For all the witch-hunts the Left likes to pursue when churches of traditional values express a political view, this is certainly interesting.
From the Quad City Times comes the story of a "altar call" for Barak Obama:
The candidate himself wasn't on the bill. But about 50 people showed up to talk about the war, poverty and trying to seize back the moral mantle some in the GOP claim. The night also featured an Obama video and a campaign altar call _ an invitation to become a "congregation contact" and rally support for the candidate.
Don't get me wrong. I think having an "altar call" for a political candidate is a little over the top, but should the church have the freedom to do it without risking their tax exempt status? I'm pretty sure the IRS would NOT be too happy about this, based on what Alliance Defense Fund Senior Vice President Gary McCaleb told churches in South Dakota last year.
I think this hounding of churches for actively speaking out and supporting their own moral viewpoints is unconscionable and un-American. We're overdue for repealing this oppressive tax law.
As you may or may not know, these restrictions on churches have nothing to do with the U.S. Constitution or religion, but stem from tax law championed by Lyndon B. Johnson when he was in the U.S. Senate in 1954. Johnson had been criticized by a nonprofit group during his campaign, so Johnson fought for and won passage of a law restricting nonprofit organizations from speaking for or against candidates.
So it's not a matter of right and wrong according to the constitution, but is based 100% on a politician's efforts to shield himself from criticism.
While I find it interesting and hypocritical that more traditional values churches are hounded for this sort of thing than liberal churches, I believe both should have the right to do so. The power to tax is the power to control. And so is the power to rescind a tax exempt status.
I disagree with this church's support of Obama, but I support their Constitutional right to say it.
1 comments:
I agree 100%. Churches have an obligation to influence their congregations to conform to their beliefs.
When your world view is shaped by your church, it's impossible to separate the two (and that has NOTHING to do with a separation of church and state)!
Post a Comment