President Bush's War on People of Faith – Bush’s IRS Intimidates Churches that Don’t Submit to his Ideology – Gives a Pass to Those Who Do
Guest: Amy Sullivan
BUSH'S WAR ON PEOPLE OF FAITH....Today we learn that Bush's IRS is investigating a prominent liberal Episcopal church because of a sermon last fall in which the minister condemned Bush's policy in Iraq. (No word on whether the agency is also going after the Baptist church that kicked out members who voted for John Kerry. Or the churches that helped out the Bush/Cheney campaign last year by sending in their membership directories. Or the Catholic priests who told parishioners it would be a sin to vote for Kerry.)
Don't cry for the Episcopalians, though. They had an out. The IRS offered them a sweet deal: Admit that you violated the law, never do it again, and we'll drop the investigation.
That kind of "deal" is usually called "intimidation."
If a Democratic administration went after a conservative church and threatened its tax-exempt status over statements made during a sermon, it's safe to assume all hell would break loose. You wouldn't be able to turn on a cable channel without hearing some host intoning, "Is there a Democratic war on faith?" Conservatives would fill the airwaves, newsprint, and blog pages with condemnations of "liberal bigots who hate religion." Can we expect a similar response from the left now?
—Amy Sullivan 12:32 AM Permalink TrackBack (0) Comments (136)
The minister who gave the anti-war sermon told people that they could vote for whomever they wished, and that good faithful Christians could choose any of the candidates. Whereas many Right Wing churches across the country preached that their flock must vote for Bush and that any other vote was un-Christian. Those Right Wing churches have NOT had their tax exempt status threatened. Many “Christian” [sic] churches played speeches by Republican Senate Leader Bill Frist and other Republican politicians speaking on political issues as their “sermons” The Bush Admin is not going after any of those obvious violations of IRS rules.
But let’s look at whether the IRS should go after a minister who preached against the war (especially one that has opposed other previous wars as well as this preacher has):
Jesus said it is written an eye for an eye, but I tell you that you must love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, and if someone strikes you on your right cheek you must offer them your left as well. Twice Jesus said Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called Children of God. When Peter cut off the ear of a soldier taking Jesus into captivity, Jesus told him to put away his sword and healed the ear of the soldier who was taking him prisoner. So when a Christian minister preaches against war based on the teachings of Jesus Christ the parish is told that they may loose their tax exempt status. Whereas Right-Wing so called “Christian” [sic] churches all across the country hold pro Bush-Cheney events, broadcast Bill Frist and other Republican politicians as “sermons” and even tell parishioners that if they vote for Kerry they are kicked out of the church, and they don’t lose their tax exempt status. Even though Jesus said render unto Caesar what is Caesars and render unto God what is Gods, and politicians being broadcast from the pulpit is clearly Caesar’s realm in God’s house: a clear violation of Christ’s teachings and IRS rules.
It recently came out in an Italian magazine that before the 2004 election then Cardinal Ratzenberger now Pope Benedict sent a memo to the Catholic Bishops in the US urging them to refuse communion to politicians who don’t oppose abortion. Kerry was his primary target. Ignoring the fact that the Catholic Church is just as against Capital Punishment as it is against abortion, and he didn’t recommend them to refuse communion to pro-Death Penalty politicians. Also then Pope, John Paul II, said that the Iraq War was an unjust war and therefore mass murder. That makes any politician who supports the Iraq War pro-Mass Murder according to the teachings of the Catholic Church. But Ratzenberger did not urge Catholic Clergy to refuse communion to pro-Mass Murder politicians. By instructing Catholic clergy to refuse communion based on one issue, but ignoring the other issues Ratzenberger was opening the entire Catholic Church to the loss of their tax exempt status. The fact that the Bush Administration’s IRS is going after a church that follows the teachings of Christ with regard to war and even said that people could vote for whomever they wanted, but the IRS doesn’t go after Pro-Bush churches that violate the teachings of Christ in order to push a political agenda shows how hypocritical the Bush Administration is and how capriciously (and in this case unjustly) they are enforcing the law is a violation of the constitution that says they must enforce the law fairly as all are or should be subject to the same laws. The current crop of Republicans don’t give a damn about the Constitution or any other law, though. They just look for ways to abuse the law to their own immoral ends. History will show these to be the darkest days in American history.
Joe
BUSH'S WAR ON PEOPLE OF FAITH....Today we learn that Bush's IRS is investigating a prominent liberal Episcopal church because of a sermon last fall in which the minister condemned Bush's policy in Iraq. (No word on whether the agency is also going after the Baptist church that kicked out members who voted for John Kerry. Or the churches that helped out the Bush/Cheney campaign last year by sending in their membership directories. Or the Catholic priests who told parishioners it would be a sin to vote for Kerry.)
Don't cry for the Episcopalians, though. They had an out. The IRS offered them a sweet deal: Admit that you violated the law, never do it again, and we'll drop the investigation.
That kind of "deal" is usually called "intimidation."
If a Democratic administration went after a conservative church and threatened its tax-exempt status over statements made during a sermon, it's safe to assume all hell would break loose. You wouldn't be able to turn on a cable channel without hearing some host intoning, "Is there a Democratic war on faith?" Conservatives would fill the airwaves, newsprint, and blog pages with condemnations of "liberal bigots who hate religion." Can we expect a similar response from the left now?
—Amy Sullivan 12:32 AM Permalink TrackBack (0) Comments (136)
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The minister who gave the anti-war sermon told people that they could vote for whomever they wished, and that good faithful Christians could choose any of the candidates. Whereas many Right Wing churches across the country preached that their flock must vote for Bush and that any other vote was un-Christian. Those Right Wing churches have NOT had their tax exempt status threatened. Many “Christian” [sic] churches played speeches by Republican Senate Leader Bill Frist and other Republican politicians speaking on political issues as their “sermons” The Bush Admin is not going after any of those obvious violations of IRS rules.
But let’s look at whether the IRS should go after a minister who preached against the war (especially one that has opposed other previous wars as well as this preacher has):
Jesus said it is written an eye for an eye, but I tell you that you must love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, and if someone strikes you on your right cheek you must offer them your left as well. Twice Jesus said Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called Children of God. When Peter cut off the ear of a soldier taking Jesus into captivity, Jesus told him to put away his sword and healed the ear of the soldier who was taking him prisoner. So when a Christian minister preaches against war based on the teachings of Jesus Christ the parish is told that they may loose their tax exempt status. Whereas Right-Wing so called “Christian” [sic] churches all across the country hold pro Bush-Cheney events, broadcast Bill Frist and other Republican politicians as “sermons” and even tell parishioners that if they vote for Kerry they are kicked out of the church, and they don’t lose their tax exempt status. Even though Jesus said render unto Caesar what is Caesars and render unto God what is Gods, and politicians being broadcast from the pulpit is clearly Caesar’s realm in God’s house: a clear violation of Christ’s teachings and IRS rules.
It recently came out in an Italian magazine that before the 2004 election then Cardinal Ratzenberger now Pope Benedict sent a memo to the Catholic Bishops in the US urging them to refuse communion to politicians who don’t oppose abortion. Kerry was his primary target. Ignoring the fact that the Catholic Church is just as against Capital Punishment as it is against abortion, and he didn’t recommend them to refuse communion to pro-Death Penalty politicians. Also then Pope, John Paul II, said that the Iraq War was an unjust war and therefore mass murder. That makes any politician who supports the Iraq War pro-Mass Murder according to the teachings of the Catholic Church. But Ratzenberger did not urge Catholic Clergy to refuse communion to pro-Mass Murder politicians. By instructing Catholic clergy to refuse communion based on one issue, but ignoring the other issues Ratzenberger was opening the entire Catholic Church to the loss of their tax exempt status. The fact that the Bush Administration’s IRS is going after a church that follows the teachings of Christ with regard to war and even said that people could vote for whomever they wanted, but the IRS doesn’t go after Pro-Bush churches that violate the teachings of Christ in order to push a political agenda shows how hypocritical the Bush Administration is and how capriciously (and in this case unjustly) they are enforcing the law is a violation of the constitution that says they must enforce the law fairly as all are or should be subject to the same laws. The current crop of Republicans don’t give a damn about the Constitution or any other law, though. They just look for ways to abuse the law to their own immoral ends. History will show these to be the darkest days in American history.
Joe
posted by Joe | 11/09/2005 06:03:00 AM
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