Say Anything Blog

We have here the very strange spectacle of millionaires in the Senate, working in marble buildings, sitting at walnut desks and placing their books on cherry bookshelves, commuting via motorcade and eating nightly at the finest restaurants, telling preachers that they are out of line if they get a few luxuries for themselves.

Don’t get me wrong.  I despise the “prosperity Gospel”.  It’s not Biblical in the least.  However, a Senate that’s looking at a special session to get its ordinary work done really ought to be considering whether this investigation deserves a high priority given to it, or whether this is better handled by evangalical accountability groups like the ECFA, and if Grassley has evidence of fraud, there are district attorneys that will more than adequately take care of this.

Hopefully Grassley is told to pound sand by these groups.  This is a fishing expedition that has no place on Capitol Hill.

I think all Christian ministries should be above reproach, having not even the appearance of evil.

The people contributing money to these ministries are responsible to demand financial accountability from the ministries involved; and if such transparency about their financial dealings are not forthcoming, the people should not give them their money. This is the business of the ministry and the people they are supposed to serve, and it is a violation of the First Amendment for the Federal government to do anything that infringes upon the rights of these people to give their tithes and offerings to these ministries absent government oversight.

The only time the Federal government has any rights regarding Christian ministries is when evidence of fraud or other criminal activity is involved, and that Federal involvement should be restricted to investigation and prosecution of criminal behavior by the Justice Department. There is no role, no role whatsoever for the Congress in investigating or providing oversight of how the church uses its money, it violates the First Amendment.

Many of these ministries are evil to the core, many fine ministers have been caught up in questionable activities and have fallen from power. Beyond this, as long as no criminal evidence is available to create a need for legal investigations and prosecution, the government has no role whatsoever. This game by Grassely is chilling, if he can demand financial accountibility and investigate church activities, then we must expect legislation that requires churches to behave as the Federal government demands, including having power over what they teach in the pulpit and that is no better than any Communist State.

I trust God to judge and deal with corrupt ministers, not the Federal Government nor anyone commenting here. It is His Church and I do not recall God every assigning that responsibility to anyone else.

By the way, I am against these prosperity doctrines and the way Christians have been fleeced by unscruplous ministers, on the other hand I think God often does prosper His Children that being prospered in material ways the people might support missionary and eveangelical work and to support their local congregation.

No matter the age or state of health, for a military man it is always glorious to tilt at windmills, rescue a fair Dulcinea and be a gallant knight in armor in a glorious cause.

I can only speak for New Birth and Bishop Long, but an FYI:  BISHOP IS NOT ON SALARY!

The only time the Federal government has any rights regarding Christian ministries is when evidence of fraud or other criminal activity is involved, and that Federal involvement should be restricted to investigation and prosecution of criminal behavior by the Justice Department.

Normally, I would agree, but the sad and simple fact is that the IRS conducts random audits of tax payers.  The IRS can demand any financial record they want.  And when we look and we see a disconnect between the reality of these people’s finances and their lifestyles and what they are paying taxes on, we need to figure out why.

I don’t think you get some magical cloak of invisibility to the IRS because you call yourself Pastor Justin or Reverend Justin or Bishop Justin.  And for the most part, our tax law allows churches to more or less use a cloak of invisibility.  Given that they pay no taxes, the flip side of that is that they must maintain open and transparent records.  It is one or the other. 

But the bigger issue is that the IRS cannot just take away a church’s tax exempt status haphazardly.  How does a church lose their tax exempt status?  What happens to the millions in tithes that people pay?  Now it is taxable income again?  In order for the IRS to verify the donations of individuals are tax deductible, they gotta see what they are used for.  I can go and start a “church”, call myself the pastor, donate $20k a year to my own church, write that money off of my personal taxes, have the church lease an ExCalade and buy a bunch of nice suits, and avoid the income tax on that $20k.  I am ok with that part.  What I am not OK with is when someone comes to check on you doing it, to hide behind the “religious freedom” excuse.  They get extraordinary treatment by the tax system.  Extraordinary treatment requires extraordinary transparency.  Not just to the people that donate money, but to all of us that subsidize them by not taxing their income and tithes.

I am a regular church goer and when I give out the tithes, it is with the belief that the church would use it for the good of people who have less. I do not care about the tax but I am curious what the church is doing with people’s money. It would be good to know where it is doing. So in a way, I am not against with Sen. Grassly (I have other reasons of course).