It’s the Politics Stupid
It’s true. Thousands of churches across the country are overtly political. They call on their congregations to support the war on terror, school prayer, judicial nominees, the President and his policies. Some do it because they feel the need to invade personal freedom with their ideology, others do it because they believe it will hasten the rapture. In their eye’s being a Christian is being a conservative republican, and they are left alone to continue to play their part in this massive republican political machine.
However a Church in Pasadena, CA is defying this apparent decree, and as a result the government is investigating the legality of their actions.
After a 2004 sermon in which a preacher opposed the misguided war in Iraq, the IRS is now looking into the tax exempt status of Pasadena’s All Saints Church . Thankfully All Saints is fighting back with vigor. As Rev. J. Edwin Bacon Jr. posited:
“I’m very interested to know whether the IRS is taking a look only at churches that are critical of the war in Iraq, or also at the churches that are supportive of the war and the president.”
Unfortunately, I think we already know the answer. While the IRS has investigated potential violations by members of the religious right, these came years ago and were not merely a result of fiery speeches, but rather massive political organizing and strategizing. These actions often were taken with the explicit help of their conservative political allies. However today, when the religious right is enjoying unparalleled political access to congressmen and even the president, it’s a liberal church that is singled out.
This is ridiculous. Upholding the law is important. But when investigations are spawned by political bullies who despise nothing more than legitimate dissent, it’s infuriating.
But they’re right. How dare a church not tow the administration’s line. They probably don’t even believe that it’s God who is actually enjoying his second term.
[…] So in light of the recent action’s taken by the IRS against All Saints Church in Pasadena, CA we’ve decided to make sure the IRS doesn’t miss any tax exempt religious organizations who has overstepped their bounds. […]
Whether a church is pro or con for the wars in Afghanistan & Iraq should have no impact on its’ tax status. The IRS should have to PROVE there is ANOTHER reason for examining the church’s tax exempt status. Government is slowing taking over OUR rights. We must hold the government accountable since the government is SUPPOSE to work for the PEOPLE of the United States.
How about the PTL and Pat Roberson’s order to hit the Venezuelan president for refusing to cough up oil for the Bush administration? Isn’t that a direct conflict of interest? And, shouldn’t that have provoked an all-out workover of the PTL books to see if they weren’t pumping money into interests that would support such undertakings, ie: our own Whitehouse? Come on IRS. Let’s see what’s going on inside the PTL Club. Inquiring minds want to know.
Tax all houses of ignorance and superstition, none should be tax exempt. Millions of our tax dollars are wasted on religion. This money should go toward useful things. If all the money wasted on religion could be used for things needed, this would be a much better country. Religion has taken over our government and we no longer have a democracy, we have a theocracy. Religion and government should not be mixed; not ony does this make good sense but it is a damn good law.
Sorry, but after reading the sermon from the church in Pasadena I must admit it went too far. To pick out a particular group (conservitives) is something I wouldn’t tolerate in my own church.Condemning certain ideas is different from lombasting a certain group. I believe you are fighting the religious rights battle for them. I can hear(and have heard on TV) the right making a similar sermon by twisting certain democratic stances and condemning the “LIBERALS”. That should not pass as religious freedom-It is a political speech. Please don’t do the religious rights work for them. The sermon was poorly worded and delivered. Do keep up the fight against churches that think they have a free pass to condemn the liberals and the Democrats as a group or that think the pulput should be a campaign platform to support the absurd policies of the current administration.
It’s beginning to smell a lot like McCarthyism. If you’re not with them, you’re against them. Where is God’s name is it written that all people must think and believe the same thing. Wasn’t this country founded on religious freedom. What a preacher talks about in his/her sermon is of no consequence to the IRS. This administration needs to go and FAST!
If anyone else is interested in reading the All Saints sermon in question you can find it here.
The IRS is “investigating” (read: persecuting) a church for preaching against war??? I thought the Christian religion was supposed to be against war! I think it is more likely because the church is exposing George W’s dimwitted anti-life agendas - which NEED to be exposed if we are to save America from its downhill slide into tyranny. Are we already too much of a police state to lodge protests against dangerous tyranical leaders?
Where is the investigation of Pat Robertson’s outfit’s call for the murder of a government official? - Robertson is a dangerous violent extremist and the IRS is letting him claim tax exempt status? And what about that so-called “minister” who’s pro-radical-right-extremist harrangues from the pulpit caused his own congregation to throw him out? Did the IRS do anything about him? Something is very rotten here. The IRS should show some integrity and stand up to pressure from the Bush administration to harass those who see his policies for what they are - aggressively anti-life, extremist, facist, and smacking of McCarthyism.
Evidently Mr. Bush is so paranoid (shades of Nixon) that he is directing the IRS to investigate those who are against his anti-life (pro-war, pro-torture, pro-death penalty, anti-living-things) ideologies (apparently more than half our country now strongly dislike these policies). The IRS is showing their lack of integrity by kowtowing to an ignorant, fearful, dangerous man in the presidency and persecuting innocent American citizens and sincerely peaceful organizations. George W would make McCarthy proud. I fear for my country.
This topic has been a thorn in my side for years… how did the constitution get distorted to read, “Congress shall give superstition a free financial ride.”? If religion (I prefer to call it “superstition”) has any value, it should be able to stand alone, as with any other organization without help from our government. My contention is that it wouldn’t, since people would realize the totally superfluous nature of this beast.
It is time to realize that all religion is reactionary and detrimental to the advancement of science, social progress, technology, and mankind in general. Superstition is used to control the populace, to keep women down as second class citizens, and to keep power by invoking invisible promises or threats of eternal damnation.
If we were truly a thinking society, the superstitions of the world would wither away into obscurity, where they belong… and that would happen, if we took away our tacit support of other world foolishness by making those who insist upon wasting time by praying to the wall, pay their fair share of taxes.
The Senate hearing for the Indian Gaming Commission interviewed Itilia Federici, who has a 501-c GOP Lobby Group who used hundred of thousands of stolen fiuds to promote GOP politics. Gail Norton is behind this money scam and why is the IRS not investigating this obvious “taxfree” scam??? We must demand that the IRS investigate this and hold Gale Norton , Jack Abramoff and the DoJ, FBI and other and the other corrupt REPUKES responsible. Lwayno@aol.com
p.s. Check KEYWORDS: Gus Boulis Murder Case; Jack Abramosff: Adam Kidan, Michael Scanlon
Go to Keywords: NY Times” More Ohio Woes: Rep . Bob Ney,R-Ohio: Relph Reed, James Dobson, Grover Norquest, Itilia Federici, Dennis Hastert, Sen. Conrad Burns, R-MT, Gail Norton, Lwayno@aol.com
It certainly smacks of the old McCarthyite attacks. The IRS has been used as a “Weapon of Mass Destruction” by administrations who fear that the majority of people might not like and /or agree with their policies. If a church, or any other organization should be critical of Bush’s war, it certainly should not fear senseless retribution. And as for congress”person” J. Schmidt…Very Unwise and quite ignorant to attack a war hero who happens to be in a position to be a valid critic of the war effort. Put her on the back bench until reelection time. Do you suppose that the Religious Right will sign her up? She looks like a prime “suspect”.
I knew that a lot of people in the US are religious in a special and sometimes fanatic/strange way, but I didn’t know it went so far. So deep into the life and politics. Alarming. In the Netherlands we have some (growing) problems with a part of the Islamic people, but not so deep.
Is it a sign of leaving ratio in moments of despair (War in Irak, large economic/financial/social problems) and flee into religion?
Let common sense be the guide and don’t let the priests or imans do the job.
Good luck,
Ronald de Vos (Holland/Europe)
What about the Roman Catholic Church’s guide for Catholic voters?
I seem to remember during the last election (to cite just one example) that the Catholic Church spoke out against John Kerry because of his stand on abortion as did many other churches. In this case, a church was taking a political stand, but there was no question of the Catholic Church or any of the other churches losing their tax-exempt status.It was clearly wrong for these churches to get involved in a political issue during the election.
After having read the sermon from the All Saints church, from a Pagan’s perspective, I say this: While I disagree in theology with mainstream religionists about the nature of who Jesus really is (which does not matter in this blog), I agree in concept with other loving caring humans about what needs to be done to help bring humankind back from the brink of self-destruction. Do I think the rector in Pasadena went too far in mentioning what he thought Jesus might say? I think so. I think he put his own words in Jesus mouth, projecting his views on what he thought Jesus might say or do, turning Jesus into a puppet, essentially. That is what the religious right tries to do. I do not believe that any Ascended Master, Buddha, Jesus or whatever takes any political position. The only position any Being on the Other Side would take is most likely the position of Love. Love is above any political agenda, whether conservative or liberal. Yes, it would seem that the Democratic side seems to lean on the side of caring more often than not. But that doesn’t mean that we need to put political labels on what is the truly spiritually correct thing to do.
As for the IRS thing, I agree that they are being used as pawns to further Dubya’s agenda–which means Dubya is getting desperate. And when people get desperate, there is usually a level of paranoia involved, sad to say. And to threaten a church just because the minister and congregation possibly disagree with the incumbent’s agenda, that, I feel, is abominable. I will just add that to my ever-growing list of reasons why I left the mainstream religions and why I am never going back to them.
My own father is a Methodist minister, and fairly liberal. But I have hardly ever heard him speak his specific views on politics during a sermon. He expressed his liberal views in different ways: he marched in protest rallies while in Seminary, and he was willing to play organ for a Hispanic church at that time. He has expressed what he feels to be generous, giving love to all he is concerned about. That does not make him merely a “good Christian.” It makes him a GOOD HUMAN BEING. That is all that is truly required of us. Universal Love/God/Goddess does not require us to join anything or be anything but that we simply attune to what Love is–and Be Love.
I might have written a “sermon” here (though as a Pagan, I care not to use that term for myself.), but I felt the need to express my own views, which is what a blog is for.
TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) Has some good religious and health programs however it uses Fox News and it’s Psuedo-Journalists (May 16, 2004, Los Angeles Times) and boosts the American Center for Law and Justice whose top attorneys boasted about boosting Bush’s re-election and Clarence Thomas. It is now offering free internet service around the world and its 3309 stations, 21 satellites, and thousands of cable networks.
I AGREE THIS ADMINISTRATION,IS NOT NOW OR EVER HAS BEEN TRUTHFUL.
I BELIEVE PAT ROBERTSON IS A DANGEROUS PERSON.
[…] Over the weekend we learned that the IRS is moving forward with their investigation of All Saints Church in Pasadena, CA. All Saint’s crime? Criticizing the war in Iraq. While investigations can only be made public by those being investigated, it doesn’t appear that any of the more conservative churches that raised concerns in state’s like Ohio, were ever approached by the IRS […]
[…] By John Burton: The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is threatening to revoke the tax-exempt status of Pasadena’s All Saints Church on the grounds that an antiwar sermon given in November 2004 violated the requirement that charitable organizations not endorse particular candidates. […]