Church and state
This story concerned me when I read it.
"Stepping up its probe of allegedly improper campaigning by churches, the Internal Revenue Service on Friday ordered a liberal Pasadena parish to turn over all the documents and e-mails it produced during the 2004 election year with references to political candidates.All Saints Episcopal Church and its rector, the Rev. Ed Bacon, have until Sept. 29 to present the sermons, newsletters and electronic communications.
The IRS investigation was triggered by an antiwar sermon delivered by its former rector, the Rev. George F. Regas, at the church two days before the 2004 presidential election. "
Now I'm sorry, but when a pastor gets up in his own pulpit and preaches that the Bible says "this" is wrong, I don't care if the "this" in question is the war or abortion, the pastor has every right under the Constitution to say so! What part of "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" isn't clear to them.
What is wrong, and what the IRS should be investigating is any church that allows a politician to get up in the pulpit and campaign from there. I don't care if it is a Republican candidate or a Democratic candidate (to be fair - when I did my search for the stories about candidates campaigning from the pulpit the only examples that I could find were Democrats) campaigning from the pulpit is dead wrong and it should be stopped.
"Stepping up its probe of allegedly improper campaigning by churches, the Internal Revenue Service on Friday ordered a liberal Pasadena parish to turn over all the documents and e-mails it produced during the 2004 election year with references to political candidates.All Saints Episcopal Church and its rector, the Rev. Ed Bacon, have until Sept. 29 to present the sermons, newsletters and electronic communications.
The IRS investigation was triggered by an antiwar sermon delivered by its former rector, the Rev. George F. Regas, at the church two days before the 2004 presidential election. "
Now I'm sorry, but when a pastor gets up in his own pulpit and preaches that the Bible says "this" is wrong, I don't care if the "this" in question is the war or abortion, the pastor has every right under the Constitution to say so! What part of "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;" isn't clear to them.
What is wrong, and what the IRS should be investigating is any church that allows a politician to get up in the pulpit and campaign from there. I don't care if it is a Republican candidate or a Democratic candidate (to be fair - when I did my search for the stories about candidates campaigning from the pulpit the only examples that I could find were Democrats) campaigning from the pulpit is dead wrong and it should be stopped.
posted by The Lady Logician at
6:08 PM
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