Are Left Wing Activists Monitoring
Sermons in YOUR Church?
As Pastor Ronnie Floyd of the First Baptist Church of Springdale, Arkansas
went about his preparations for his July 4th sermon, he had no idea
he would soon be the center of a national controversy
On the occasion of our country's birthday, he planned to encourage his flock to participate in the upcoming elections. Little did he know that, on this particular Sunday, not everyone in the pews would be a member of his congregation.
Among the usual churchgoers was a member of an ultra liberal organization called Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU). After the sermon, tape in hand, this left wing activist group filed a complaint with the IRS hoping to cause the church to lose its tax-exempt status.
The Pastor's crime? According to the complaint filed by Americans United, "...Bush is shown signing a ban on late-term abortions, an act most church members will laud, while Kerry is shown as one of a group of senators who opposed a law banning same-sex marriage, a stand most church members will likely oppose." Americans United wants the IRS to punish the First Baptist Church of Springdale because most of the congregation is Pro-Life and Pro-Family!
Using the Internal Revenue Service to Silence Pastors
Why was the First Baptist Church of Springdale singled out among the thousands of churches holding services the same day? According to Americans United, "The church is known for its stands on social issues and its opposition to legal abortion and gay rights." So there it is. If your church is Pro-Life or against the radical homosexual agenda you run the risk of being ‘ turned in ' to the Internal Revenue Service.
Will Your Church Be Next?
Will extremists from the Pro-Abortion Movement or those pushing for Homosexual Marriage be targeting your pastor and your congregation for intimidation? We can only stop the harassment of Houses of Worship by radical activists if we band together and make our voices heard!
Join with us in supporting Rep Walter Jones' (R-NC) effort to pass the "Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act". This common sense bill would protect churches and their pastors from the kinds of vicious legal attacks launched by Americans United and other radical left wing groups.
The Act would, "...amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to protect the religious free exercise and free speech rights of churches and other houses of worship." This would stop Pro-Abortion activists and supporters of the radical Homosexual agenda from using the IRS Code to silence the Pro-Family movement. The bill currently has 168 cosponsors in the United States House of Representatives.
(this link takes you to a site where you must donate to sign the petition- I think. I'm sure there are other ways to do this...you can contact your local representative yourself from their own website about this very issue.)
Posted by Josh at July 30, 2004 07:12 PM | TrackBackPoltical campaigning from the pulpit is clearly a violation of the Constitutional separation of Church & State, and should be stopped. Unless, of course, it's a democrat candidate preaching at a Southern Baptist or Methodist church to "Get Yo Souls to Da Polls". Then it's a matter of Free Speech.
Posted by: Liberal Larry at July 31, 2004 02:07 PMits okay for democrats to do this- theyre simply counterbalancing the white (skin and robe color!) racist republicans who would sooner burn that church down than speak in it.
that is, if theyre not too busy dragging black guys from the back of their pickups. and the naacp doesnt lie, so...
Posted by: Josh Bozeman at July 31, 2004 04:13 PMSeems to me it's not a matter of freedom of speech or religion, it's a matter of whether the church gets to be tax-exempt. I'm not tax-exempt, and I say what I want. So can Ronnie Floyd and his church. Like we always say, "Freedom isn't free."
Posted by: Thomas Nephew at August 2, 2004 05:08 PM