. That would be doing your job! These friends of our
ministry are writing because they want you to do your job! Talk about wasting
time! Look at what you have done to me! You have conducted armed raids on our
ministry under color of law. You come with guns and gripe about me asking
people to write? What weapons would you like me to use? Exposing the truth of
your unlawful actions is about all I have for a weapon. Email is minor compared
to what you have done to me!" Our attorney wisely objected when they
complained about the email. He said people have freedom of speech. Amen! Please
continue writing and praying for them but do not threaten them. There are
perfectly legal ways to solve this and we are pursuing as many of those ways as
we can afford.
Several times during the hearing they said we were committing "criminal
activity." She did not say "alleged" like she should have since
they have yet to establish where they got authority in the first place and I
have never had my day in court. They proceed as if I am assumed guilty until
proven innocent. Did they go to school in Russia! They still don't get it!
As I listened to them speak about how I was doing "illegal
activity" and needed to be stopped Nehemiah 4 & 6 came to my mind
right away and I realized the county inspectors Rene Perlott, Don Mayo and
assistant attorney Christi Hankins might really be Sanballat, Tobiah, and
Geshem the Arabian, reincarnated! Ha!
They have now gone (7-19-02 10am) to ask for another warrant to be signed
for my arrest and to make us cease building the current project. Does the
county really expect me to stop God's work when I am simply accused?
There has been no conviction of any "criminal activity." We feel that
to stop building based simply on their unfounded allegation would be an
admission they have jurisdiction over the Lord's church or an admission of
guilt on our part. We intend to continue our work for the Lord until ordered by
a judge to cease. Even then we will appeal to a higher court. Pray that some
judge along the line will understand this issue and rule in our favor.
7-19-02 pm. Action was taken to affect me arrested and then rescinded.
Praise God! The people involved have gotten well over 3,500 emails so far!
Maybe they will get the message soon. Curtis Golden has run for office for many
years as a Christian and I don't doubt that he is one. He has the power to stop
this madness in 10 seconds. He also runs for re-election next year. Please tell
everyone you know in Pensacola to write. He needs to feel the heat and do what
is right or lose the election to someone who will do right. Govenor Jeb Bush
also runs next year. He can stop this too.
If you email them please cc me a copy and keep me posted of any response you
get from them.
I have wracked my brain trying to understand the county's reasoning for
spending over $200,000 trying to make our ministry get this $50 permit. Here is
what I have come up with so far.
1. They see permits as a cash cow and are
worried that if they "let me get by" others may follow suit.
Answer-If they have developed an illegal scheme to get money or a private
kingdom they think they rule, that is not my problem. Permits are another tax,
and churches are not to be taxed.
2. There is an ego problem. Some people get
used to having their way and do strange things when they can't get what they
want. I Kings 21 has a good story about that. Answer- only the courts or God
can fix this one. Rarely do those with a "god complex" fix it on their
own.
3. They really feel that no one can build a
safe building without their permission. Answer: There were no building permits
for most of human history. We build our buildings beyond code and have them
inspected. They are safe. Thousands of buildings built before the code came
into being in this country are still standing after many hurricanes. Buildings
that are inspected still burn down. Their paper is not a magic cure for
anything.
Thanks,
Kent Hovind
