As reported by The Phoenix New Times on June 16 – “This Thursday, a swarm of police officers descended on (Pastor) Michael Salman's northwest Phoenix home. Armed officers herded Salman, his wife Suzanne, their five young daughters, and their visiting friends into the living room — and kept them under watch for 90 minutes while other city officials searched the grounds.” Sgt. Shultz must have been leading the raid, because it shouldn’t have taken that long to find the evidence that the Salmans were holding church services in their backyard.

 

The ‘Black Boots’ in Phoenix apparently didn’t hear the shouts of indignation  from Christians, conservatives, constitutionalists and just plain good old Americans of every stripe in San Diego recently when they yelled so loud that the ‘prayer police’ not only caved in from the pressure but cancelled fines that could have approached untold thousands of dollars and apologized to Pastor David and Mary Jones.

 

But no doubt the Phoenix city goons of Phoenix are products of public education and are educable slow when it comes to the religious liberty clauses of the Arizona and U.S. Constitutions, because the ‘storm troopers’ that went to the home in Northwest Phoenix didn’t merely ask a few questions as did the San Diego police like, “Do you have a regular weekly meeting in your home? Do you sing? Do you say 'amen'? Do you say, 'Praise the Lord'?"  This was a full blown raid, just like a drug bust, except there were no drugs; they found something far more powerful however – something that the government seems afraid of today – THE GOSPILL!

 

Sarah Fenske, the reporter who filed the story wrote – “One of the visitors in the Salmans' home that day, Sam Atallah, came here from Syria for graduate school and now has a Christian ministry focusing on his fellow Middle Easterners. Atallah couldn't believe his own eyes: Seven or eight police officers held the family and their guests at bay. When Suzanne had to leave the room to change her baby's diaper, she was escorted by a cop. When Michael Salman initially demurred at producing a key to an outbuilding, the cops threatened to break down the door. All because they're holding church services? "If you tell somebody in the Middle East that this happened, they can't believe you," Atallah says. "We came to America to get away from this kind of persecution."

 

According to the News it was obvious that some of the police were not relishing their assignment. One officer said that in his 12 years on the force he had never been on an “administrative search warrant” like this.  Another made a comment that was captured on video, “They had to take it to this level, which I’ve never seen before.”

 

Police Detective James Holmes said that they were summoned by zoning officials.  He said that they normally had been denied admission, but Salman said it wasn’t true.

 

Tragically this case proves what I have been trying to say for twenty-five years. You can’t satisfy the city fathers. The church must take a hard line. No regulations except voluntary. No zoning, no permits, nothing. Congress shall pass, “NO LAW.” That includes the states also. What part of NO! don’t you understand.  Pastor Salman had jumped through every hoop to satisfy them.  He had spent $80,000.  He only had a few families coming to his little prayer chapel that he built.  Of course, neighbors were annoyed over a few parking places that were taken because people were worshipping God at the Salman home instead of playing poker and drinking beer, and they had to miss a few minutes of the football game.

 

When we write articles of this type we always have those who feel that we are being too hard on the police, “who after all are just doing their job.”  True Constitutionalists are not the enemy of law enforcement. In reality, we are their best friend. We are the ones who are trying to keep the radical leftist revolutionaries from destroying this country. We are the ones who are preserving lawful government based upon our Christian republic. It’s time that we get off of that kick.  We heard it at the Nuremburg trials.

 

Cops are supposed to know the state and U.S. Constitutions. Those are their laws.  They do not have to obey an unlawful order. Raiding churches, unless a common law crime is involved, is an unlawful order.  The answer to their superior is “NO!”  No policeman, sheriff or military personnel in America can be forced to obey any unlawful order against the Constitution or against his conscience or religious belief.  If they do, they are in violation of the law.  If he is to suffer the consequences, then he must “obey God and not man” and accept the principal, And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  The day is coming when Americans are going to be required to fire on fellow law abiding Americans, even worshipping their God at church, they must not do it.

 

Strangely, the weekly Phoenix New Times is the only media outlet in the greater Phoenix area that has reported this story, which means that unless people find out about it here in the Sun Valley, there will not be the support for the Salmans that there was for the Jones in San Diego. Please immediately contact Mayor Phil Gordon by phone at (602) 262-7111 or email mayor.gordon@phoenix.gov and Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris at (602) 262-6747.

 

If you would like to have The Trumpet, the voice of the unregistered church movement in America – send your e mail address to: drgregdixon@earthlink.net.  Our web site is: www.unregisteredbaptistfellowship.com