CA Court of Appeal Upholds Ban on Indoor Worship in John MacArthur Case (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Grace Community Church conducted an indoor meeting this morning with little masking or social distancing. In fact, near the beginning of the service, John MacArthur said, “the good news is that you’re here, you’re not distancing, and you’re not wearing masks.” You can hear that quote in the second part of the audio below.

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Yesterday, the California Court of Appeal set aside Judge Chalfant’s lower court partial denial of Los Angeles County’s restraining order on indoor worship at John MacArthur’s Grace Community Church.

Read the Court of Appeal ruling

Los Angeles County filed an emergency request with the Court of Appeal to prevent Grace Community Church from having indoor services this morning.  In short, the Court of Appeal ruled that county’s Health Order had support from prior court rulings and was likely to be upheld at trial. The Court of Appeal held that the order should be upheld at least until the September 4th hearing, although the church will have an opportunity to present a rebuttal by August 25.

66 thoughts on “CA Court of Appeal Upholds Ban on Indoor Worship in John MacArthur Case (UPDATED)”

  1. I recommend you not engage “Fred Stevens.” His Disqus profile shows he comments here (lucky us) and at Breitbart. Here’s a selection of his pithy comments over in the Breitbart cesspool. (He’s dangerously deranged.)

    Democrats are going to employ the biggest vote fraud scheme the world has ever seen. And the media will ignore it.

    Democrats are subhuman. It’s why they make varmint rounds.

    [re: MI Gov Whitmer] She’s a complete psycho. Just like Cuomo – she murdered the elderly in order to increase the body count. She is a mass murderer.

    Don’t lock them up. The marxists will just set them free again. End them permanently.

    The enemy is identifying itself.
    The enemy is gathering close together in large groups.
    The enemy is not protecting its flanks.
    Encircle the enemy.
    Destroy the enemy.
    Every single one of them should be eliminated.

    They [BLM] all need to be terminated. Cut them down. Dig a big hole.

    These “protesters” need to be $h0t. Peacefully, of course.

    BLM should be cut down like the spring grass. Start in Portland. Then cut them down in every city in the country. “News” hosts like the one on MSNBC should experience their final broadcast on air.

    Our enemy is identifying itself in the streets.
    The enemy is unsophisticated and is gathering in tight groups.
    The enemy is not watching its exposed flanks.
    The enemy can be easily encircled and eliminated in each city with a small group of operatives.
    Encircle. Destroy.

    The Democrats have politically weaponized every branch of the US government. They stole the House of Representatives in 2018 by using ballot harvesting. They want to destroy this country.

    Democrats are subhuman anti-American garbage.

    Eliminate Democrats and we can end abortion.
    Do you not understand the concept of “root cause?”

  2. And the (7-day) rolling average is still over 1000 deaths per day in the Unites States (1,065 as of yesterday); even in Trumpland Lite (aka. Brexie Land, sometimes known as the United Kingdom) the equivalent figure is now below 20 (though they seem to have changed the way they record causes of death and, as of last Friday, around 5,000 people had no longer died as a result of the pandemic – make of that what you will!).

    It’s really shocking, and potentially terribly damaging – including economically – in the long term.

  4. Everyone of the sheeple in the pews should now be in 14 day quarantine. MacArthur should be in jail for attempted manslaughter. LOCK HIM UP!

  5. “The Lord knew you had to be inside and un-masked”!? If this was any of the “charismatic” preachers, MacArthur would’ve jumped on them immediately, calling what they said strange fire and unbiblical. But when he says it, and even before he says it, he gets thunderous applause!? (For the record, I’ve never seen any self-proclaimed reformed church to allow applause for the preacher.)

    1. Funny, I don’t recall anywhere in the Bible that says Jesus hired a hall to preach to people. I remember reading that he spoke to crowds in the streets. So why is MacArthur so insistent that his congregation has to be seated inside a church, shoulder to shoulder, to hear him? Is he that much better an orator than Jesus?

  6. Latest: Per the L.A. Times (paywall!), MacArthur intends to defy the court’s order. He is likely doing so as I write this.

    1. Yes, he did go ahead and see the update above. When I posted this at a little after 10am, I didn’t know what he planned to do, but as we now know he congratulated the congregation for foolishness.

        2. Except presidential pardons don’t do sh*t with violations of state laws. He could always ask Gov. Newsom….

  7. Two entirely predictable developments: The trial court was reversed (the trial court was wrong in the first place to rule as it did), and MacArthur proved he never had any intention of following even the limited restrictions imposed by the trial court.

    I eagerly await the contempt citation MacArthur has coming to him. He should be jailed, but look for a hefty fine instead.

    Nice to see that Jacobson v. Massachusetts still lives. MacArthur faces the nearly insurmountable problem of proving the health order is unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. Yeah, like that’ll happen.

    1. And he won’t even have the trial court judge sympathetic since he didn’t even abide by that court’s ruling. They should do what LA has been doing or threatening to do to party houses, turn off the power and water to the church.

  8. JMac and his mega are still lawyered up and fighting it, though.
    i.e. “Choose this day WHOM ye will Serve; but for Me and Mine, We Shall Serve The LORD.”

    I’m waiting for Anti-Mask to join Anti-Vaxx as the next Litmus Test of YOUR Salvation.

  9. Well, a little good news.
    John MacArthur can’t infect anyone he chooses.
    Thanks for the update, Warren.

    1. Perhaps if they were rioting and protesting holding placards, then it wouldn’t be a problem, right?

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