Banned From Attending Church

[cjbauere]

To our non-Catholic Christian Brothers and Sisters.

Does it is say in the Bible, that someone can be banned from attending church for social/cultural reasons, or does the authority for this come from somewhere else?

Real life example:

In Kosovo, a Muslim family contracts (months in advance) to rent a furnished apartment to a Christian (woman) teacher for a year. When the (woman) teacher is ready to take procession she finds the apartment unfurnished, and thus must break the contact because she needs a place to stay immediately. Unbeknownst to the Muslim family, the sister of the apartment owner is also Christian. The two Christian women, the sister and the teacher, attend the same church. Due to the social/cultural impact of the broken contract, the Christian (woman) teacher is banned from attending church until such time that amends can be made to the Muslim family.

 

[dianaiad]

To our non-Catholic Christian Brothers and Sisters.

Does it is say in the Bible, that someone can be banned from attending church for social/cultural reasons, or does the authority for this come from somewhere else?

Real life example:

In Kosovo, a Muslim family contracts (months in advance) to rent a furnished apartment to a Christian (woman) teacher for a year. When the (woman) teacher is ready to take procession she finds the apartment unfurnished, and thus must break the contact because she needs a place to stay immediately. Unbeknownst to the Muslim family, the sister of the apartment owner is also Christian. The two Christian women, the sister and the teacher, attend the same church. Due to the social/cultural impact of the broken contract, the Christian (woman) teacher is banned from attending church until such time that amends can be made to the Muslim family.

Seems to me that it’s the Muslim family that broke the contract…but I know nothing about the law in Kosovo about that.

However, there is a very simple solution to the whole thing. The teacher should go to a church where nobody has the authority, or the wish, to tell her she can’t go to church because her landlord didn’t live up to his/her word.

there has to be at least one in Kosovo.

 

[Anglican_Gal]

To our non-Catholic Christian Brothers and Sisters.

Does it is say in the Bible, that someone can be banned from attending church for social/cultural reasons, or does the authority for this come from somewhere else?

Real life example:

In Kosovo, a Muslim family contracts (months in advance) to rent a furnished apartment to a Christian (woman) teacher for a year. When the (woman) teacher is ready to take procession she finds the apartment unfurnished, and thus must break the contact because she needs a place to stay immediately. Unbeknownst to the Muslim family, the sister of the apartment owner is also Christian. The two Christian women, the sister and the teacher, attend the same church. Due to the social/cultural impact of the broken contract, the Christian (woman) teacher is banned from attending church until such time that amends can be made to the Muslim family.

What kind of “church” is she attending? Sounds a little bizarre to me.

 

[cjbauere]

It is a nondenominational Christian Church planted by “Team Expansion” based in Louisville, KY.

 

[cjbauere]

Yes

 

[Anglican_Gal]

I checked out their website, but could find no statement of faith, so it’s hard to tell exactly where they stand doctrinally. If they are an evangelical group, and if the OP is entirely correct, I’d say it is a violation of the Bible’s teachings to ban that person from the church. Nowhere do landlord-renter relationships gone sour ban a person from a church. It should be reported to the head of the mnistry.

 

[cjbauere]

I believe they are an evangelical organization and the original post is entirely correct.

 

[Todd520]

cj, can you provide the true facts to your story? What you’ve provided has errors and thus smells like a set up.

FACT: The **Muslim family broke the contract **since they did not provide a furnished apartment, as contracted.

One must question what other facts are in error, or omitted. Until the real facts are know, one should not comment.

To our non-Catholic Christian Brothers and Sisters.

Does it is say in the Bible, that someone can be banned from attending church for social/cultural reasons, or does the authority for this come from somewhere else?

Real life example:

In Kosovo, a Muslim family contracts (months in advance) to rent a furnished apartment to a Christian (woman) teacher for a year. When the (woman) teacher is ready to take procession she finds the apartment unfurnished, and thus must break the contact because she needs a place to stay immediately. Unbeknownst to the Muslim family, the sister of the apartment owner is also Christian. The two Christian women, the sister and the teacher, attend the same church. Due to the social/cultural impact of the broken contract, the Christian (woman) teacher is banned from attending church until such time that amends can be made to the Muslim family.

 

[Janet1983]

Agreed. I think that teacher should just go ahead and find herself a better church. If they are banning her over this issue that has nothing to do with her salvation, this church might want to think about where their true focus lies.

 

[Anglican_Gal]

Agreed. I think that teacher should just go ahead and find herself a better church. If they are banning her over this issue that has nothing to do with her salvation, this church might want to think about where their true focus lies.

I agree, the teacher should definitely find another Church. In my experience, it’s only cultic groups which seek to micro-manage the believer’s life.

 

[cjbauere]

cj, can you provide the true facts to your story? What you’ve provided has errors and thus smells like a set up.

FACT: The **Muslim family broke the contract **since they did not provide a furnished apartment, as contracted.

One must question what other facts are in error, or omitted. Until the real facts are know, one should not comment.

These are the true facts!

What I left out (so as to keep it short and to the point) was explaining in greater detail the social/cultural impact. Kosovars have great respect and admiration for Americans (the teacher is an American). So when the contract was broken, other Kosovars in the neighborhood wanted to know what the landlord had done to upset the American and make her want to live elsewhere. This lead to gossip and finger pointing among the Kosovars.

 

[Todd520]

So, are you saying the Muslim family broke the contract but everyone thinks the teacher did?

If she did contract for a furnished apt, then I can see her being in trouble for breaking the contract.
Is the Church property owned by the same Muslim family? I can imagine some sensitivity if she was brought over by the Church - they might be seen as accountable for her debts.

There is just way too much unknown here to offer more than knee jerk comments,
and make Muslims look intimidating.

The root of this problem is probably cultural, something you acknowledge omitting from the OP

These are the true facts!

What I left out (so as to keep it short and to the point) was explaining in greater detail the social/cultural impact. Kosovars have great respect and admiration for Americans (the teacher is an American). So when the contract was broken, other Kosovars in the neighborhood wanted to know what the landlord had done to upset the American and make her want to live elsewhere. This lead to gossip and finger pointing among the Kosovars.

 

[cjbauere]

So, are you saying the Muslim family broke the contract but everyone thinks the teacher did?

If she did contract for a furnished apt, then I can see her being in trouble for breaking the contract.
Is the Church property owned by the same Muslim family? I can imagine some sensitivity if she was brought over by the Church - they might be seen as accountable for her debts.

There is just way too much unknown here to offer more than knee jerk comments,
and make Muslims look intimidating.

The root of this problem is probably cultural, something you acknowledge omitting from the OP

She is a volunteer teacher for one of the local English-speaking High Schools in Kosovo. The church is one of many financial contributors to the school, but nothing more than that.

She stayed at the apartment (as soon as she arrived) for two weeks (the two weeks prior to school) without a refrigerator, stove or reliable heat for the up coming winter months. When it was evident these appliances were not coming in the foreseeable she had no choice but to find suitable housing elsewhere . . . school was starting. So yes, the problem is social/cultural, which makes the banning even more absurd.

 

[JHow]

…Unbeknownst to the Muslim family, the sister of the apartment owner is also Christian…

Frankly, your story lost me here. I though the muslim family were the landlords (presumably the owners?) and the Christian woman was the renter?

 

[dianaiad]

These are the true facts!

What I left out (so as to keep it short and to the point) was explaining in greater detail the social/cultural impact. Kosovars have great respect and admiration for Americans (the teacher is an American). So when the contract was broken, other Kosovars in the neighborhood wanted to know what the landlord had done to upset the American and make her want to live elsewhere. This lead to gossip and finger pointing among the Kosovars.

Then the landlords should have A: furnished the apartment, or B; arranged for her to live somewhere until they could furnish her apartment, or C: explained why they could not furnish the apartment and been gracious about releasing her from any obligation.

What did they expect her to do, sleep and eat off of the floors in order to save their reputations?

“Finger pointing?” So because they didn’t live up to their end of the deal, the teacher is getting shunned?

Heaven help us–and I don’t think that going to Kosovo—or attempting to deal with this particular group–is on my bucket list.

 

[Todd520]

It clearly sounds like the teacher has done nothing untowards,
which makes me think there is more to the story

She stayed at the apartment (as soon as she arrived) for two weeks (the two weeks prior to school) without a refrigerator, stove or reliable heat for the up coming winter months. When it was evident these appliances were not coming in the foreseeable she had no choice but to find suitable housing elsewhere . . . school was starting. So yes, the problem is social/cultural, which makes the banning even more absurd.