Pastors Defeat IRS, Endorse Political Candidates

More than a thousand pastors this election year have, once again, defied the contested regulations of the Internal Revenue Service that forbid church leaders to tell their flocks for whom to vote. The liberal media are clearly lamenting the lack of enforcement by the IRS because most Christians vote conservatively and few Democrat voters even attend church.

For background, read Pastors Inflame IRS Scandal for Religious Liberty

And read the Pew Research poll showing a growing number of Americans who say that religion should play a greater role in politics.

Also read Houston: Ground Zero in Obama's War on Christianity



-- From "Political pastors openly defying IRS rules on candidate endorsements" by Josh Hicks, Washington Post 11/4/14

The IRS has taken virtually no action against the pastors . . .

The defiance movement, known as Pulpit Freedom Sunday, has grown from a few dozen ministers to more than 1,600 over the past six years, according to the alliance [ADF].

Church leaders involved in the effort have weighed in on key races that could tip the balance of power in the Senate during this year’s midterms, openly endorsing candidates such Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) over Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) and Thom Tillis (R) over Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.).

The IRS’s reluctance to enforce the tax law suggests it has grown timid about dealing with tax-exempt groups . . . The IRS did not respond Monday to repeated requests for comment about whether it plans to crack down on the movement. . . .

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pastors endorsing candidates, in defiance of IRS rules" posted at FoxNews.com 11/3/14

Christian pastors reportedly are defying IRS rules and endorsing political candidates at an unprecedented rate.

Under IRS rules, nonprofits -- such as churches -- are allowed to discuss politically sensitive subjects in their sermons, but historically have been barred from actively campaigning and endorsing particular candidates. But a growing number of pastors are challenging that standard – and the IRS may be looking the other way.

. . . the IRS may be gun-shy after its high-profile fight with Tea Party groups and virtually all Republicans on Capitol Hill over its targeting of conservative groups.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Rogue pastors endorse candidates, but IRS looks away" by Rachael Bade, Politico 11/3/14

It’s another sign of the tax agency turned upside down by the tea party targeting controversy. Although the IRS is under fire from the right for being heavy-hand with conservative tax-exempt entities, it’s also getting hit from the left [including atheists suing the IRS] for failing to enforce decade-old rules governing churches and politics.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in an interview last month with Tax Analysts suggested the IRS isn’t planning to crack down on churches anytime soon. He said the [atheists'] lawsuit news “spread out into the world … somehow we are doing something very different and we are going to show up either more aggressively or more often in a different way than we have in the past, and that is not what that case was about at all.”

The pastors, who make it easy for the IRS by often taping their sermons and mailing them to the tax agency, argue that it infringes on their First Amendment rights.

Their ultimate goal: igniting a lawsuit with the IRS and taking the issue to the Supreme Court.

“If by chance a member of the IRS gets this sermon and is listening, sue me,” said evangelical pastor Jim Garlow of the San Diego-based Skyline Church . . .

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read about nationwide efforts to register more Christians to vote.

And read Proved: Tea Party Movement is Christian

Pastors Inflame IRS Scandal for Religious Liberty

Evangelical pastors across America, for at least the seventh year, have simultaneously preached sermons to their flocks that are said to be in defiance of federal regulations from the Internal Revenue Service for tax-exempt non-profit churches because the sermons guide parishioners to vote for, or against, political candidates based on Christian, Biblical values.

“I know enough that you cannot have the advancing of the radical homosexual agenda and religious liberty at the same time, in the same nation. One will win, and one will lose. . . . We have legal anarchy,”
-- Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church, east of San Diego, California

For background, read Pastors Defeating IRS on Freedom to Preach -- it's because the IRS Fears Prosecuting Churches over Politics (because the IRS will lose)

Also read Atheists & Pastors Agree: IRS Must Audit Sermons

-- From "Pulpit Freedom Sunday: Pastors versus the IRS" posted at The Porterville (California) Recorder 10/4/14

More than 3,500 pastors in all 50 states and Puerto Rico are supporting Alliance Defending Freedom’s seventh annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday Oct. 5. Nearly 1,500 of the registered pastors have agreed to preach sermons presenting biblical perspectives on the positions of electoral candidates, and more than 3,500 have signed a statement agreeing that the IRS should not control the content of a pastor’s sermon. Registration, which stays open until the date of the event, continues to grow.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Study: Americans want more religion in politics" by Sara Grossman, Special to CNN 10/10/14

The pastor [Jim Garlow] proceeded to warn his audience against voting for a candidate in the upcoming midterm elections who supports gay marriage and abortion, even if that candidate, Carl DeMaio, is a Republican.

Garlow, an outspoken evangelical who played a major role in organizing Christian groups in support of California’s anti-gay marriage Proposition 8, spoke plainly: He would not be supporting the Republican in this race.

Instead, Garlow told his followers he would be endorsing DeMaio’s rival, Democratic incumbent Scott Peters, representative for California’s 52nd District, to send a scathing message to Republican leadership that candidates who back abortion and gay rights are unacceptable to the party’s Christian base.

Garlow is one of a growing number of Americans who say that religion should play a greater role in politics, according to the findings of a recent study by the Pew Research Forum's Religion & Public Life Project.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Preaching Politics, Pastors Defy Ban" by Tamara Audi, Wall Street Journal 10/5/14

For the past seven years, hundreds of churches have intentionally delivered political sermons to address the issue on “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” an annual event organized by the Alliance Defending Freedom, an Arizona-based conservative group that fights for religious accommodation claims.

A Pew Research Center study released last month showed that nearly three-quarters of Americans believe religion is losing influence in the lives of Americans, and that more citizens want religious leaders to weigh in on political issues.

It also comes months after the IRS assured an atheist group that it is enforcing the political speech regulation on churches. That group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, agreed to the dismissal of a 2012 federal civil lawsuit against the IRS over the issue after receiving indications from the government that the IRS “has a procedure in place…to initiate church tax investigations/examinations,” court documents said.

But some church leaders have complained the regulation is unclear and say “vague and unequal enforcement” has led to pastors pulling back on social commentary that could be construed as political, said Kerri Kupec, a spokeswoman for the Alliance Defending Freedom.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pulpit Freedom Sunday witnessed preachers talking politics, daring IRS to take action" by Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News posted at Hesperia (California) Star 10/7/14

Preachers who injected politics into their sermons this past Sunday weren't just speaking to their respective congregations. Their messages were directed to the Internal Revenue Service, daring tax regulators to pay attention to the seventh annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday.

The Alliance Defending Freedom's explanation of the event calls it a "strategic litigation plan." The document is filled with First Amendment language, as the organization discusses how current restrictions are not just inconvenient, but also unconstitutional.

"Through the courage of individual churches, freedoms of speech and religion will be restored to many more," the alliance proclaims.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Increasingly, Religious 'Nones' Support Pastors Preaching Politics on Pulpit Freedom Sunday" by Ruth Moon, Christianity Today 10/3/14

As almost 1,500 pastors attempt to provoke the IRS this Sunday by preaching political messages from their pulpits, a recent survey finds that Americans increasingly agree they should have such a right—including the religiously unaffiliated.

The Pew Research Center recently reported that nearly half of Americans (49 percent) now believe that churches (and other houses of worship) should express their views on social and political issues—including two-thirds of white evangelicals, more than half of black Protestants (who mostly identify as evangelicals), and one-third of so-called religious "nones." Support has risen most among mainline Protestants, from 35 percent in August 2010 to 49 percent in September 2014.

While ADF lists thousands of churches that have participated in Pulpit Freedom Sunday over the years, the IRS has only flagged a much smaller number of churches as problematic.

In a June letter, the tax agency told the U.S. Department of Justice that 99 churches "alleged to have violated the prohibition" merit “a high priority examination.” ADF lists 1,225 churches in 2013, but the IRS only cites one egregious violation that year. ADF lists 1,620 churches in 2012; the IRS cites only 65 churches. ADF lists 539 churches in 2011; the IRS cites only 18 churches.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Public Sees Religion’s Influence Waning" by Pew Research Religion and Public Life Project 9/22/14

Nearly three-quarters of the public (72%) now thinks religion is losing influence in American life, up 5 percentage points from 2010 to the highest level in Pew Research polling over the past decade. And most people who say religion's influence is waning see this as a bad thing.

Perhaps as a consequence, a growing share of the American public wants religion to play a role in U.S. politics. The share of Americans who say churches and other houses of worship should express their views on social and political issues is up 6 points since the 2010 midterm elections (from 43% to 49%). The share who say there has been “too little” expression of religious faith and prayer from political leaders is up modestly over the same period (from 37% to 41%). And a growing minority of Americans (32%) think churches should endorse candidates for political office, though most continue to oppose such direct involvement by churches in electoral politics.

The findings reflect a widening divide between religiously affiliated Americans and the rising share of the population that is not affiliated with any religion (sometimes called the “nones”). The public’s appetite for religious influence in politics is increasing in part because those who continue to identify with a religion (e.g., Protestants, Catholics and others) have become significantly more supportive of churches and other houses of worship speaking out about political issues and political leaders talking more often about religion. The “nones” are much more likely to oppose the intermingling of religion and politics.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also click headlines below to read how the vast majority of Christian leaders will NOT challenge wayward government:

America Going to Hell; Christians Lose Convictions

'Wimpy' Pastors Will NOT Engage the War on Christianity

Study: Pastors Hide Culture Truth to be Successful

Study: Pastors Hide Culture Truth to be Successful

Researcher George Barna says that after years of survey and study, The Barna Group has found that the vast majority of theologically conservative American pastors intentionally conceal information that is critical to the well being of their flock and the nation, and do so in order to enhance the "success" of their church.

"Well, that's not part of my mission; my mission is to bring in more people and to get them to understand certain things that I feel they should know."
-- Common response by clergy

For background, read Pastors Who Avoid Gay Agenda Deserve Hell, Says Franklin Graham

-- From "Barna: Many pastors wary of raising 'controversy'" by Chris Woodward, OneNewsNow.com 8/1/14

"What we're finding is that when we ask them about all the key issues of the day, [90 percent of them are] telling us, Yes, the Bible speaks to every one of these issues. Then we ask them: Well, are you teaching your people what the Bible says about those issues? – and the numbers drop ... to less than 10 percent of pastors who say they will speak to it."

When researchers ask those pastors what else they are willing to do to get their people active in the political process, Barna said "it's almost nothing."

"There are five factors that the vast majority of pastors turn to [when asked the question of what defines success]," [Barna] explained. "Attendance, giving, number of programs, number of staff, and square footage.

"What I'm suggesting is [those pastors] won't probably get involved in politics because it's very controversial. Controversy keeps people from being in the seats, controversy keeps people from giving money, from attending programs.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read America Going to Hell; Christians Lose Convictions

Fed. Judge Says Atheists Right on New Clergy Tax

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb in Wisconsin ruled in favor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation saying that clergy cannot be exempt from paying income taxes on charitable money used to pay for their housing.  If the Obama administration does not appeal the ruling, the federal government will gain billions of dollars in tax revenue via a fleecing of church leaders.

For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

President Obama's Military Shuns God & Persecutes Christians

President Obama Strips God from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

President Obama's Veterans Administration Strips Jesus & Bible from Chaplains

-- From "Judge strikes down clergy tax-free housing money" by The Associated Press 11/23/13

The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed the lawsuit against U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and acting IRS commissioner Daniel Werfel. Treasury Department spokeswoman Victoria Esser and IRS spokesman Grant Williams referred questions Saturday to the Department of Justice, which is representing Lew and Werfel. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.

Under the law, passed by Congress in 1954, ministers don’t pay income taxes on compensation that is designated part of a housing allowance. The Freedom From Religion Foundation says that a clergy member to use the untaxed income to purchase a home, and then, in a practice known as “double dipping,” deduct interest paid on the mortgage and property taxes.

In her ruling, Crabb referenced a 2002 statement by then-U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota that said the exemption would save clergy members $2.3 billion in taxes from 2002-2007. Crabb said the magnitude of the benefit only underscores what’s wrong with the law.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Court Strikes Clergy Tax-Free Housing Allowances; FRC Calls it 'Supreme Arrogance'" by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor 11/24/13

In her ruling, the judge wrote that the exemption "provides a benefit to religious persons and no one else, even though doing so is not necessary to alleviate a special burden on religious exercise," as quoted by the Wisconsin State Journal.

"We have seen many courts over the years attempt to banish God in various ways from the public square, but this case in particular reveals a level of supreme arrogance," [Family Research Council President Tony] Perkins said in a statement. "Once again, Judge Crabb has neglected to consult the Constitution that she was sworn to uphold."

Society has long provided this tax housing allowance to clergy because of the tremendous benefit that churches in turn give to society, Perkins explained. "Clergy help carry the burden of many social ills that would otherwise become the burden of taxpayers and the federal government."

Perkins pointed out that the same judge had struck down the National Day of Prayer as unconstitutional.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Religious liberty & ministers' tax exemption" by Joe Carter, director of communications for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention 11/27/13

. . . Why exactly do ministers receive a tax exemption for their housing allowance?

Since at least the time when Joseph served in Pharaoh's Egypt, religious property has been exempt from certain forms of taxation (Genesis 47:26). The practice continued in the Roman Empire and through medieval Europe and was part of the common law, which America adopted from England. The common law granted tax exemptions to established churches and, through the equity law tradition, to all churches. From the 15th century to the 19th century, most pastors lived in the parsonage, a house provided by the church. Housing was thus a form of non-cash payment that was exempt from taxation since the parsonage was church property.

By the early 20th century, though, both clergy housing and taxation had changed considerably. So in 1921, Congress passed the Revenue Act, which exempted from the gross income of ministers the rental value of any "dwelling house and appurtenances thereof" provided by a church as part of clergy compensation. This parsonage exemption, however, applied only to ministers who lived on property owned by their church and disadvantaged ministers whose churches provided a housing allowance rather than a church-owned parsonage.

In 1954, Congress amended the tax code to allow ministers to exempt a portion of their income to the extent used by the minister for housing. According to the Senate Report at the time, the purpose of this addition was to eliminate the disparity in the tax code between ministers who lived in a church-owned parsonage and those who were given a stipend with which to secure housing.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read President Obama Redefines 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion even though Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity

Obama Edicts Homosexual 'Marriage' to ALL States

President Obama's Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service have issued revised rules to validate same-sex "marriage" throughout the United States via private pension and health care plans, tax regulations, and myriad other employee benefit plans.

For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:

President Obama Breaks Law, Gives VA Money to Homosexuals

President Obama Grants 'Reparations' to Homosexuals via Military

President Obama's 'Marriage' Lawlessness Spreads Across America

-- From "Labor Dept: same-sex spouses can participate in benefit plans" by Amanda Becker, Reuters 9/18/13

Same-sex spouses, regardless of where they live, can now participate in the private retirement and healthcare plans overseen by the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the department said in a release.

The move comes after the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision in United States v. Windsor, which extended federal benefits to those in same-sex marriages.

EBSA oversees 701,000 private retirement plans and 2.3 million health plans, according to the department.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

 From "Labor Dept.: Same-Sex Spouses Have Benefit Rights" by The Associated Press 9/18/13

The agency said the terms "spouse" and "marriage" in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act should be read to include same-sex couples regardless of where they currently reside. That means a gay couple that marries legally in Minnesota or New York can still participate equally in retirement and other federal employee benefits if they move to Florida, where gay marriage is not legal.

The interpretation "provides a uniform rule of recognition that can be applied with certainty by stakeholders, including employers, plan administrators, participants, and beneficiaries," the agency said.

Groups that represent large employers welcomed the guidance, saying it makes it easier for companies operating across the country to have uniform rules to follow when it comes to issues like spousal consent on distribution of benefits and survivorship rights. Gay marriage is currently legal in 13 states and the District of Columbia. The new guidance extends federal employee benefit rights to married same-sex couples in the other 37 states - even those that have laws refusing to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Guidance on Tax Treatment of Same-Sex Marriages Takes Effect" by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, posted at The National Law Review 9/18/13

On August 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released guidance clarifying that same-sex couples who are legally married in jurisdictions or countries that recognize their marriages will be treated as married for all federal tax purposes, regardless of whether the same-sex couple resides in a state or jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriages. This is commonly called a "state of celebration" approach to federal taxation issues.

Plan sponsors [employers] are required to comply prospectively with the guidance effective as of September 16, 2013 with respect to health and welfare plans and qualified plans and, possibly, to take retroactive action in order to ensure compliance with the guidance.

If employers do not know whether employees receiving domestic partner benefits have same-sex spouses, employers may want to invite employees to disclose their marital statuses.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

In addition, read President Obama's Department of Justice Forces Employees to Celebrate Deviancy and separately the DOJ Forces School Girl into Boys Locker Room

And also read School Doesn't Back Gay Agenda, Obama Investigates

Atheists & Pastors Agree: IRS Must Audit Sermons

A federal judge has ruled that the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation can sue the federal Internal Revenue Service for not enforcing a 1954 law that restricts churches from endorsing political candidates, and many evangelical pastors say to the IRS concerning the scrutiny, "Bring it on!"

“[The atheists] will win our case. The very thing they are trying to prevent – conservative, biblical political speech from the pulpit – they will exonerate as constitutional.”
-- Dan Cummins, pastor of Bridlewood Church in Bullard, Texas, and founder of Come Pray With Me

For background, read Pastors Defeating IRS on Freedom to Preach -- it's because the IRS Fears Prosecuting Churches over Politics (because the IRS will lose)

However, only some pastors make the effort to be freed of the IRS muzzle.  Will 'Wimpy' Pastors Engage the War on Christianity?

-- From "Atheist group can sue IRS over enforcement of pulpit politicking" by Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Religion News Service, posted at Washington Post 8/23/13

FFRF, a Wisconsin-based group for atheists and agnostics, filed a lawsuit after the 2012 elections, arguing that a lack of IRS enforcement was unfair. The IRS filed a motion to dismiss the case, saying taxpayers often do not have standing to sue other taxpayers.

On Monday (Aug. 19), U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman in Wisconsin [Western District] denied the motion, writing that FFRF “has standing to seek an order requiring the IRS to treat religious organizations no more favorably than it treats the Foundation.”

Observers found the judge’s decision significant because similar attempts in the past have failed. For instance, groups have tried to sue over the Catholic Church’s involvement in anti-abortion activism. “It is a tactic that’s been used before, but without success,” said Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame. “I can’t see it going anywhere.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Judge OKs Atheist Group's Suit Against IRS Over Church Politicking Ban Enforcement" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 8/21/13

[Judge Adelman wrote,] "If it is true that the IRS has a policy of not enforcing the prohibition on campaigning against religious organizations, then the IRS is conferring a benefit on religious organizations (the ability to participate in political campaigns) that it denies to all other § 501(c)(3) organizations, including the Foundation."

In 1954, Congress passed the Johnson Amendment. According to the amendment's language, tax-exempt entities, such as churches, cannot "participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of – or in opposition to – any candidate for public office."

Critics of the Johnson Amendment, including the Alliance Defending Freedom, have argued that the rule effectively "muzzles" the free speech of clergy by threatening removal of their tax-exempt status should they endorse a candidate from the pulpit.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Evangelical body supports politicking in the pulpit" by John Dart, Christian Century 8/29/13

A report prepared by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability—a watchdog body that advises evangelical churches and ministries on good business practices—was given to Sen. Charles Grassley (R., Iowa).

. . . ECFA commission chairman Michael E. Batts wrote to Grassley: “It is both disturbing and chilling that the federal government regulates the speech of religious organizations.” His Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations asserted in its report that “members of the clergy should be able to say whatever they believe is appropriate” in their religious contexts. IRS guidelines also “are often vague, causing uncertainty as to what is permissible,” added the report.

The ECFA said its recommendations came from 14 commission members and “66 panel members representing every major faith group in America.” . . .

In another survey, a Pew Research Center poll asked churchgoers last October whether their clergy had spoken about presidential candidates at their churches. About one in five (19 percent) said they had. Four in ten worshipers in black Protestant churches said their pastors have spoken directly about the candidates.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pastors chuckle as atheists fight feds for them" by Gina Loudon, Ph.D., World Net Dailly 8/31/13

The pastors, in an initiative organized by the Alliance Defending Freedom called Pulpit Freedom Sunday, have been preaching what they believe the Bible says regarding current political issues and then informing the IRS of their actions. They’ve been trying to convince the IRS to bring a case against one of the ministers.

They believe the IRS intentionally is ignoring their statements to avoid a confrontation over the 1954 Johnson Amendment that purports to silence some speech in the United States through IRS regulations.

Pastors who spoke with WND believe that the only way to get rid of the Johnson Amendment is to get audited by the IRS and have the case go to the Supreme Court, where they believe it will be ruled unconstitutional.

The Black Robe Regiment is a group of pastors who insist the First Amendment doesn’t stop at sanctuary doors. They argue that all laws are based on someone’s morality and point to the time-tested Judeo-Christian principles espoused by the Founding Fathers.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

In addition, read President Obama Redefines 1st Amendment Freedom of Religion and yet President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity, and also read Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism

IRS Tells Pro-lifers: Either Shut Up or Be Taxed

Although America's highest courts have repeatedly confirmed the First Amendment right of "sidewalk counseling" at abortion clinics, the anti-life Internal Revenue Service denied pro-life organizations the same timely tax-exempt status given to liberal groups who perform anti-Christian brow-beating.

For background, read IRS Gave Homosexualists Private Info on Enemy Christians

And also read Some Pastors Continue Efforts to be Freed of IRS Muzzle

-- From "IRS Agent: Keep Faith to Yourself" by Todd Starnes, Foxnews.com 6/10/13

An Internal Revenue Service agent was recorded on audiotape telling a pro-life organization that they had to remain neutral on the issue of abortion and lectured the group’s president about forcing its religious beliefs on others.

In a May 2011 letter to the pro-life group, [IRS agent Sherry] Wan took issue with their prayer and evangelism efforts.

“It appears that some of your activities, conducted or plan to conduct, may be neither educational nor charitable in nature no matter how sincere of your religious belief or how important of your viewpoint,” Wan wrote.

[The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Erik Stanley said,] “What the IRS is doing here is unconstitutional – attempting to tell an organization that it could not advocate its viewpoint and still be considered educational and gain a tax exemption.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Excerpts from "Transcript of recording of phone call placed by IRS agent Sherry Wan to Pro-Life Revolution President Ania Joseph - March 8, 2012"  posted by ADF:

IRS - . . . you have the religious freedom; the freedom of speech. And other people also have the civil rights; human rights. You cannot, you know, use your religious belief to tell other people you don’t have a belief, so I don’t believe you need the right to do this, start confrontation, protesting, uh, prot, uh, protest. [unintelligible] You don’t apply for tax exemption.

Citizen - My religion says that, you know, we have to reach out to women who are hurting, who are considering killing their own babies.

IRS - You reach out to woman, you can’t do that. You can, you know, to educate the woman, to do, you know, you don’t do that. However, you can’t just like say, you know, the [unintelligible] woman, you fear the woman. You have to get the woman the opportunity to listen to you. You cannot force your religion or force your beliefs on somebody else.

IRS - . . . when you, you know, go to, you know, the abortion clinic, and you found them [unintelligible], we don’t want, you know, to come against them. You can’t take all kinds of confrontation activities and also put something on a web site and ask people to take action against the abortion clinic. That’s not, that’s not really educational.

Citizen - Actually, actually, a peaceful prayer vigil is not...

IRS - . . . you have to know your boundaries. You have to know your limits. . . .

Citizen - Yeah, I’m going to have to consult somebody because you know I understand your point, but I also understand as a ministry we have certain rights as well and I want to consult somebody and just take it from there and to get more information and...

IRS - . . . after you, you talk to your lawyer, or talk to your legal consultant, and if you say, OK, here we understand the position, I feel that you know, you know, we understand your position, understand your point and that we wanted to, wanted to, you know, get this kicked down quickly and we are willing to take those, no longer can do the activities, [unintelligible]. OK?

IRS - Yeah. I apologize for this because it is a holiday and everything and I’m off and on another project, so I apologize for the delay, but I think we’re talking about more time to discuss and think about your application and want to give you more time to think about this, too. . . .

To read the complete telephone transcript, and hear the audio recording, CLICK HERE.

From "IRS to pro-life group: 'You cannot force your religion'" by Patrick Howley, Investigative Reporter, Daily Caller 6/10/12

The IRS sent Pro-Life Revolution a grammatically disastrous  letter dated February 5, 2013 requesting additional information about its protesting activities.

“You called for faithful Christians to praying and counseling in front of the abortion referring clinic, conducting activities in front of another entity, which take opposite positions, appears more like a type of protest, which interferes the normal operation of a business with an effect of humiliating the persons working or receives the service there,” according to the letter, which lists Sherry Wan as the IRS agent to contact.

The IRS denied tax-exempt status to the group Coalition for Life of Iowa and forced leaders of the group, in a June 2009 phone call, to promise that they do not organize protests outside of Planned Parenthood.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "IRS Agent Who Told Group to Keep Faith Private Opposed Pro-Life Position" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 6/11/13

Alliance Defending Freedom, a pro-life legal group, made the audio available today of IRS officials telling a group that provides support to women in abusive pregnancy situations to keep its faith to itself. . . .

In February of this year, the IRS requested additional information in another letter and attempted to apply a standard for tax exemption to Pro-Life Revolution that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held to be unconstitutional in 1980. Alliance Defending Freedom pointed this out in a letter responding to the IRS, which finally granted tax-exempt status to the organization in a letter received Thursday.

Now, the lead attorney in the case has given a new interview in which he explains the IRS agent in question was ideologically opposed to the pro-life group’s mission and that the targeting came a result of that rather than the agent’s not understanding laws or IRS rules related to nonprofits.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Proved: Tea Party Movement is Christian

IRS Gave Homosexualists Private Info of Christians

The Internal Revenue Service leaked confidential personal data of donors of the National Organization for Marriage. That data was then published by the Human Rights Campaign (the nation's largest homosexual advocacy organization) in searchable form on the Internet, thus allowing homosexualists to target pro-marriage Christians for harassment, assault, and terrorist attacks.

“There is little question that one or more employees at the IRS stole our confidential tax return and leaked it to our political enemies, in violation of federal law.”
-- Brian Brown, President, National Organization for Marriage

For background, read 'Gay Hate Crimes' Against Christians Planned

In addition, read Homosexualists' Terrorist Attack on Christians and also read Militant Homosexualists Vandalize Illinois Christian Academy as well as Homosexualists Issue Death Threats to Christians

-- From "NOM accuses IRS of politically motivated theft" by Byron Tau & Anna Palmer, Politico 5/13/13

The Human Rights Campaign published NOM's 990 tax form in 2012 on a website called “NOM Exposed,” revealing the identities of major donors, in March. Although 990s are public, the sections revealing major donors are not. In a separate incident, the IRS also released [Karl Rove's] conservative outside group Crossroads GPS's nonprofit status application to ProPublica.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "IRS released confidential info on conservative groups to ProPublica" by Josh Hicks, Washington Post 5/14/13

ProPublica on Monday reported that the same IRS division that targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny during the 2012 election cycle provided the investigative-reporting organization with confidential applications for tax-exempt status.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Report: IRS leaked confidential documents to investigative media" by Jonathan Easley, The Hill 5/14/13

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) leaked confidential materials submitted by some conservative groups to investigative journalists at ProPublica, the group reported on Tuesday.

“In response to a request for the applications for 67 different nonprofits last November, the Cincinnati office of the IRS sent ProPublica applications or documentation for 31 groups,” ProPublica reports. “Nine of those applications had not yet been approved—meaning they were not supposed to be made public.”

ProPublica says it followed up with the IRS at the time to find out why it had been provided the confidential materials. The IRS responded by saying it would be illegal for ProPublica to publish the documents.

ProPublica published the materials but redacted some financial information.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "New IRS scandal revives past allegations against agency" by Barnini Chakraborty, FoxNews.com 5/14/13

Critics had long questioned how ProPublica got that information. . . .

NOM claimed that someone from the IRS fed the liberal Human Rights Campaign documents listing its 2008 contributors. On that list was a $10,000 donation from Romney’s political action committee. The Human Rights Campaign then published the documents online, saying it had uncovered one of the group’s “top secret donors,” and accused Romney of attacking lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.

The donation came as NOM and other conservative groups were fighting for the Proposition 8 measure banning gay marriage in California.

Conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation said they, too, were targets of the IRS years ago.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Franklin Graham: IRS targeted us, too" by Reid J. Epstein, Politico 5/14/13

With the IRS admitting it gave extra scrutiny to conservative political organizations, Graham says he now believes that the review was part of an Obama administration effort of “targeting and attempting to intimidate us.”

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association urging of voters to back “candidates who base their decisions on biblical principles and support the nation of Israel” during last year’s presidential race was the reason why IRS agents visited the North Carolina offices of both Graham groups, the letter [from Graham to President Obama] accuses.

The Graham organizations kept their federal income tax exemptions after the audit — but were not told they’d be able to until after the November election, he wrote.

The IRS review . . . followed the Billy Graham ministry publishing newspaper ads in North Carolina backing a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Proved: Tea Party Movement is Christian

Christians Oppose ObamaCare, Support Hobby Lobby

Absent even one national mainstream media report, local news outlets are streaming in with accounts of multitudes of Christians flooding Hobby Lobby stores to support its court battle against Obama's War on Christianity.  The Christian family-owned retail chain has refused to comply with ObamaCare requirements to provide free abortifacients to its employees, therefore as of January 1, 2013 is being fined $1.3 million PER DAY by President Obama's IRS.

The Oklahoma-based arts and craft chain filed suit against ObamaCare in an Oklahoma district court in September, and the President's Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied an injunction to avoid fines while awaiting the outcome in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“To remain true to their faith, it is not their intention, as a company, to pay for abortion-inducing drugs.”
-- Kyle Duncan, Hobby Lobby attorney

Network news never fails to cover a dozen angry abortion supporters shouting, but entirely ignores polite Christian shoppers.

UPDATE 7/1/14: Liberals vs. Supreme Court Rulings Favoring Religious Liberty

For background, read Supreme Court Allows Christians to Sue ObamaCare and also read Judges Rule Against ObamaCare, Favor Christians as well as Bishops Say Catholic Church Will Defy ObamaCare

And read Federal Judge Rules Against ObamaCare, For Catholics

UPDATE 5/13/13: Christians Defeating ObamaCare, DOJ Surrenders

-- From "Hobby Lobby shoppers make statement" by Jack Molitor, The Herald Bulletin (Anderson, IN) 1/5/13

The [ObamaCare free abortifacient] mandate drew the ire of David Green, Hobby Lobby chief executive officer and founder, who said he couldn’t abandon his religious beliefs and would not comply, according to a press release.

The Scatterfield Road Hobby Lobby location bustled with activity Saturday . . . “Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day.”

[Local resident Bob] Stevens, who was shopping with his wife Shari, said business owners shouldn’t be penalized for standing up for their beliefs.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Supreme Court denies emergency injunction in contraception case" by Jennifer Haberkorn and Kathryn Smith, Politico 12/26/12

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday [the day after Christmas] denied Hobby Lobby’s request for an emergency injunction to block the health reform law’s contraceptive coverage requirements and said it will not decide the case before lower courts have ruled.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the store owner doesn't meet the extremely high standards required for a preliminary injunction. It's not "absolutely" clear that they need the injunction and lower courts have been divided on whether to grant similar requests, she wrote, though she adds that the court doesn't have much experience with similar religious-based claims for emergency injunctions.

"Even without an injunction pending appeal, the applicants may continue their challenge to the regulations in the lower courts. Following a final judgment, they may,if necessary, file a petition" for the Supreme Court to hear the case, she wrote.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Thousands to Shop Hobby Lobby to Support Company’s Obedience to God, Rejection of Obamacare" posted at Christian News Network 1/5/13

Former Arkansas governor, pastor and presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, now FOX talk show host, also expressed his support of Hobby Lobby Day.

“This is not just about Hobby Lobby — this is about you!” Huckabee wrote on his official website. “If Hobby Lobby is forced to eat the ‘king’s meat’ and ‘bow on their knees’ to a human government in direct conflict with their fundamentals of faith, then how long will it be before they come for you and your family?”

While Hobby Lobby states that it has been covering, and will continue to cover, birth control for its over 13,000 employees nationwide, it refuses to pay for two pills that are included in Obamacare’s contraceptive mandate: the morning-after pill and the week-after pill.

“These abortion-causing drugs go against our faith, and our family is now being forced to choose between following the laws of the land that we love or maintaining the religious beliefs that have made our business successful and have supported our family and thousands of our employees and their families,” CEO David Green wrote in a statement earlier this year. “We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs to comply with this mandate. … By being required to make a choice between sacrificing our faith or paying millions of dollars in fines, we essentially must choose which poison pill to swallow.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.



From "Wichitans Participate In 'Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day'" posted at KAKE-TV (Wichita, KS) 1/5/13

Wichita Hobby Lobby stores benefited from "Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day."

The day was called for by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. The effort is similar to Huckabee's call for support for Chick-Fil-A after it received sharp criticism over the owner's opposition to gay marriage.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Shoppers Supporting Hobby Lobby Over Health Care Controversy" by Michael Pickett, WTVW-TV7 (Henderson, KY) 1/6/13

Some shoppers didn't just go to Hobby Lobby stores just to use gift cards they got for Christmas, they were also showing the company and its employees their support as part of Support Hobby Lobby Day.

Several groups were encouraging people to shop at the store today. . . . But for some shoppers, this day of support is more than just about supporting a company, it's about religious freedom.

"We can get our voice heard that religious freedom shouldn't be fringed upon," says Nina Fuller, who participated in Support Hobby Lobby Day.  "If the CEO of a business in America has a strong belief, I think that needs to be respected and the government needs to stay out of that.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Shoppers Show Support For Hobby Lobby Saturday" posted at KMID-TV2 (Midland, TX) 1/6/13

Shoppers hit an arts-and-crafts store by storm this weekend, to show their support of "religious freedom."

Shoppers across the county, including in Midland, shopped at Hobby Lobby Saturday to show support of the chain.

This grassroots movement comes as the store is required to provide contraceptive coverage as part of its healthcare benefits package under "Obamacare." But Hobby Lobby is openly opposing the healthcare mandate on religious grounds.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pine Belt residents join 'Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day'" by Charles Herrington, Reporter WDAM-TV7 (Hattiesburg, MS) 1/5/13

Many Pine Belt residents are showing their support for a national retailer which is facing hefty fines for failing to comply with portions of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Dozens of people gathered at the Hobby Lobby on Highway 98 to take part in national, "Hobby Lobby Appreciation Day."

"Hobby Lobby has every right to stand up for their employees, for their rights to either have the insurance or not have the insurance," said Lewis Garvin, whose group, Freedom Fighters of Mississippi, organized the gathering. "They should not be forced to do it by the government," he said.

"This is the first step toward our religious freedom being taken away from us in our country," said Aquilla King, who supports Hobby Lobby. "And I want to do what I can to help preserve that right for all Americans," she said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Shoppers 'Stand By' Hobby Lobby" by Ashley Arnold, WJHG-TV7 (Panama City Beach, FL) 1/6/13

Around the country, thousands rallied behind Hobby Lobby after learning the government was fining the craft chain store $1.3 million per day for refusing to obey parts of the healthcare reform act.

"I think it's wrong that the government, any government, ask a business, a person, an individual to compromise their beliefs," said [local resident Penny] Lovett. "Hobby Lobby does not do that - they don't open on Sunday, there's a reason for that."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Media Almost Silent on Hobby Lobby Battle Against HHS Mandate" by Matthew Philbin, LifeNews.com 1/3/13

Usually when President Obama’s opponents are handed a defeat, ABC, CBS and NBC are quick to crow about it. That’s why their silence on the Supreme Court’s Christmas ruling against retail chain Hobby Lobby is so curious.

NBC’s “Today” got a point for mentioning the ruling in a news brief. But it provided so little information as to be misleading. “Emergency contraceptives will remain part of the federal health care law,” NBC’s Natalie Morales said. “Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied a request to block the morning-after pill and similar contraceptive pills from required employee health plans.” But Sotomayor’s ruling pertained only to Hobby Lobby’s request for a temporary injunction and did nothing to settle the larger legal and religious freedom questions.

At least NBC bothered to mention the ruling at all. ABC and CBS didn’t. Perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising, since they’ve never reported on Hobby Lobby’s suit in the first place.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read ObamaCare Stakes Ground in War on Christianity and yet President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity and also read Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism

Bishops Say Catholic Church Will Defy ObamaCare

Bishop James Conley, incoming bishop to Lincoln, Nebraska, as well as other Roman Catholic leaders, including Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, say they have chosen to obey God's Laws over President Obama's health insurance mandates. Therefore, Catholic-affiliated organizations, such as charities, schools, universities and hospitals, will not provide health insurance covering contraceptives, abortifacients, or sterilization as the ObamaCare laws require.

“The Catholic Church is not going to back down. We are never going to compromise our principles. We will defy it and face the consequences.”
-- Roman Catholic Bishop James Conley

For background, read Bishops Throw Down Gauntlet: Obama War on Christianity and also read Bishops Warn Voting for Democrats is 'Grave Sin' as well as Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism in America

-- From "New Lincoln bishop: Church will defy health mandate on birth control coverage" by Joe Duggan, Omaha World-Herald Bureau 11/9/12

Roman Catholic officials in Omaha and Des Moines expressed similar sentiments this week over a plan by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requiring all employers to provide their employees contraception coverage without copays.

The so-called HHS mandate for religious organizations, currently the subject of dozens of legal challenges nationally, is set to take effect next August.

Opponents of the rule say the [ObamaCare religious employer] exceptions are inadequate.

“Insurance companies have said there is no free lunch, (religious groups are) going to end up paying for it, so it’s a shell game,” said Emily Hardman, communications director for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington, D.C., firm that takes up legal cases for all religious faiths.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "‘We will defy’ Obama’s birth control mandate, says new Nebraska bishop" by Kirsten Andersen, LifeSiteNews.com 11/12/12

Conley’s remarks echo those of the head of Priests for Life, Fr. Frank Pavone, who said last week that Obama’s re-election means that “the collision course of the Obama administration with the Catholic Church…is assured.”

Fr. Pavone called on pro-lifers to “an unwavering commitment to civil disobedience.”

[Archbishop] Lori, who serves as head of the U.S. bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, told the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at their annual meeting Monday that “whatever setbacks or challenges in the efforts to defend religious liberty we may be experiencing, we’re going to stay the course.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity

Bishops Warn Voting for Democrats is 'Grave Sin'

Given the 2012 Democrat Party pro-abortion platform, and the ObamaCare assault on religious liberty, Roman Catholic bishops across America are directing local priests to inform their flocks of the eternal risks of voting for candidates who support abortion and/or who fight the Church.

For background, read Bishops Chasten VP Biden, a 'Practicing Catholic' and also read Pastors Endorse Candidates, IRS Fears Challenge

And read what the Vatican Says: NEVER Vote for Pro-choice Candidate and also says Liberal Catholic Candidates Must Repent Publicly

UPDATE 3/20/13: Pope Francis Says Wayward Politicians Can't Take Communion

UPDATE 11/5/12: Complaint to IRS Against Catholic Bishops is Bogus 'Scare Tactic'

-- From "Ill. bishop's election message criticizes Obama" by The Associated Press 11/3/12

Catholic Diocese of Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky's letter [to his flock] says the president and the current majority in the U.S. Senate have been unwilling to consider Catholic objections to a requirement that insurance companies provide birth control to employees of religious organizations.

The letter says voters who enable "the destruction of innocent human life in the womb" are "guilty of grave sin." Jenky instructed priests to read it at every Mass over the weekend.

The letter continues: "Today, Catholic politicians, bureaucrats, and their electoral supporters who callously enable the destruction of innocent human life in the womb also thereby reject Jesus as their Lord. They are objectively guilty of grave sin."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Catholic bishops take campaign to prayer and pulpit" by Joel Connelly, Seattle Post Intelligencer 11/2/12

Jenky ordered diocesan priests to read his latest broadside from their pulpits, telling them:  “By virtue of your vow of obedience to me as your bishop, I require that this letter be personally read by each celebrating priest at each weekend Mass.”

[Jenky wrote,] “Since the foundation of the American Republic and the adoption of the Bill of Rights, I do not think there has ever been a time more threatening to our religious liberty than the present . .  . For those who hope for salvation, no political loyalty can ever take precedence over loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his Gospel of Life.”

. . . Green Bay, Wisconsin, Bishop David Ricken wrote in an October 24 letter that the Democratic Party platform support for marriage equality and abortion rights and other “intrinsic evils” puts parishoners’ souls at risk if they support the Democrats.

The Catholic bishops of Pennsylvania wrote a letter to voters last week arguing that abortion, contraception and marriage equality policies supported by the Obama administration and Democrats mean America is “losing its soul by little steps.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Arlington bishop’s pre-election letter" by Jeannine Hunter, Washington Post 11/1/12

Days before the presidential election, several Catholic bishops are making a final pitch to their flocks to vote, with some arguing that the last-minute appeals sound like powerful and partisan endorsements for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney over President Obama.

In his final election message to the Diocese of Arlington and Catholics who live in northern Virginia, the Most Rev. Paul S. Loverde wrote [in part]:

We are first Catholics, not Democrats or Republicans, and recognizing our Catholic identity and the immutable truths of our faith, we must make the best decision we can according to our consciences, properly informed by the Church’s official teaching. . . .

. . . As Catholics, we must recognize that the defense of religious liberty is necessary if we, as individuals and as a Church, are to preserve our ability to practice in our daily lives and in the public square all that we profess at Mass each Sunday. . . .

. . . Abortion is no abstract topic or public policy issue without consequence in the present elections. The party platforms and political advertisements we see and hear each today confirm that the lives of the unborn, the weakest and most innocent amongst us, are still squarely in the public debate, and our votes do have consequences with respect to this “unspeakable crime,” both here at home and in nations abroad. If we do not defend life at its beginning at conception, then there is no life for us to develop and protect thereafter. It is the first right.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Catholic bishops make last-minute pitch for Romney" by David Gibson, Religion News Service 11/2/12

On Thursday, the bishops of Pennsylvania — a crucial battleground state where most Catholics are currently supporting Obama — released a letter to voters declaring that policies on contraception, abortion and gay rights backed by the White House and Democrats meant the nation was “losing its soul by little steps.”

In Wisconsin, Green Bay Bishop David Ricken wrote an Oct. 24 letter saying that the Democratic platform’s support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage and other “intrinsic evils” made it impossible for Catholics to support the party without putting their souls at risk.

That same day, Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio’s column in the diocesan newspaper said that voting for a candidate who supports policies on contraception coverage and abortion rights — as Obama does — “stretches the imagination, especially when there is another option.”

Across the continent in Alaska, Juneau Bishop Edward J. Burns wrote a column in the local newspaper on Oct. 27 comparing Vice President Joe Biden’s support for abortion rights to supporting slave owners in the antebellum South, and he questioned Biden’s character and Catholic faith.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Peoria Bishop: Voting For Pro-Choice Candidates A ‘Grave Sin’" posted at CBS News WBBM Chicago 11/2/12

Donna Doucette, of the group Voice of the Faithful — a Catholic lay group that seeks structural change in the Catholic Church — said Jenky and others like him threaten the Catholic Church’s tax exempt status by appearing to support a specific candidate.

Although the letter does not specifically urge Catholics to vote for Mitt Romney, and doesn’t mention President Barack Obama by name, it compares the president and Senate Democrats to those who killed Jesus.

Doucette calls the level of political involvement by some Catholic bishops this election year “unprecedented.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Complaint says bishops are violating politics ban" by Annysa Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 11/2/12

A Washington-based ethics group has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service alleging Catholic bishops, including Green Bay Bishop David Ricken, are violating the IRS ban on certain political activity by nonprofit organizations.

The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington . . . specifically highlighted comments by Ricken, who sent a letter to Catholics last week warning that their souls would be in danger if they voted for candidates who support gay marriage or abortion rights, generally Democrats; and Peoria Bishop Daniel Jenky, who directed his priests to read a statement accusing the Obama administration of waging an assault on religious freedom "without precedent in the American political and legal system." Jenky had previously compared Obama to Hitler and Stalin.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "For Catholic Voters, Pro-Life Issues are Not Negotiable" by Fr. Shenan Boquet, posted at LifeNews.com 11/2/12

The Church itself is very clear in its teaching, but the truth of the Church’s message can be lost in the deluge of political ads and speeches aimed at getting votes. In these critical days leading up to the election, it’s imperative that we reach out to our friends and family members to explain the non-negotiables for Catholic voters.

Catholics must be aware of the five non-negotiables (abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning and the redefinition of marriage) which are intrinsic evils that cannot be supported. Voting to limit evil on these moral issues far outweighs any position on economic policy or issue of government-provided financial assistance in any election. Voting for a candidate who favors and supports any of the five non-negotiables could lead one to be morally complicit with promoting these intrinsic evils, putting one’s soul in jeopardy, as Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay courageously said last week.

[Also,] Catholics going into the election booth on Tuesday should be aware of the very real threat to our religious freedom.

As the saying goes, work like it all depends on you, pray as if it all depends on God.

To read the entire opinion column above, CLICK HERE.

Also read President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity

It's all about Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism in America

Will 'Wimpy' Pastors Engage War on Christianity?

One thousand American pastors are challenging their fellow heretofore spineless church leaders to stand up to the federal government's totalitarian effort to curtail religious liberty.  Pastors are being called to preach to election issues on "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" (October 7th), urging their congregations to vote consistent with Biblical principles, thus endorsing particular candidates from the pulpit -- a direct challenge to the never-enforced IRS restrictions on churches.

For background, read Pastors Defeating IRS on Freedom to Preach -- it's because the IRS Fears Prosecuting Churches over Politics

UPDATE 9/1/13 - Atheists & Pastors Agree: IRS Must Audit Sermons

Also read Religious Liberty & Anti-Christian Totalitarianism as well as Catholic Bishops Throw Down Gauntlet: Obama War on Christianity

UPDATE 2/16/14: America Going to Hell; Christians Lose Convictions



From "Pastors To Challenge IRS Ban On Political Speech With 'Pulpit Freedom Sunday'" by Meredith Bennett-Smith, The Huffington Post 9/20/12

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of American pastors plan on challenging the Internal Revenue Service next month, endorsing specific candidates in an attempt to force the courts to decide if politics should be allowed in the pulpit.

Dubbed "Pulpit Freedom Sunday," the Oct. 7 event marks the fourth year that churches, led by conservative group Alliance Defending Freedom, have carried out the protest. Pastors [participating in] the event will “preach sermons that will talk about the candidates running for office” and then “make a specific recommendation,” Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the ADF, said.

Last year hundreds of pastors participated in the special Sunday event, preaching about American politics and hot-button issues including same-sex marriage and abortion, according to The New York Times. The politically charged sermons were recorded and sent to the IRS to prove the pastors' violations of a 1954 tax code amendment banning such discourse.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "As churches get political, IRS stays quiet" by Nanette Byrnes, Reuters 6/21/12

The situation is fraught with peril for the IRS, which needs to be seen as apolitical. When it cracks down on political activities proscribed by the 501(c)(3) regulations [that restrict church free speech], it is inevitably branded as partisan.

When the target is a church, mosque or synagogue, enforcement puts two fundamental American values at odds: freedom of speech and the separation of church and state. Although the agency has enforced the tax-exemption rules against churches in the past, it has so far ignored the provocations of Freedom Sunday.

The IRS has also been silent about the increasingly aggressive political activity of the U.S. Catholic bishops, who have called for their own Fortnight for Freedom [in June]. Masses, rallies, and parish bulletins are being mobilized against the Obama administration's healthcare regulations on contraceptives.

IRS church audits seem to have halted entirely in January 2009. That was when Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, successfully appealed an IRS audit. In question were an endorsement of Republican Michele Bachmann for Congress by pastor James Hammond and financial deals that may have benefited him personally, a violation of IRS rules.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pastors pledge to defy IRS, preach politics from pulpit ahead of election" by Cristina Corbin, FoxNews.com 9/23/12

The defiant move, they hope, will prompt the IRS to enforce a 1954 tax code [the Johnson Amendment] that prohibits tax-exempt organizations, such as churches, from making political endorsements. Alliance Defending Freedom, which is holding the October summit, said it wants the IRS to press the matter so it can be decided in court. The group believes the law violates the First Amendment by “muzzling” preachers.

“The purpose is to make sure that the pastor -- and not the IRS -- decides what is said from the pulpit,” Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the group, told FoxNews.com. “It is a head-on constitutional challenge.”

“We’re hoping the IRS will respond by doing what they have threatened,” he said. “We have to wait for it to be applied to a particular church or pastor so that we can challenge it in court. We don’t think it’s going to take long for a judge to strike this down as unconstitutional.”

Stanley and others, like San Diego pastor Jim Garlow, say the IRS regularly threatens churches that they will lose their tax-exempt status if they preach politics. But Stanley and Garlow claim the government never acts on the threat because it wants to avoid a court battle.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "IRS Complaint Filed Against Colo. Christian Group for Endorsing Republicans" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 9/21/12

A Washington, D.C.-based church-state watchdog group has filed a complaint to the IRS against a Colorado-based Christian group, saying they violated tax-exemption rules by endorsing a political party.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State sent the complaint on Wednesday against Ridgway Christian Center, an organization connected to Praise Him Ministries. The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United, wrote the letter to the IRS in response to a fall 2012 publication of RCC which apparently endorsed the Republican Party for the upcoming elections.

According to Erik Stanley of ADF, groups like Americans United have used the Johnson Amendment to "scare churches."

"It's ironic that an organization committed to the 'separation of church and state' is arguing for more governmental monitoring and control of churches and pastors."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read President Obama Denies Leading War Against Christianity

Pastors Defeating IRS on Freedom to Preach

After several years of pastors taking well-publicized political stances from the pulpit that are said to be unlawful, the IRS appears unwilling to press the cases, apparently fearing it will ultimately lose in the Supreme Court. Given this toothless attitude of the IRS, liberals are now consigned to simply pleading with the pastors to "do the right thing" and not guide their congregations through the political minefields.

For background, read Pastors Tell IRS: Get Out of My Pulpit and read IRS Fears Prosecuting Churches over Politics as well as IRS Gives Pass to Pastors Preaching Politics

-- From "Pastors fight IRS ban on endorsing candidates" by Bob Smietana, The Tennessean 10/1/11

The pastors are challenging an IRS ban on endorsing candidates from the pulpit, which is based on rules that forbid nonprofits from taking part in political campaigns. Preachers say the ban violates their rights to free speech and freedom of religion.

. . . 475 preachers nationwide [have] signed up for Pulpit Freedom Sunday this weekend, according to the Alliance Defense Fund [ADF], a Christian legal group based in Scottsdale, Ariz., that organized the event. Most will endorse candidates and then send their sermons to the IRS.

If the [federal tax regulating/enforcement agency, the Internal Revenue Service] IRS investigates them, the Alliance Defense Fund will sue.

“The issue of whether the IRS can censor what a pastor says in the pulpit has never been tested in court,” said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.

The IRS has not punished any pastors involved in Pulpit Freedom events.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "The Political Pulpit" by Stephanie Strom, New York Times 9/30/11

. . . if history is any indication, the I.R.S. may continue to steer clear of the taunts.

“It’s frustrating,” said Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel at Alliance Defense. “The law is on the books but they don’t enforce it, leaving churches in limbo.”

Supporters of the law are equally vexed by the tax agency’s perceived inaction. “We have grave concerns over the current inability of the I.R.S. to enforce the federal tax laws applicable to churches,” a group of 13 ministers in Ohio wrote in a letter to the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, in July.

Marcus Owens, the lawyer representing the Ohio ministers, warned that the I.R.S.’s failure to pursue churches for politicking violations would encourage more donations to support their efforts, taking further advantage of the new leeway given to advocacy groups under the Supreme Court’s decision last year in the Citizens United case.

The [I.R.S.] says it has continued to do audits of some churches, but those are not disclosed. Mr. Stanley, Mr. Owens and other lawyers say they are virtually certain it has no continuing audits of church political activity, an issue that has been a source of contention in recent elections.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Clergy warned about ‘Pulpit Freedom Sunday’" by Lynda Waddington, The Iowa Independent 9/30/11

“This is an appalling attempt by the Religious Right to turn houses of worship into house of partisan politics,” said Rev. Berry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. “Americans attend church for spiritual guidance, not to get a list of candidates to vote for on election day.”

“Church electioneering is illegal, and the people don’t support it,” Lynn added. “It’s time for the Religious Right to stop trying to drag churches into backroom politics.”

During the original Pastor Initiative, according to [Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Wesleyan Church], 33 pastors knowingly and purposefully violated federal law by issuing and recording political speech from their pulpits, and afterward provided those recordings to the IRS, which did not prosecute. The following year, a total of 84 pastors did the same — also without penalty. And the year after that 100 pastors did the same without penalty.

“This year,” Garlow said, “we expect close to 500 pastors to intentionally in their sermons defy the Johnson Amendment — they can speak whatever they want — and mail it to the IRS and the Alliance Defense Fund will defend [their right to do so].”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pastors who play politics from the pulpit" by The Christian Science Monitor's Editorial Board 9/30/11

These pastors, most of them evangelical, are part of an effort to bait the Internal Revenue Service into fining one of the churches or taking away its tax-exempt status. If the IRS takes the bait, then that case will be challenged all the way up to the Supreme Court in hopes of overturning the law.

Drawing this fine line between church and state, or between spiritual matters and electioneering, is a protection from government intrusion on organized religion. And it helps political parties from being controlled by a particular religion – something the Muslim world is actively debating, even killing over.

Sorting out the competing issues, however, won’t be easy if the issue gets to the high court. Even harder is the need to persuade all religious groups to stay clear of directly intervening in elections – so that such a law wouldn’t even need to exist.

People of faith do need to be involved in public affairs – to vote, to pray, and even to individually endorse candidates. But if an organized religion wants to be held separate enough from government and not be taxed, it ought not morph into something else, like a political machine, come every election.

To read the entire editorial above, CLICK HERE.

From "Evangelical pastors heed a political calling for 2012" by Tom Hamburger and Matea Gold, McClatchy Newspapers 9/18/11

This new activism [of Christians and their pastors] has substantial muscle behind it: a cadre of experienced Christian organizers and some of the conservative movement’s most generous donors, who are setting up technologically sophisticated operations to reach pastors and their congregations in battleground states.

The passion for politics stems from a collision of historic forces, including heightened local organizing around issues of abortion and gay marriage and a view of the country’s debt as a moral crisis that violates biblical instruction. Another major factor: both Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Bachmann, leading contenders for the GOP nomination, are openly appealing to evangelical Christian voters as they blast President Barack Obama’s leadership.

[Today's] current awakening is different [from the past]. It springs from the grass-roots, small and independent churches, and is fueled by emails and YouTube videos. And it is driven less by personality than by adherence to the biblical teaching to be the “salt” and “light” of society — in other words, to have a beneficial influence on the world.

“This is the congregational version of the tea party,” says Richard Land, president of the conservative Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. “Pastors who in the past would dodge my calls are calling me saying, ‘How can we be involved?’ “

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Most Pastors Don't Want IRS Regulating Sermons on Politics" by Nathan Black, Christian Post Reporter 9/13/11

Amid ongoing debate over whether pastors should be allowed to preach on political candidates and issues, a new survey reveals that most pastors do not want the government regulating their sermons.

Seventy-nine percent of surveyed Protestant pastors said they strongly disagree with the statement: "The government should regulate sermons by revoking a church's tax exemption if its pastor approves of or criticizes candidates based on the church's moral beliefs or theology."

Another seven percent "somewhat" disagreed, according to the survey, which was sponsored by the Alliance Defense Fund and conducted by LifeWay Research.

Only 10 percent of the pastors agreed with the statement.

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To read the history of the IRS regulation against churches, CLICK HERE.