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Holy Harangue! Pastors preaching politics

November 21, 2012

Testing the mettle of the federal government, some church leaders preached politics from the pulpit during the run-up to the election and are challenging authorities to pull their tax-exempt status. (San Francisco Chronicle)

Federal tax rules mandate that religious groups with tax-exempt privileges are “absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating” in any political campaign or making statements favoring or opposing “any candidate for public office.”

But only one church has had its tax-free status revoked in the 58 years the law has existed.

Through a nationally-organized movement called the “Alliance Defending Freedom,” religious leaders say they will save Americas from “radical anti-Christian groups” and lay waste to “the myth of the so-called separation of church and state.”

At recent services on a day dubbed “Pulpit Freedom Sunday,” 142 pastors of California churches snubbed the law and preached political messages.


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“Religion, the opiate of the masses”-Karl Marx. Very well put. That and shopping seem to be almost all that is left of our society. I gladly say there are a few decent churches and many good people attend church here and there but the fanatical wave of religious bs over the last 50 years has been ridiculous in our so called modern society.

We have churches for religious stuff, political parties for political stuff. Churches get tax free status for the purpose of providing a sanctuary where like minded folks can roll in their own brand of religious foolishness- NOT so they can organize to drive society. That is the job of the parties and individuals.


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It is time to start my own church to specifically advocate my brand of politics. The religious dogma will be easy to manufacture, since its a bunch of mythological, supernatural hoo-ha any way (and always has been). I’ll even call it the “Hoo Ha” church. Watch it grow faster and bigger than any other as all the (majority) of folks who DON’T buy into any conventional religion join to take advantage of tax exemption and its personal perks while passively contributing to the demise of established religions.


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For anyone to say that religion is not politics, nor should they ever mix must not have ever read the Torra/Tanach, Holy Bible or Holy Koran. Politics and current events have always been a central part of these texts, and to all of a sudden say they should not be mixed is disingenuous at best, and deliberately misleading and a flat-out lie at worst.


Faith is nice to think of as being free of politics, but how short-sighted is it to think a person of faith will live through God’s world and His creation without ever encountering politics, sin, or any other human or natural system? Religious texts by their very definition are there to guide and teach the faithful how to progress through life, whether by strict laws (Torra and Koran) or by parables and solid life-lessons (New Testament).


Do people not understand that the Koran is not just a book about faith, but a complete set of law by which a Caliphate should govern society? I think that’s pretty political… so are Imam’s not supposed to preach the Koran, then? Or if they do, just don’t be tax-exempt like Code Pink or the Sierra Club?


Such hypocrisy.


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I disagree with you rOy.


As I’ve stated eloquently before:


“In my opinion, any preacher or church leader who uses the pulpit to promote ANY political agenda is leading his or her followers astray. It’s akin to allowing money-lenders to do commerce in the most sacred temples. It’s usually a selfish pursuit that degrades the religion it is associated with. No good ever comes of it.”


So, r0y, in my statement is a question for you: What GOOD has ever come from preaching politics from the pulpit?


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UnWiseGuy,


“Eloquently?” Huh?


Besides being ungodly, your narcissist modus operandi is manipulating you into something that you’re not, and that is an assumed purveyor of knowledge.


I am sure that it is as sickening for Jesus to watch your “holier than thou” attitude, as it is for the others here at CCN.


“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

( Proverbs 16:18 )


“Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” (Proverbs 18:12)


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Ted, the very fact that you have to resort to butchering my name, shows your desperation and lack of solid foundation for your rants and sarcasm.


Notice how many times over the weeks, when I’ve pointed out flaws in your logic and your misunderstanding of religious concept, that you take pains to say you will not respond to those statements.


Ted, you seriously do not have a grasp of the nature of religion and sacred beliefs. Your attempts to use your logic to explain away sacred beliefs is misguided, because by their very nature, sacred beliefs go beyond common logic and require faith in what cannot be explained with such limited tools of the intellect.


I suggest you study the works of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung if you truly want to wise up and understand what it is your soul is struggling with in the coarse of your perverse obsession in trying to spread your virus of disrespect and ugliness.


I will again ask you a very basic, relevant question: What GOOD have you accomplished with your disrespectful, divisive and ugly rants? Have you ever changed anyone’s mind about anything? Be truthful, my friend. And be specific, please. Thank you!


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Its a slippery slope for the religious institutions becoming a PAC as evident by my own eyes of the evangelical religious Right “Christian Coalition” and their hokus pokus who’ve had managed to dominate the Republican Party and serve their masters of the Corporate Oligarchy.


“Laws are partly formed for the sake of good men, in order to instruct them how they may live on friendly terms with one another, and partly for the sake of those who refuse to be instructed, whose spirit cannot be subdued, or softened, or hindered from plunging into evil.”


Plato (427 BC – 347 BC)


The “privelage” of tax-exempt, religous institutions must not be bullies on the pulpit, since this violates not only the trust bestowed on them by the People of the United States, but more importantly, the people in its congregation.


To preach politics and religion from the same space is a form of evil and must not be condoned, for religion is for the soul and spirits and politics for the governence of the people and neither the two should marry for its an incestuous relationship resulting in man governing of the peoples souls.


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So how is a religious group (Church, “Christian Coalition,” whatever) different from Greenpeace or the Sierra Club?


I’d love for someone to explain how Code Pink is allowed to have tax exempt status and be VERY political; yet if a church does this, it’s a bad thing and they should lose their tax exempt status?


(BTW: code pink is also a 501(c)3 – the same category as a church).


Can people who seem “against” a church being political please explain why there’s a line drawn here?


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Excellent point!


I don’t like that hypocrisy either, but more importantly I loathe the Federal Reserve, the defacto Central Bank and I.R.S. who has us all by the balls, especially those independant citizens free from corruptive groupthink organizations like corporations and the government who are the true capitalist serving the commonplace markets.


Isn’t it accepted by contemporary sociologist and philosophy that each society has the five basic institutions, Government, Business, Family, Religion & Education? Each of which have distinct and seperate societal functions?


I agree that churches and religious institutions are easy targets since most premise a holyier than thou attitude against the public at large and should be held to the highest standards and must be diligent themselves of any appearance of political influence, since their fundamental purpose is for the soul of the individual, for soul to govern oneself, not for the State to govern the soul.


This seperates the churches from other non-profits that have the “privelage” of tax-empempt status, such as code green, blue, yellow or cyan,etc, since thev’re declared in writing and by annual affirmation of tax records and practices their profit free activities.


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r0y,


Simply put, your organizations of mention DO NOT endorse any candidates. Read their websites where they adamantly state this fact.


Conversely, the church want’s to endorse candidates and propositions that follow along with their ever-growing divisions of faith. Like the hell bound Mormons did on California’s Proposition 8 a while back, of which they should have been taken to task especially since it was done out of the Satanic state of Utah!


Obviously the churches wanted the endorsing of the hell bound Mitt Romney and other Christian zealots. The irony of which, would have brought forth his primitive thinking Mormonism, along with it’s draconian and comical edicts like their adherents wearing “secret underwear!” lol


Key word: “candidate”.


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Excellent point!


I don’t like that hypocrisy either, but more importantly I loathe the Federal Reserve, the defacto Central Bank and I.R.S. who a unilateral leverage in the interpreation of the code, especially those independant citizens free from corruptive groupthink organizations like corporations and the government who are the true capitalist serving the commonplace markets.


Isn’t it accepted by contemporary sociologist and philosophy that each society has the five basic institutions, Government, Business, Family, Religion & Education? Each of which have distinct and seperate societal functions?


I agree that churches and religious institutions are easy targets since most premise a holyier than thou attitude against the public at large and should be held to the highest standards and must be diligent themselves of any appearance of political influence, since their fundamental purpose is for the soul of the individual, for soul to govern oneself, not for the State to govern the soul.


This seperates the churches from other non-profits that have the “privelage” of tax-empempt status, such as code green, blue, yellow or cyan,etc, since thev’re declared in writing and by annual affirmation of tax records and practices their profit free activities.


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Let them say anything they want, just pull their tax exempt status. They will be no different than some guy at the street corner yelling out his beliefs.


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Ain’t going to happen. Taxing places of worship would contravene the First Amendment to the US Constitution.


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In my opinion, any preacher or church leader who uses the pulpit to promote ANY political agenda is leading his or her followers astray. It’s akin to allowing money-lenders to do commerce in the most sacred temples. It’s usually a selfish pursuit that degrades the religion it is associated with. No good ever comes of it.


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PRAISE, Yeshua Ben-Joseph !


These pontificating proseletyzers are a bunch of LOSERS !

They all were ROMNEYLANS…DUMMIES with MONEY ! Soon to be parted !

Republican holes by another name !


HOLES !


BIG EMPTY BLACK ONES !


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Haters (and losers) will hate…


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It’s amusing to see the anti-Christian bigots spewing their hatred and doing the work of Satan under the guise of “enlightenment.” Sorry folks you’re not going to prevail no matter how obnoxious and dangerous you become, thanks be to God.


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I just love your satire, Crusader.


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What is the difference between a religious institution being tax-exempt and political versus a non-religious institution that is also political and tax-exempt? Why is one barred and not the other?


Is the “Rainbow Coalition” non-political? The Sierra Club? Any of the myriad of George Soros funded institutions? Any of the Koch Family Foundations funded institutions?


This whole topic is a joke, and all it serves to do is anger a very small portion of society.


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I agree, except that the number of citizens with faith and a connection to a given church are by no means “a very small portion of society.”


The hatred spewed by anti-Christian bigots is ugly but it’s not about to change the Constitution.


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The “very small portion of society” was the non-believers. Sorry that I did not make that clearer.


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