Pastor Terrorized, Arrested for 'Reading the Bible Aloud' Scores 'Complete Victory'

Billy Hallowell : Sep 17, 2024
Faithwire.com

"Pastor Meinecke knew … he had a First Amendment right to share his views." -Nate Kellum, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute

[Faithwire.com] A Washington pastor scored a major victory last week after being arrested at least twice for preaching the Gospel in public. (Image: via X- @mattteamJesus /Faithwire)

Pastor Matthew Meinecke's battle against officials in Seattle, Washington, recently came to a close, according to Nate Kellum, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute. The lawyer told CBN News how the situation began June 24, 2022, how it was resolved, and why it matters.

"What had happened was the city of Seattle effectively made reading the Bible aloud a crime," he told CBN News. "And it first occurred on June 24, 2022. I don't know if that date sticks out to you, but that was the date that the US Supreme Court rendered the Dobbs decision. That was a decision that overturned Roe v. Wade."

Meinecke was reportedly preaching during a huge protest against the decision in downtown Seattle, and Kellum said the preacher felt it would "be a perfect opportunity to share the Gospel."

"So, he took his Bible and he goes out there to read the Bible," he said. "He has very earnest pro-life beliefs, but that was not his purpose. He really just wanted to share the Gospel.

Meinecke started reading from the Book of John and "it was not received well."

"Some protesters started to crowd in around him, started saying some inflammatory, derogatory things, [and] made him feel uncomfortable," Kellum said. "So ... he moved off a few feet away to a new spot, but then, at that spot, some protester grabbed his Bible and started ripping the pages out of it..." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

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