Freedom of religion and the government “qualified” church

One of the greatest hoaxes to be perpetrated on the modern Church is the assumption that it must incorporate to be recognized by the IRS as not liable for taxation

Freedom of religion and the government “qualified” church

What we’re seeing take place in America is a blurring of the lines between God and government due to churches being hornswoggled into applying to the IRS for permission to be a “nonprofit” corporation. Why a church, which “corporate” composition is that of its members, would latch onto a concept that a legal entity must be created in order to fulfill its duty of serving Christ is non-sensible.

The gathering of the Church is for worship, fellowship, teaching and preaching the Gospel—the death, burial and resurrection of Christ Jesus—and its inherent freedom. It is not for the purpose of being awarded tax-exempt status from government. The fact is, that once a government sanctioned corporation is created, it is bound to seek the pleasure of that same government before anything else, and before any 501(c)(3) collects tax-deductible donations it receives a letter from the IRS giving the go-ahead.

As this whole sequence turns on its head the proper order of service for a church, herein lies a basic problem, a problem that was addressed in the following article written a few months back. The Houston, Texas mayor and city attorney reaction to many local churches standing against the city’s non-discriminating between the sexes HERO ordinance is affected by what is written below. Freedom of religious expression (which includes addressing how politics affects the Church) is guaranteed by the Constitution, but how much is compromised by the signing up for government oversight to gain permission to be a tax-exempt corporation? Read on to see…
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Mayor-Parker-to-revise-narrow-subpoena-request-5829455.php

http://www.adfmedia.org/News/PRDetail/9349

(Note: It was necessary to replace the original link to the local press (Winona Daily News) about the IRS settlement w/FFRF because the article was scrubbed from the site. Wonder why…)

July 31, 2014


 Why churches shouldn’t be 501s

Sue the IRS and get a covert deal that targets your enemies. That’s essentially what happened when the atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation filed a suit against the federal tax agency charging it to enforce what the FFRF termed “anti-electioneering” regulations against religious organizations.http://ffrf.org/images/uploads/legal/IRSlawsuit2012.pdf

The actual 501(c)(3) code states this: “...no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting, to influence legislation (except as otherwise provided in subsection (h)), and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/501

Why the IRS caved on this nebulous indictment that churches engage in political campaigning but continues to stonewall Congress on its invasive questioning of conservative organizations to the point of impeding their lawful pursuit is unfathomable. Particularly for the fact that, two years into the IRS investigation, Lerner and crew continue to go unpunished for these illegal activities. The irony is in how the IRS thinks that it’s more in its interest to make nicey-nice with a group representing a fraction of a fraction of American society than accommodate the majority population, which is conservative by more than half.http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/29/is-the-irs-planning-to-crack-down-on-pastors-and-churches-settlement-with-atheist-group-sparks-questions/

Although the IRS and the FFRF aren’t talking about what the actual deal is that was struck, it appears to include spying on churches to determine (by what subjective standards, no one knows) whether they are intervening on behalf of political campaigns. Of interest is that only Christian churches are considered to be in the IRS’ sights, not Muslims or Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans or whatever strain of non-Christian religionists one could name.http://video.foxnews.com/v/3702693228001/irs-reportedly-strikes-deal-with-atheists-/

First of all, the First Amendment doesn’t restrict anyone from voicing their opinion on religious or political issues, nor does it separate one from the other as the lawsuit and so many ill-educated people assert. Not only does the Constitution not require a separation of church and state but its purpose is the limitation of the powers of government, NOT granting or restricting rights to the People. What we have here is an organization (FRFF) that believes in nothing, and these 19,000 lost souls (for that is all the membership they claim) feel they must trot their unhappy nature through the streets, pulling every trick possible to claim the same benefits of people of faith. Check one of the other lawsuits filed at the same time. It appears to be about envy that churches needn’t file some onerous paperwork that is required of non-religious organizations. Boo-hoo.
http://ffrf.org/images/uploads/legal/990lawsuit.PDF

There is another issue that must be raised. Although this suit was filed in 2012, long before the Mississippi senatorial race runoff election, it looks like the establishment Republicans fell directly into a trap. Trying to outsmart the majority tea party conservatives who supported the challenger Chris McDaniel, the Thad Cochran machine did exactly what the Internal Revenue Code restricts of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. They went to liberal-leaning church congregations and offered cash to Democrats willing to take the plunge into lawbreaking and vote for the incumbent in the Republican runoff, violating the 501 participation and intervention clause as well as election laws. Stupid and illegal twice over by adding fodder to the argument of Progressive atheists doing their damnedest to pulverize the Church. In the end, it hurt the Republican Party and the whole Church, whether left or right in their opinion.

The dilemma underlying this whole subject is something that all true religious organizations should consider… by incorporating under Section 501 of the IRC they put themselves in the tenuous position of serving government before God. Most tax attorneys will argue with this statement, but consider that as soon as a church or religious organization incorporates it hands over the power to a government regulatory agency to determine what is, and what is not, religion by subjecting itself to begging for the government’s blessing. Don’t just believe this, read the letter any church or organization receives bestowing tax-exempt status according to IRS standards.

One of the greatest hoaxes to be perpetrated on the modern Church is the assumption that it must incorporate to be recognized by the IRS as not liable for taxation. The IRC actually has a code section for churches and religious organizations. It’s buried in Section 508 but is not the only road to serving Our Sovereign God.

In the end, let’s get things straight: 1) Separation of Church and State is a fallacy; 2) Shenanigans by political parties muddies the waters of encouraging individuals to cast votes with a moral rationale; 3) Voluntarily signing-up to be a government-designated tax-exempt corporation undermines the true mission of a church—to serve God first and foremost.

If a pastor wants to shepherd his flock to consider what is right and moral in all areas, including politics as an inherently important element of living in America, removing their church from subservience to government is worthy of consideration. Either that or hand over the reins to a secular agency that will tell you what and where you can preach.

By A. Dru Kristenev