David Jones of San Diego is off the hook. He can have a Bible study of fifteen or so in his home now without having a permit costing thousands of dollars. He can say amen anytime he pleases in his home and can make all the references to Almighty God in any format that he may want.

I was completely aghast when I first read that a possible parking violation near Mr. Jones' home led police to discover that he was talking about God and saying amen without a permit. I suppose one solution to the problem would be for the guests to carpool, but is that really the problem?

What kind of permit would one ask for?

I know countless people who have small Bible studies in their homes.

Besides the obvious issue of Americans' right to practice religion in their own way and possibly the issue of the right to peaceful assembly, (When did one have to get a permit to assemble in one's own home?) I wondered what was so terribly unsettling about this.

I grew up in the Midwest. In grade school, there was no such thing as a person who didn't celebrate Christmas. Kids had no idea that there were people like Jews and Moslems and Buddhists. In short, everybody was presumed to be Christian and entitled to read the Bible on Sunday, attend the church of their choice, and worship the Easter Bunny, that herald of the risen Christ.

But there was something much deeper than that bothering me.

Christianity is the rebellious stepchild of Judaic tradition, the tradition of the synagogue. In that tradition, when 10 men (minyan) of like mind would gather to study, that would constitute a synagogue. It was the tradition that gave form and founded churches.

What bothered me at the deepest level was that this was a rough incursion against our tradition of intellectual freedom, the most fundamental right to think and worship and learn. It felt like my worst nightmares about Big Brother, Storm Troopers, and the Gulag Archipelago for bad poets.