Soj

[1Timothy115]

Soj,
Could you explain the laws concerning door to door witnessing in New Zealand. In Bro. Snyder's letters he mentions something about having to leave literature in the mail boxes? No contact at the door allowed?

Thanx

[Soj]

Soj,
Could you explain the laws concerning door to door witnessing in New Zealand. In Bro. Snyder's letters he mentions something about having to leave literature in the mail boxes? No contact at the door allowed?

Thanx

The only laws I am aware of that prohibit any kind of witnessing in NZ is a bi-law that was passed several years ago in one of our medium sized townships, you can no longer preach on the streets there because a group of "professing Christians" were preaching against the Catholic Church instead of preaching the gospel, and that got the town council upset so they passed the bi-law.

As far as I know, door to door witnessing, street preaching, & public tracting are still legal practises allowed by law in New Zealand. I don't wish to contradict what Bro. Snyder has said, so it could be that the town in which he is ministering has some kind of bi-law against it, I don't know.

[1Timothy115]

The only laws I am aware of that prohibit any kind of witnessing in NZ is a bi-law that was passed several years ago in one of our medium sized townships, you can no longer preach on the streets there because a group of "professing Christians" were preaching against the Catholic Church instead of preaching the gospel, and that got the town council upset so they passed the bi-law.

As far as I know, door to door witnessing, street preaching, & public tracting are still legal practises allowed by law in New Zealand. I don't wish to contradict what Bro. Snyder has said, so it could be that the town in which he is ministering has some kind of bi-law against it, I don't know.

It could be that I misunderstood and thanks for clearing it up.

[Invicta]

It could be that the law may be one thing and the way it is interpreted by officials is something else. This often happens here in the UK. Some decades ago there was "a blasphemy libel" case in a london court where Mary Whitehouse was defending Christian values. Of of the Christians at work was mocked by one of his colleagues, that although the "Gay Christians" were outside with placades, there were no Christians supprting Mary W. As his jOB usually finished about mid morning, he decided to do something to rectify this and went to the local bookshop and bought a couple of large posters and some tracts. He made an A board and put thye tracts on and stood outside the court. A police officer told him that it was against the law to hand out tracts in the City of London. One day I visited him there, and I said I did not think it could be illegal, so he asked me to look after his board while he went to Snow Hill Police Station to ask them. He was tol it is not illegal but if he handed out tracts and people discarded them he could be accused of depositing litter. While he was away and I was standing by his board, a man came past, gave me a strange look then came back and looked again then came again and shook my hand and said "Well done Brother." I had to tell him that it was not mine but that I was minding it for a friend.

A church where I used to live, asked permission of the local council to hold an open air service in a popular open place in the summer. Permission was denied. When we aske why, they said "We never give permission." The Salvation Army and other churches held meetings there at times, so we assumed that they did not ask permission.

In Ashford some years ago a man was preaching outside a shopping mall and was arrested for OBstruction. As secular groups held various activities in the same place it seems that OBstuction can be used as those in power whenever they don't like what you are doing.

If I remember correctly from way back in my school days, we were taught that one does not have the right to linger on a highway or footpath, only to walk or drive on it, and that if requested by a police officer to move on, upon refusing you could be arrested for OBstruction. If that is true, they can stop you preaching, whenever you want.

[Soj]

Thanks Invicta, good examples of how "the law is an ass". The laws of man are only going to get harsher, and what's a grey area now will be black & white prohibition soon enough.

Even so, come , Lord Jesus.

[JerryNumbers]

The only laws I am aware of that prohibit any kind of witnessing in NZ is a bi-law that was passed several years ago in one of our medium sized townships, you can no longer preach on the streets there because a group of "professing Christians" were preaching against the Catholic Church instead of preaching the gospel, and that got the town council upset so they passed the bi-law.

As far as I know, door to door witnessing, street preaching, & public tracting are still legal practises allowed by law in New Zealand. I don't wish to contradict what Bro. Snyder has said, so it could be that the town in which he is ministering has some kind of bi-law against it, I don't know.

I would think by this example many ought to learn a lesson. That being if they're on the streets or sidewalks preaching we all should use the example given in the Bible, preach Jesus Christ crucified, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," trying to get people saved, and not be preaching against any church. Them if we get them saved and into our churches we can teach them those things.

[Soj]

Good point, agreed, stick with preaching & witnessing the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if you go down a rabbit trail try and bring it back to Christ and him crucified at every opportunity. Unless you are leading up to delivering the gospel it's pointless discussing anything else with an unbeliever, it justs ends up in foolish and unlearned questions and debating.