Pastor crosses line between church, state, complaint says
July 4 sermon allegedly favored Bush in upcoming election
Thursday, Jul 22, 2004
By Doug Thompson
SPRINGDALE -- Ronnie Floyd, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springdale, is accused of crossing the line between church and state in a complaint to the IRS challenging the church's tax-exempt status as a religious organization.
The complaint about a July 4 sermon was sent to the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday by the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, according to Barry Lynn, its executive director.
"No church in U.S. history has ever lost its tax-exempt status for being too political," Alan Damron, the Springdale church's associate pastor for community impact, said Wednesday. The church has provided transcripts of the sermon in the complaint to an attorney and been advised it "in no way" violates IRS rules, he said.
"The last thing we're going to do is tell people who to vote for," Damron said.
Floyd's sermon was in favor of President Bush's re-election, according to Lynn's letter, which says in part:
"The pastor's description of the candidates' stands and their personal religious beliefs was obviously aimed at encouraging congregants to cast ballots for Bush. The church is known for its stands on social issues and its opposition to legal abortion and gay rights. By lauding Bush's stands on these and other issues and attacking (Sen. John) Kerry's, Floyd was plainly telling his congregation to be sure to vote for Bush.
"I have enclosed a videotape that includes the entire sermon as well as a partial transcript. About 45 minutes into the message, Floyd begins to discuss the differences between Bush and Kerry. Please note that even the imagery employed by the church is designed to promote Bush. A huge photo of Bush is projected onto a screen showing the president next to an American flag. By contrast, small photos of Kerry are used showing him as one person in a larger crowd. In addition, Bush is shown signing a ban on late-term abortions, an act most church members will laud, while Kerry is shown as one of a group of senators who opposed a law banning same-sex marriage, a stand most church members will likely oppose."
The church provided copies of videocassette recordings of the sermon for $12. A tape of the service in question showed Floyd mentioned Bush at least 10 times in his remarks. Floyd did not mention by name the president's likely re-election opponent, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
Floyd started his sermon with an overview of events since the terrorist attacks of 2001 that mentioned, and sometimes quoted, Bush six times in less than seven minutes. Floyd's introduction praised the invasion of Iraq, which will allow "the people of Iraq to hear the Gospel" and where "terrorist and the enemies of freedom" have decided to "take their stand."
After a musical interlude, Floyd resumed his sermon. Floyd mentioned Bush three times in this portion while quoting a study saying "4 million fewer" evangelical Christians voted in the 2000 race electing Bush than in the 1996 race, and said the faithful should not "stay at home and not practice Christian citizenship."
Bush was quoted on the issue of abortion while "others voted in the Senate" to allow "abortion on demand," Floyd said. He also contrasted the candidates' positions on the gay marriage amendment and on the amount of influence their religious beliefs have on their public policy stances. He never mentioned either candidate during this portion, but video displays in the church used in the sermon showed pictures of Bush and Kerry while Floyd referred to their differing policy stances.
After another musical portion, Floyd concluded his sermon on the subject of gay marriage. That portion included a paragraph-long quote by Bush in favor of the gay marriage amendment.
Copies of the sermon on videocassette or DVD were sold out by midday Wednesday. The church made more copies Wednesday afternoon, including the one sold to The Morning News and Arkansas News Bureau.
Organizations granted tax-free status under federal law "may not participate at all in campaign activity for or against political candidates," according to published IRS guidelines for such organizations.
Under the guidelines, tax-exempt organizations "are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position, verbal or written, made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise tax."
Churches may invite candidates to speak to the congregation during an election, as long as all candidates are afforded an equal opportunity to speak, according to the guidelines.
The IRS assigns any complaint regarding tax questions to a field examiner, said regional spokesman David Stell of Oklahoma City. Stell said he cannot comment on specific cases, but if an organization lost its tax-exempt status, the organization itself would be subject to tax and any donations to that organization would no longer provide a tax deduction to contributors. Whether the IRS penalizes an organization to that extent or provides some other action, such as a warning, is up to the agency and will depend on "the severity of the case, if any."
Americans United for Separation of Church and State is the same group that filed a similar complaint with the Internal Revenue Service against the Rev. Jerry Falwell over a column endorsing Bush on his ministries' Web site. Falwell said the group was waging a "scare-the-churches campaign."
I'm sorry oldelkhunter but when i read about this in the Arkansas democrat gazette this morning the first thing i thought of was how the NAACP endorsed kerry. And i believe someone on here asked about their tax exception status. it just stuck in my mind. see one can learn from some on here.
The complaint about a July 4 sermon was sent to the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday by the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, according to Barry Lynn, its executive director
Yeah , just do a search on barry lynn and see what you come up with, he is just another left-wing idiot. Here is just a sample.
"An attorney with a religious liberties law firm says a man who claims to be a champion of free speech is now attempting to censor a videotape produced by an Arizona-based ministry. Barry Lynn, former ACLU counsel and current director for the left-wing group Americans for the Separation of Church and State, recently took part in a debate on whether homosexuality is compatible with Christianity. According to attorney Benjamin Bull with the Alliance Defense Fund, Lynn lost the debate and is now attempting to stop distribution of a videotape of the event."
Bull says Lynn is a hypocrite because he is a self-styled free-speech advocate, especially when it comes to hard-core and child pornography.
"Barry Lynn, for over 20 years, has been the mouthpiece for the pornography industry, arguing that all pornography -- including child pornography -- is protected by the First Amendment and that the government can do nothing to stop distribution of child pornography," Bull says. "On the other hand, when it involves something that he doesn"™t like -- presentation of a debate that he participated in where he did badly -- he wants to use the mechanism of government, particularly the courts, to censor the videotape."
"Apparently what's good for the goose is not good for the gander," he says. "We're just going to make sure in this case that no one is prevented from seeing this videotape in which Barry Lynn debated the whole issue of homosexuality in the church."
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THE NRA, WHERE WOULD YOU AS A GUN-OWNER BE WITHOUT THEM.
GUN-OWNERS, UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL.
There is a blatant double-standard when it comes to churches. The media turns a willfully blind eye when democrat candidates campaign in the pulpit of some black churches, even passing the plate to raise funds. They wail & rail against churches where most of the congregation is white if political issues are raised.
A basic understanding of Christianity would lead anyone with a mind to see President Bush as the candidate who would embody & respect those beliefs.
Though I am not black & therefore am considered by many not to have a say in this issue, I do have a problem with what many of the black churches do on the political front. From what I've seen & experienced, many of the black church leaders are simply acting as overseers for the democrat party. It's their job, through distortions & lies, to keep as many black people on the democrat plantation as possible. They were highly successful in 2000, as 92% of black people who voted did so for Gore. With the money & hatred out there, I think they'll be fairly successful during this election.
I do see & hope for change in the future. More & more black people are escaping the cycle of dependency, being educated, & entering the middle & upper classes. They are living thier lives in a conservative/libertarian fashion, though every election year their "leaders" are pushing them back to the democrat/liberal/dependent plantation. Black leaders are emerging in the conservative/libertarian circles. Liberal black leadership has been quick & brutal in their attacks on persons such as Colin Powell, Condoleeza Rice, Rod Paige, & JD Hayworth. I have seen eyes & minds opened as these leaders have not wilted under these attacks & are beginning to effectively show black people that there is something out there besides dependency.
Especially in this current election, the black vote is being taken for granted by the democrat party. There was no black candidate put forth for Kerry's VP; during the discussion of whether Cheney should step aside, Colin Powell & Condoleeza Rice were the 2 candidates who received the most play.
Much as the union vote has been degraded by the democrat party in favor of the trial lawyer vote, the black vote is being weakened by the increase in the hispanic population. (yes, the republicans are also going after the hispanic vote but are likely to have marginal success) @ current rates, the hispanic community will soon eclipse the numbers & power of the black community as the pre-eminent minority. I hope that regardless of race, color, whatever, each voter will look @ elections for themselves, study the candidates without regard to what their "overseers" are saying, & make educated decisions.
IRS after church for claiming vote GOD!
