posted on November 8, 2005 06:57:52 PM new
Don't get me wrong, as far as I'm concerned, all churches should be taxed, but this report begs the question, how many churches who gave pro-Bush sermons prior to the election have been called on the carpet?? I can't find a one. Seems to me, like Linda's always a sayin', fair's fair.
The Internal Revenue Service has warned one of Southern California's largest and most liberal churches that it is at risk of losing its tax-exempt status because of an antiwar sermon two days before the 2004 presidential election.
And in answer to what you said above....the churches are often getting pressured by the IRS to not be mixing politics and God.
If you really couldn't find any articles on that....then you weren't looking very hard. Right before the elections, when kerry was preaching politics...vote for me...in the black churches it was in the news [for both sides] all the time.
My advice would be to look harder.....they're there for all to see.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on November 8, 2005 07:16:27 PM new
You mention Kerry, I remember those...but which churches, specifically, that preached pro-Bush sermons prior to the election, had their tax exempt status officially threatened by the IRS?
Find one for me that matches the same conditions this one does. Dare ya.
____________________________________________
Habla siempre que debas y calla siempre que puedas....
posted on November 8, 2005 07:19:45 PM new
And by the way, the Christian Coalition is not a church.
____________________________________________
Habla siempre que debas y calla siempre que puedas....
posted on November 8, 2005 07:56:02 PM new
LOl profe....I don't take 'school assignments' from you. YOU can do your own research....I've read them many times.
Try googling 'irs threatens to audit tax-exempt churches'....or something along that line.
But don't expect to 'challenge' me to do it for you. I could care less whether I change your mind.
Have a good evening.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
posted on November 8, 2005 08:06:45 PM new
I googled it Linda. The answer to my original question is NONE.
nitey nite.
by the way, 'fore you drop off to dreamland... it's "I couldn't care less..."
To say that you could care less, obviously means that you care...goodness, I'm gettin' all misty-like....
____________________________________________
Habla siempre que debas y calla siempre que puedas....
[ edited by profe51 on Nov 8, 2005 08:11 PM ]
posted on November 8, 2005 08:11:00 PM new
The "reverend" Colin better watch out what he preaches in the Church of Hide and Seek. The IRS may come after him next.
Absolute faith has been shown, consistently, to breed intolerance. And intolerance, history teaches us, again and again, begets violence.
---------------------------------- The duty of a patriot in this time and place is to ask questions, to demand answers, to understand where our nation is headed and why. If the answers you get do not suit you, or if they frighten you, or if they anger you, it is your duty as a patriot to dissent. Freedom does not begin with blind acceptance and with a flag. Freedom begins when you say 'No.'
posted on November 8, 2005 08:37:43 PM new
Where was it I heard about The Church of Lloyd Bridges..."The Lloyd our God"...
or "Our Lady of Dubious Miracles"
or "Our Lady of Perpetual Motion"
or was it "Our Lady of the Flying Trapeze" ??
Firesign Theatre, maybe? fenix?...may be yer not old enuf....anyone?
____________________________________________
Habla siempre que debas y calla siempre que puedas....
posted on November 8, 2005 08:45:27 PM new
by the way, Rev....got me one of those mail order holiness papers too...did my first wedding last summer right here at the ranch, whereupon we commenced to roast a goat and drink a fair amount. The county accepted the paperwork without a hitch, so I guess I too am a bona fidee man of the cloth.
I'm contemplatin' sainthood, but 50 bucks is a chunk of change, what with gas costing so much and all.
Does this make us collegues???
you bein' the expert and all...is there a buck to be made in this deal? I'm nearing retirement you know, can't just sit in my chair and watch the sheep mate for the next 50 years....
____________________________________________
Habla siempre que debas y calla siempre que puedas....
posted on November 9, 2005 05:15:10 AM new
Yes Prof, colleagues it would be. It's a nice feeling when you have the opportunity to marry friend, family or anyone else for that matter.
I don't accept anything (even donations) for weddings, baptism or anything else. If they offer I tell them to give to the charity of their choice.
Anything I get for the T-shirts and all on Cafe Press goes to Shelters in Saratoga. They help families get back on their feet when problems arise.
I'm still waiting for that million dollar donation but I doubt there's any money in it. Motorcycles parts on the other hand pay well.
LD, yes I can get into Hospitals and even Jails to see people. So if you find yourself in need of spiritual help, call the Rev.
posted on November 9, 2005 06:12:45 AM new
You are strangely unique in not accepting fees, Colin.
Speaking of donations, I'll never forget the sight of a Mississippi Baptist preacher running...yes, actually running from his office in the church to get my signature on a donation check in payment for my dad's funeral which I had neglected to sign. His performance apparently required pre-payment.
My dad's observation on preachers...They'll piss on your leg and tell you it's raining. That thought was comforting throughout this preacher's solemn charade.
posted on November 9, 2005 10:40:37 AM new
Profe & Colin, I sent away for one of these six or seven years ago, and even paid for the certificate (Doctor of Divinity). I thought it'd be fun, but never took it seriously. I've never actually DONE anything with it, for fear I'd find out they were really worthless after all.
What states are you guys in that you know they will be accepted?
"The Reverend Doctor Brian" Sounds pretty good to me. Too bad I'm working toward a secular PhD in real life
--------------------------------------
Quidquid Latine dictum sit altum sonatur.
posted on November 9, 2005 05:54:58 PM new
I did enjoy marrying my friends...my fee was a case of Guinness. Haven't performed any ceremonies since, although I do have my Clergy sticker in the pickup window, in case I need it.
____________________________________________
Habla siempre que debas y calla siempre que puedas....
posted on November 10, 2005 11:07:52 AM new
Just for our profe.
A previous WATimes article said the IRS had started out reviewing a list of 100....but felt 60 needed to be looked at a little more closely.
Just so you don't keep whining about things not being fair
----
Probe continues of 60 tax-exempt groups, IRS says
By Guy Taylor
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
November 10, 2005
The Internal Revenue Service said yesterday that it continues to investigate more than 60 tax-exempt organizations --including about 20 churches-- of accusations of engaging in improper political activities concerning the 2004 presidential election.
The IRS first revealed that it was probing the groups last year, and it was not clear yesterday whether disciplinary action has been taken, or will be taken, against any of them.
"Federal law prohibits us from discussing specific cases or even confirming them," said Bruce I. Friedland, a spokesman for the service, who declined to identify any of the groups beyond saying that about a third are churches.
The Associated Press reported Tuesday that the IRS had warned a prominent liberal church in Los Angeles that it could lose its tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon a guest preacher gave on the eve of the 2004 election.
tsk tsk...they got CAUGHT doing what they complain the 'religious right' does
Mr. Friedland refused to comment on the development, which reportedly involved a sermon that did not explicitly urge parishioners of All Saints Episcopal Church to support President Bush or Sen. John Kerry, but was critical of the war in Iraq and Mr. Bush's tax cuts.
Speaking only generally about IRS guidelines, Mr. Friedland said tax-exempt organizations, including charity groups, educational institutions and churches, are "prohibited from participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office."
The rules are based on a 1954 federal statute that allows such organizations to comment on political issues, but bars them from endorsing or raising money for a political party or specific candidate.
"Even activities that encourage people to vote for or against a particular candidate on the basis of nonpartisan criteria violates the political campaign prohibition," Mr. Friedland said.
He said that in 2004, the IRS established a committee of tax law experts who selected more than 60 cases against tax-exempt groups that "merited further examination."
However, because the IRS does not speak about specific cases, it is unknown how many times the rules have been enforced against tax-exempt groups.
Perhaps the most high-profile case of recent years centered on the service's rejection of an application for tax-exempt status by the conservative Christian Coalition in 1999.
In 2000, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia unanimously ruled that the IRS did not violate the First Amendment rights of a New York church that it had stripped of its tax-exempt status for buying anti-Bill Clinton newspaper ads before the 1992 presidential election.
However, political observers said that although tax-exempt groups might be subjected to minor punishments by the IRS -- such as being forced to admit they were wrong or to promise not to engage in future political activity -- it is rare that the service ever fully strips tax-exempt status.
posted on November 10, 2005 11:53:56 AM new
Linda, I heard there were numerous Baptist Church's in the south that promoted voting for Bush. Will they be looked into as well?
posted on November 10, 2005 12:28:08 PM new
Oh, but KD....it was KERRY who was speaking from 'the pulpit' in all those southern black churches NOT this President.
And I think the copy and paste I shared for the profe's benefit is quite clear...clear enough for even you to understand.
"Whenever the nation is under attack, from within or without, liberals side with the enemy. This is their essence." --Ann Coulter
And why the American Voters chose to RE-elect President Bush to four more years. YES!!!
