The latest circus act was orchestrated by the Alliance Defense Fund. They called it Pulpit Freedom Sunday, and their goal was to break the laws that prohibit non-profit organizations from engaging in politics.
"Pastors participating in the Alliance Defense Fund’s 'Pulpit Freedom Sunday' will preach from their pulpits Sept. 28 about the moral qualifications of candidates seeking political office. The pastors will exercise their First Amendment right to preach on the subject, despite federal tax regulations that prohibit intervening or participating in a political campaign."In other words, they want all the benefits of a tax-exempt organization, but they don't want to follow the rules.
This isn't persecution. Nobody is censoring these preachers. All they have to do is follow the rules: pay taxes like everyone else. Once they do that, they can endorse all the political candidates they want.
The Alliance Defense Fund and the churches that they're egging on are nothing but hypocrites. They're whiners. They want to dodge taxes but not pay the price. We let non-profit organizations avoid taxes because they agree to abide by certain rules. They can't meddle with the government.
But the ADF wants it both ways.
I say quit whining and pay your taxes. I pay mine, and that gives me a right to say anything I like on these pages, including endorsing or lambasting any politician I like. If they pay their taxes, they can do the same.
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I say we give it to them both ways - front end and back end that is.
ReplyDeleteActually, no one is stopping the preachers from stepping down from the pulpit, taking off their collars and speaking as an individual. What we are doing is stopping them from speaking as a representative of the church. Speech, like all freedoms, is inherently limited whether people like it or not. Depending on the situation, there are certain things you cannot say. A soldier, wearing a uniform, cannot badmouth the military or they will face consequences. In fact, I don't think anyone wearing a company uniform should expect they can badmouth their company and not face consequences. Want to do that? Take off the uniform, don't identify yourself as an employee and say what you want.
ReplyDeleteWhy people think religion gets a special pass is beyond me.