Cleverboy
Sep 29, 2008, 12:49 AM
Should politics be pushed from the Pulpit? This election cycle, we know it started coming up with the Rev. Wright sermons, where the IRS investigated claims that Wright shown bias towards Obama in his sermons and distributed literature inappropriately (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/02/26/irs_investigating_obamas_churc_2.html), and we also saw a Bishop refuse communion to a politician who had endorsed Obama (http://blog.beliefnet.com/stevenwaldman/2008/09/the-day-i-was-denied-communion.html).
Well... now things are getting serious. After James Dobson, popular host of "Focus on the Family" criticised Obama's faith-themed speech to a liberal Christian group "Call for Renewal" (http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/), he was assailed by a group of religious figures that began a website called "JamesDobsonDoesntSpeakForMe.com (http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/)" to counter his claims. It seemed clear that Obama's appeal to the religious community had injected a very real and credible threat to the core of conservative America.
As such, some pastors have just decided to take it to the NEXT LEVEL. They're challenging the IRS rules on non-political speech in retaining their tax-free status.
The Rev. Fran Pultro shrugged off federal laws restricting his role in partisan politics Sunday, telling 45 people at Calvary Chapel on the King's Highway in Philadelphia that preserving conservative social values was of the utmost importance in this election.
"As Christians it's clear we should vote for John McCain," said Mr. Pultro from the church's stage. "He is the only candidate I believe a Christian can vote for." Mr. Pultro was one of several ministers across the country, citing Scripture and their free-speech rights, who endorsed or criticized a presidential candidate inside their church, in apparent violation of federal tax law, all part of a mass protest led by a conservative legal-aid group.
Partisan Sunday Sermons Test Federal Tax Laws
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122265357171384405.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
And its happening elsewhere:Defying a federal law that prohibits American clergy from endorsing political candidates from the pulpit, an evangelical Christian minister told his congregation yesterday that voting for Senator Obama would be evidence of "severe moral schizophrenia." The Reverend Ron Johnson told worshipers that the Democratic presidential nominee's positions on abortion and gay partnerships exist "in direct opposition to God's truth as He has revealed it in the scriptures." Rev. Johnson showed slides contrasting the candidates' views but stopped short of endorsing Senator McCain. Rev. Johnson and 32 other pastors around the country set out yesterday to break the rules, seeking to generate a legal battle that will prompt federal courts to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship. It seems this fight is one some religious leaders feel it would be far too damaging to lose. With the Supreme Court being SO CLOSE to becoming entirely conservative... winning the White House would be their best bet for eliminating "abortion" at the Federal level (reversing Roe v Wade once and for all), and locking in their concept of a moral America, from a soley ideological basis, in White House. It was this battle of "good versus evil" that got Bush elected twice. The case is once again being pressed harder than ever.
~ CB
Well... now things are getting serious. After James Dobson, popular host of "Focus on the Family" criticised Obama's faith-themed speech to a liberal Christian group "Call for Renewal" (http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/), he was assailed by a group of religious figures that began a website called "JamesDobsonDoesntSpeakForMe.com (http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/)" to counter his claims. It seemed clear that Obama's appeal to the religious community had injected a very real and credible threat to the core of conservative America.
As such, some pastors have just decided to take it to the NEXT LEVEL. They're challenging the IRS rules on non-political speech in retaining their tax-free status.
The Rev. Fran Pultro shrugged off federal laws restricting his role in partisan politics Sunday, telling 45 people at Calvary Chapel on the King's Highway in Philadelphia that preserving conservative social values was of the utmost importance in this election.
"As Christians it's clear we should vote for John McCain," said Mr. Pultro from the church's stage. "He is the only candidate I believe a Christian can vote for." Mr. Pultro was one of several ministers across the country, citing Scripture and their free-speech rights, who endorsed or criticized a presidential candidate inside their church, in apparent violation of federal tax law, all part of a mass protest led by a conservative legal-aid group.
Partisan Sunday Sermons Test Federal Tax Laws
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122265357171384405.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
And its happening elsewhere:Defying a federal law that prohibits American clergy from endorsing political candidates from the pulpit, an evangelical Christian minister told his congregation yesterday that voting for Senator Obama would be evidence of "severe moral schizophrenia." The Reverend Ron Johnson told worshipers that the Democratic presidential nominee's positions on abortion and gay partnerships exist "in direct opposition to God's truth as He has revealed it in the scriptures." Rev. Johnson showed slides contrasting the candidates' views but stopped short of endorsing Senator McCain. Rev. Johnson and 32 other pastors around the country set out yesterday to break the rules, seeking to generate a legal battle that will prompt federal courts to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship. It seems this fight is one some religious leaders feel it would be far too damaging to lose. With the Supreme Court being SO CLOSE to becoming entirely conservative... winning the White House would be their best bet for eliminating "abortion" at the Federal level (reversing Roe v Wade once and for all), and locking in their concept of a moral America, from a soley ideological basis, in White House. It was this battle of "good versus evil" that got Bush elected twice. The case is once again being pressed harder than ever.
~ CB
