Tag: pulpit Freedom Sunday

Pastors challenge IRS rule with partisan talk – BakersfieldCalifornian.com

~ Pharmer

Pastors challenge IRS rule with partisan talk – BakersfieldCalifornian.com.

What makes most non profit 501 (C)(3) tax exempt groups so quiet about their causes? Why are they afraid to name names, and speak loudly against the politicians who oppose them? On this past Pulpit Freedom Sunday, more than 1500 Pastors openly defied the 1954 IRS regulation which sought to squash political speech by non profit groups, by scaring them with the IRS boogieman.
In all these 58 years, the IRS has done next to nothing against politically activist churches and non-profits. The IRS has only succeeded in stripping one church of its tax exempt status, in 1992. That particular church in Binghamton, NY ran newspaper ads against Bill Clinton and his positions on abortion and homosexuality.
Since then the IRS has sent only warning letters to a relatively few churches, and since then has had a policy of not enforcing this law.
The Pulpit Freedom Sunday supporters believe that the IRS fears losing ground on this First Amendment issue.

So…….. Why are so many churches and pro-life 501(c)(3) groups so quiet and polite about the political issues which impinge on their cause?
Why don’t they take a chance with their own careers, and income, as so many pro-life health care professionals have been doing? If they led by example, more people would be standing up and taking personal risks to stand up for life.

Don’t forget, the supposedly non-profit, tax funded, and tax exempt planned unparenthood has been openly funding and endorsing candidates for years.

The Atheists will Force the IRS’s Hand Against Other Churches

~ Pharmer ~ 1 Comment

FFRF Sues the IRS Over Churches’ Alleged Political Endorsements | TheBlaze.com.

Atheism is an act of faith.  Its default belief,  without evidence, is  that the universes are self generating and self maintaining – in the absence of the Creator which they deny.

The IRS has been running away from dealing with free speech challenges by over a thousand pastors, on Pulpit Freedom Sunday, probably because they know they’ll lose.

It’s difficult for the IRS  to tell churches that they can’t keep non-profit status if they convey political preferences, with Cecile Richards of the NON- non-profit, Planned Unparenthood, so vigorously supporting and campaigning for the Abortionist in Chief, Obama.

Atheists are getting frustrated at the slow process of compelling complete fealty to the state.  Their Freedom From Religion Foundation, FFRC, is suing to compel the IRS to move against the churches and compel enforcement of the Johnson tax regulation from the 1950s, limiting the free speech of non-profits.

Forcing the hand of the IRS might bring about the early defeat and nullification of these IRS regulations.  It’s what the Pulpit Freedom Sunday Pastors have been hoping for: a chance to win back 1st amendment rights, and beat the tax-man once and for all.

 

Pastors Call Left’s Bluff: No IRS Penalties for Preaching Politics | LifeNews.com

~ Pharmer

Pastors Call Left’s Bluff: No IRS Penalties for Preaching Politics | LifeNews.com.

For the time being, the IRS is rolling over on the issue of tax exemption for churches which dare to publicly address political issues and candidate endorsements.
Over 1500 pastors challenged the IRS this year on the 5th annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday. The response from the IRS is that the enforcement of the so called tax penalties for non-profits, which exhibit a political view, will be held in abeyance until the tax-masters get their regulations in order.

Influencing this decision is a court determination that the Internal Revenue Service needs to establish which officials have sufficient rank for setting and enforcing the policies. Another unspoken problem is the glaring partisanship of the supposed ‘non-profit’, Planned Unparenthood. The IRS would obviously have to remove tax exempt status from the abortion giant if it were to remove that of any churches. Uneven enforcement of regulations does not hold up well from a legal standpoint.

For now, it is open season FOR politics from the pulpit.
Pastors and preachers may freely tell their congregations that Obama is more pro-abortion than 99 percent of abortionists. An exception is Kermit Gosnell, whose trial for infanticides starts in March.

Celebrate Pulpit Freedom Sunday

~ Pharmer

Pastors Prepare to Fight IRS Through Pulpit Freedom Sunday | TheBlaze.com.

October 7 is Pulpit Freedom Sunday, in which the Alliance Defending Freedom and numerous other religious organizations are backing this effort.

Many of the pastors send tapes of their sermons to the IRS, attempting to trigger an audit.   The IRS has acted against non profits engaging in politically partisan activity before, but generally shy away before the issue goes to court. The agency fears losing the power to suppress speech by losing their case on constitutional 1st amendment grounds.

Knowing that the IRS does not go after Planned Parenthood for its blatant campaign activity for the Democrats, and Cecile Richards current tour of the swing states for Obama, should bolster the courage of any religious groups and churches which would like to engage in free political speech from the pulpit.

Some courageous Catholic Priests have taken on the task of defending the sanctity of  life in their sermons. This could be interpreted directly as anti-democrat speech since abortion is firmly entrenched in that party’s platform, and Obamacare includes a death panel, (IPAB).   These priests have therefore taken on the IRS, and the current administration itself.

Other members of  of United States Catholic Clergy might shy away from giving their own interpretations of scripture as it impinges upon politics, for fear of  chasing off their congregations. Some of them subscribe to the idea that it’s OK to vote for a politician who supports killing the unborn, the elderly and the disabled, so long as the candidate  promises to redistribute the wealth.  This type of confused thinking  has morphed  from Seamless Garment teaching of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.

Besides Pulpit Freedom Sunday,  October is Pro Life Month and the Fall  edition of the 40 Days for Life,  is underway.

Don’t forget to Defend your Freedom with your VOTE on Nov 6th.