Pastor & Church Controlled 30 Ways to Sunday irs 501 Part 3

Warroad Community Church & Minnesota pastor Gus Booth is the latest news regarding this matter as reported on drudgereport, abc, etc.

Booth addressed the members of his Warroad Community Church one Sunday in May and told them, "If you are a Christian, you cannot support a candidate like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for president," he very much knew he was violating the law. He even wrote a letter to the IRS explaining what he had said and challenging the tax collection agency to do something about it.

Churches and other non-profit groups like charities and universities do not have to pay taxes. That exemption, however, comes with a price. Churches, and by extension the pastors who serve them in an official capacity, are not allowed to endorse or oppose political candidates.

Booth, 34, is one of several religious leaders who this year hope to challenge federal law by flouting the regulations about endorsing candidates from the pulpit a move that could potentially cost them their tax-exempt status, creating financial ruin for many congregations.

The separation of church and state may be one of our democracy's most vaunted values, but its enforcement falls to one of our government's most derided institutions — the IRS.

Neither Obama on TV nor Reverend Wright in the pulpit will tell you this information. They're too phat and rich from the Washington DC policy. Pastor Greg Dixon delivers this much needed modern-day sermon about the relationship of politics in Americas' churches. 501 c 3

Ron Paul - the only Congressman to stand up against the IRS as Federal Marshals seized the Indianapolis Baptist Temple on February 13, 2001 http://www.freedomsphoenix.com/Writer-Bio-Page.htm?EdNo=104

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[JustAboutMyPolitics]

I apologize.

[whoo689]

If you ask me, Catholicism is a joke. I kind of agreed with Pastor John Hagee when he referred it to as a whore, although for much different reasons. Idiots like Bill Donohue can't stop whining about silly things like how Barack Obama is planning to or spoke at Notre Dame or how Angels and Demons portrays Catholics. GET OVER IT! You're not the only church in the world anymore! Protestantism has been around for almost 500 years! Stop acting like you own everything.

[whoo689]

Let's look at the Catholic Church, shall we? Do you guys realize just how political the Church is?? It's insane! Almost every teaching of theirs is political: "social justice" "abortion is murder" "gay marriage is wrong" etc. etc. Catholic clergy don't let their members come up with their own political views. Instead, the bishops and whathaveyou impose their will on everyone else. You're called "nonCatholic" if you even slightly differ from the path on issues like gay marriage or abortion.

[whoo689]

Sermons are not here to spout your political views and try to control people's brains and indoctrinate them politically. There's a time and a place for that, and it's definitely not church.

Sermons are supposed to be about experts on the Bible and its teachings trying to make people better themselves. They're not supposed to tell people how to vote, for christ sake. When you introduce politics into the church, you make it no better than a lobby group. you've ruined it.

[whoo689]

This nation's makeup is far different from 200 or 300 years ago. There are a lot more religious and spiritual groups, and a lot more people are godless, as well. Christians no longer have a monopoly on America. So stop acting like this is YOUR culture. It's not yours, mine, or anyone else's. It's OUR culture as Americans!  That means one group or person cannot impose its will on the rest of us in an attempt to "drive" the culture in their direction but one which many others may oppose.

[whoo689]

Let's clear a few things up:

1. The Founders were mostly DEIST, not Christian fundamentalists. They would've easily repudiated the Religious Right. They were not big on miracles or any other supernatural bullcrap from the Bible. Yes, they believed in God, but guys like Jefferson relied on the Bible more for MORAL GUIDANCE, not Creationism or anti-science/anti-intellectual fervor and hating certain groups of people.

2. This is a melting pot nation, not a christian one, anymore.

[whoo689]

As long as you're not a white power extremist or anything of that nature, I'm pretty sure God doesn't really give 2 shits what your politics are. The Religous Right needs to quit pretending God is automatically on their side just b/c the Old Testament God was some totalitarian prick who couldn't stop ordering people around and judging them.

I mean, you guys quote the Leviticus verse about gays and abominations, and yet you ignore ALL other rules in that book. Pick and choose much?

[whoo689]

If any other group like a nonprofit or a charity become overly political and started openly endorsing candidates for office, they would immediately lose their tax-exempt status, would they not? So why the hell should it be any different for churches??

I'm tired of authoritarian ministers on both sides of the aisle preaching politics from the pulpit and trying to tell congregration members what to think or how to vote. STOP it! God is not a politician. Neither was Jesus.

[whoo689]

In fact, I'm a libertarian. I'm a HUGE believer in freedom. That's why I'm strongly in favor of a separation of church and state, even if it's not expressly in the Constitution. It's still a good idea. I don't want people to be oppressed or have their views sent to the wayside just because they're not religious or don't agree with YOUR take on religion and politics. And I'm pretty sure that Sam Adams quote doesn't apply here. You fail. Have a nice day.

[whoo689]

Look, just don't talk politics or endorse candidates from the pulpit! If you REALLY wanna get involved so badly, form your own religious interest group. Then you can be as political as you want without losing tax-exempt status! It's a fucking no-brainer, yet you whiners think it's appropriate to shove politics into the church and totally debase the meaning of church. Shame on you! Left or Right, I don't want politics creeping into the congregations. Let people make their own decisions.