I boldly predict that exactly ZERO churches will be investigated/audited for this, until an Obama presidency at least.

baby jesus just wants a smart guy this time

Let's be fair: they didn't actually NAME McCain; they just told people not to vote for Obama. I love the part in the Post story where a pastor says he's making his views very clear because he's not sure parishioners can figure it out for themselves.

Jesus loves war for profit, says so right there in the KJV.

slightly O/T: Something I haven't seen mentioned is that a Vice President Palin would mean that President McCain is utterly absolutely unimpeachable, no matter what.

What's absolutely maddening is that media slime on CNN keep reporting this story and conveniently leaving out the point that it's Republican church freaks. CNN keeps presenting reports carefully crafted to make it seem like a mystery "hmmmm .... these mysterious pastors want to practice freedom of speech." .... no mention whatsoever that they are 100% dishonest McCain shill preachers.

Maybe it's about time that God smited these reprobates. These slimebags are arrogant and repulsive---a turd in the punchbowl of spirituality.

Make me King for a year. Ill put cameras in every tax exempt house of worship. One mention of politics and its bye bye tax breaks. Second time ? Ill just knock the buildings down with a bulldozer or blow them up. After i seize their bank accounts and liquid assets of course.

Tax their church's property.

No tax deductions for their congregation.

Put a tax on their mouths.

Whoops, is that going too far?

Jackasses are real brave until the IRS sends their notice. Then they will cry and scream all kinds of constitutional violations. Well, if the evangelicals want to pay taxes have a rally for McCain. But I bet they don't.

baby jesus @ 4:

baby jesus just wants a smart guy this time

We have one this time so join with us lit'l dude.

Act first, ask questions later. If someone would send the IRS some proof, say a videotape, of these pastors in action the IRS could cut off their tax exemption on the spot. It would be up to the church(es) to prove they should get it back.

A heft bill from Uncle Sugar might make them see the light or in their case "come to Jesus".

If they were endorsing Obama something would be done about it ...

Damn straight they have a constitutional right to free speech.
Of course, there's nothing in the constitution granting them freedom from taxation..

These guys are screwing themselves royally. Perhaps not in the court of public opinion but certainly in any real world court.

from 501(c)(3)

"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. "

Is that so hard to understand?

Do unto others what they would do unto you. Throw the book at them. Audit them. Make these assholes pay.
Didn't Bushco hassle some churches who somehow advocated voting for Kerry?

IRS doesn't say they can't endorse. The IRS says they can't endorse and still enjoy the benefits of a 501-c-3 non-profit tax exemption. Tax 'em.

Or to put it another way.. their thinking is simply backwards: They take their Tax Exemption for granted, and now they claim their right to Free Speech.
But it's the latter which is guaranteed by law, not the former.

I recall the Bush administration harassing some puny church for having a peace sign on their property, threatening loss of tax status, etc. I think the pastors are right about one thing: the Republicans will support them, and the cowardly Democrats will be afraid to oppose them. There will be no consequences for their breaking the law.

According to the new definition, an unlawful act intended to alter or influence policy is an act of terrorism.

i can imagine that these pastors
are on bended knee praying to
their god-of-choice asking for
forgiveness for fucking over their congregation.

i don't care if he gets an endorsement from the pope himself.

there's nothing that's going to keep johnny maverick's straight jacket express from going over the cliff and into the dustbin of history.

Capatain Bitter Elitist Kangaroo @ 35:

The Very Bitter Ceci Hussein @ 33:

OMG. Please SM, remove my double post. I am very sorry for that happening. :(

How embarrassing. ;^)

;-D

Well, I know how annoying double posts can be sometimes if it is the same thing repetitiously. :(

I'm just glad that it was promptly taken care of and that the SM got my message. :)

Nothing is going to happen to the maniacal religious right. They get a bye.

God help the Episcopal priest or UU minister who has an Obama sticker on his car.

baby jesus @ 4:

baby jesus just wants a smart guy this time

Thank you baby jesus. So do I.

I see two possible outcomes to the (inevitable) audits and lawsuits:

1) The pastors lose their case, and the churches lose their tax-exempt status

or

2) The pastors win their case, and the courts decide it's okay for churches to enter politics and remain tax exempt. Six months later, every 527 and political group now claims it to be "The Church of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" (or whatever), so that it too can be tax-exempt. One year after that, the entire concept of "tax exemption for churches" is thrown out as unworkable, because how do you determine who is or is not a church, anymore?

Let them scream it from the tops of their pulpits - just after they pay their taxes!

Once these fly by night schiesters get hit in the money belt, they will STFU.

baby jesus also asks that the next president pronounce nuclear correctly

So the Bush Administration will enforce the law here, right?

Actually what ministers and other clergy across the country should be doing is emulating the example of Fathers Philip and Daniel Berrigan, who had the courage and moral certitude to protest the presence of the United States in Vietnam, by speaking out against the illegal and immoral occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq and urging both McCain and Obama to call for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from those two countries. That is certainly what good Christians should be doing, which is urging their leaders to speak out against these illegal occupations. The clergy today would also do well to remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who reminded the country in his Beyond Vietnam speech that "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today [is] my own government."

make your own couric interview with the palin interview answer generator!

http://interviewpalin.com/

here’s a sample (warning, this has the appearance of actually being a true palin answer but it is indeed fiction, which unfortunately cannot be said of the couric interviews):

Q: What is the role of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Afghanistan will lead to further security of our nation, especially with homeowners. It’s just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that this happens. We’ve got to remember what the desire is in their country, also. And I asked President Karzai, “Is that what President Bush has attempted to do things better. But it is to control much more than a heck of a lot of background work first and shoring up allies and positions and figuring out what sanctions perhaps could be more comfortable and certainly safer. First off, we’re going to continue good relations with Saakashvili there.

pray for a secular nation.

This stupid stunt may have worked 4 or 8 yrs ago, but not now. I’m sure the IRS is in dire need of some extra cash so who better to tap than the conservative ideologists who got us where we are today.

It's extremely shortsighted on their part. If endorsing a candidate from the pulpit is legitimized - regardless of tax implications - it means everyone gets to do so. The rabbi down the street, the imam at the mosque a few blocks over, even the Wiccan high priest/priestess (not that many of the latter have an actual church and/or 501c3 status).

Furthermore, it cheapens the pulpit and the preacher both - the pulpit is a place from which a message of inspiration should come, not directives on how to vote. It shows a fundamental lack of faith in one's congregation, that - without the preacher's electoral guidance - the flock is easily corrupted, led astray, and just plain stupid. So nice that you hold us in such high esteem, pastor.

Lastly, it goes against the very teachings of Christ, who railed against the temple square becoming a marketplace, and who urged us to render unto Caesar what was Caesar's. I'd even go so far to say that the Commandment to keep holy the Sabbath could be construed as not sullying the pulpit with earthly politics.

McPale's Navy @ 55:

I guess they've been at it again, ripping passages out their bibles so it conforms to their own ideologies their pulpits can continue to give them a place of power and control through their use of fear:

Romans 13

1. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Right. That passage has been used before as a defense for obedience to the state. There was even some program that had ministers selected to preach such in the event of a 'national disaster' (i.e. another turrurrist attack on 'murica) - never mind Blackwater roaming the streets, or the KBR relocation camps - it's all God's Work.

You all have missed the fundamental point. Currently in the United States only half of the religion part of the First Amendment is enforced. The exercise clause is enforced but the establishment clause is not. Tax exemptions for churches are a clear violation of the establishment clause, since they put the government in the position of deciding who is a legitimate religion and who is not.

Enforce the establishment clause, tax churches, problem solved.

i wonder if rev wright or father phlager have ever endorsed obama from the pulpit - im certain the outrage would be just as immediate by the folks on this comment page...please

I go to Church every week, but not one of these fraud churches. I go to worship God not some loud-mouthed preacher. Church is about God and the preacher's job is supposed to be about leading people to God. When they fail that task they should find another line of work. But probably they would not make as much money. I find it hard to believe how brain-dead these people are that they sit there and let these clowns get away with this crap. This nonsense is not the will of God, no matter what the preacher says.

Well if they dont pay the tax bill which shouldbe sent within the week, then clap the charlatans in irons, and take them to the brig. They can pray while waiting for appeal..about ten years from now.

Why are churches tax-exempt anyway? Isn't tithe just a form of taxation? My American Heritage Dictionary seems to think it is. I'll throw my lot in with George Carlin and Frank Zappa before Jerry Falwell and Anal Roberts thank you very much.

Desperate sanctimonious assholes know their gravy train is about to crash.

They're unwilling to put their money where their mouthes are. Money Talks, BS Walks.

"The effort by the Arizona-based legal consortium is designed to trigger an IRS investigation that ADF lawyers would then challenge in federal court. The ultimate goal is to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship." -Washington Post
All the more reason to vote for Obama. Keep the right-wing from packing the courts.

an evangelical Christian minister told his congregation Sunday that voting for Sen. Barack Obama would be evidence of “severe moral schizophrenia.”

How very "Christian" of him.

Endorsing this vile warmonger John McCain is not Christian, it is the devil's endorsement.

This is such an overlooked and vital component of the American political system and "democracy" in general.

Thomas Frank may have done the most articulate job at describing this culture in WTMWK. This is more than just the Evangelical movement pushing it's agenda on the pulpit, it is a larger scale extremist from of Christianity that permeates main stream society but is larger threat to true democratic principles when you get to the bright red areas.

When you factor in how the Bush admin has used this to their advantage and worked towards breaking down the 501 C3 safeguards. Basically turn preachers into lobbyists and watch the money fly.

So you'd have a quasi theocratic-fascist state, the right wings mighty triangulation of power--church, corporations and perverse government.

Yet another reason this election is so important.

I get very nervous when these Religious Right churches try to buck the system like this. A lot of folks here are saying yank the tax exempt status from all of religious organizations.

Contrary to what most of the anti-religion crowd that frequents this blog believes, most churches and other religious organizations are NOT rolling in money. The church I pastor barely makes budget every year. And if we lose our tax exempt status, that's it. Who then will feed the poor who use our food pantry? Who then will provide money for those in need when the gas bill falls behind in the middle of winter? Those are ministries of my church, which is situated in a community of 700 in rural America where the average income hovers barely above the poverty line.

There's more to the church (and all religions) than the megachurch with 10,000 affluent members. A significant number of lower income people rely on religious organizations for help in times of need, help that is given freely because it's the right thing to do.

You may not believe in what I preach from my pulpit. That's your freedom. But don't punish me, my parishioners, and the people of my community for the idiocy of these Religious Right fools who seem to think Jesus would have endorsed criminals and warmongers as our secular leaders.

Anything is possible now that pregnant, unwed teen-aged girls are a Republican value.

Time to tax the these pastors along with their knuckle dragging congregants back to the stone age where they can romp around with the dinosaurs.

McPale's Navy @ 55:

I guess they've been at it again, ripping passages out their bibles so it conforms to their own ideologies their pulpits can continue to give them a place of power and control through their use of fear:

Romans 13

1. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Tax the bastards. Heck, that alone would bail out Wall St. and then some.

You do have your Romans right. However, "rebel" does not mean you can't call a liar a liar, and the tax law says a pastor cannot do that from the pulpit. You can't even do that in a formal church gathering of any kind - Bible study, music practice or any other activity.

This is why my church is giving up their 503-C status. We're tired of standing in the parking lot to discuss issues like why the Patriot Act is bad, the bailout gonna rip us off and the war is illegal. My church is filled with 'reformed' republicans who really want to find out what is going on. They've missed it before because they were too busy voting for whoever Dobson and his minions told them to vote for. Now they're not listening to any of them about anything and want to learn how to be a responsible voter. We're giving up our status so we can meet in the lounge, drink coffee and talk about how we would LOVE to see Bush and Cheney marched to the Hague. I know we'll never hear a political sermon because that's not what we're in church to hear, but the right-wingers in our area have no love for our congregation and we're taking away the ammunition (so to speak).

As for the 33? I hope they tax the heck out of them. This crap has been going on covertly for 20 years and now maybe someone will do something about it. Break the law? Pay the tax! If they try to take it to court I hope its thrown out. These guys are all fully aware of what their limitations are under 503-C codes. They're pushing it out of desperation since McCain is looking more and more like a loser.

Gretchen the aspiring elitist @ 96:

McPale's Navy @ 55:

I guess they've been at it again, ripping passages out their bibles so it conforms to their own ideologies their pulpits can continue to give them a place of power and control through their use of fear:

Romans 13

1. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Tax the bastards. Heck, that alone would bail out Wall St. and then some.

You do have your Romans right. However, "rebel" does not mean you can't call a liar a liar, and the tax law says a pastor cannot do that from the pulpit. You can't even do that in a formal church gathering of any kind - Bible study, music practice or any other activity.

This is why my church is giving up their 503-C status. We're tired of standing in the parking lot to discuss issues like why the Patriot Act is bad, the bailout gonna rip us off and the war is illegal. My church is filled with 'reformed' republicans who really want to find out what is going on. They've missed it before because they were too busy voting for whoever Dobson and his minions told them to vote for. Now they're not listening to any of them about anything and want to learn how to be a responsible voter. We're giving up our status so we can meet in the lounge, drink coffee and talk about how we would LOVE to see Bush and Cheney marched to the Hague. I know we'll never hear a political sermon because that's not what we're in church to hear, but the right-wingers in our area have no love for our congregation and we're taking away the ammunition (so to speak).

As for the 33? I hope they tax the heck out of them. This crap has been going on covertly for 20 years and now maybe someone will do something about it. Break the law? Pay the tax! If they try to take it to court I hope its thrown out. These guys are all fully aware of what their limitations are under 503-C codes. They're pushing it out of desperation since McCain is looking more and more like a loser.

Besides a literal interpetation of Romans would mean it was just fine and dandy that the Hebrews were enslaved.

Our Founding Fathers did not invent the idea of separation of church and state.

Jesus came up with the idea of separation of church and state.

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Matthew 22:21

Truth be known I'm an Atheist. I just read the bible so I could throw it back in the face of the fundies.

Tax all churches. No exceptions.

Jeremy Friesner @ 48:

I see two possible outcomes to the (inevitable) audits and lawsuits:

1) The pastors lose their case, and the churches lose their tax-exempt status

or

2) The pastors win their case, and the courts decide it's okay for churches to enter politics and remain tax exempt. Six months later, every 527 and political group now claims it to be "The Church of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" (or whatever), so that it too can be tax-exempt. One year after that, the entire concept of "tax exemption for churches" is thrown out as unworkable, because how do you determine who is or is not a church, anymore?

I'm thinking that #2 is the only viable option. (And praise be to the Flying Spaghetti Monster for that). Come to brass tacks, faith doesn't answer to reason, period. It doesn't answer to numbers--or anything quantifiable. But,the rub is that government, on a daily basis, lives and dies by what can be measured, rather than by the opinion (informed or non-) of God's self-appointed posse. Policy is formulated on numbers, period. Percentages. Medians. Averages. Standard deviations. Statistical likelihoods. That sort of thing.

No offense meant to you, Avouz. I sympathize, honestly. When I think of the mega-church billionaires like Pat Robertson and contrast them with the humble Methodist preacher and his even more humble--and also ordained--wife from the tiny church in which I was baptized, my blood just friggin' boils. But I also know that any protests I would make within one of those megachurches would fall on completely deaf ears. I don't like pushing the burden on someone else, but, honestly, when's the last time that you or anyone from your congregation went into one of these travesties-with-a-steeple and called out the money-changers?

Again, I don't like dumping the burden on someone else. Particularly as I know so many people that I consider to be truly Christian. But, after the last decade or so, I'm also getting mighty tired of the self-exculpatory attitude I've been seeing from mainstream Christianity. If only Nixon could go to China, I wonder what the moderate and liberal Christians are doing to take back their faith from these hijackers. (Apart from the Unitarian Jihadists, of course... [grins]) I mean, every time an atrocity is committed in the name of Islam, America seems to expect perfectly law-abiding, tax-paying, community-serving Muslims to apologize for it, to distance themselves from it. And frankly, I'm quite thoroughly sick of the double-standard. If we expect mainstream Muslims to denounce radical Islam, the least mainstream Christians can do is use their considerable numbers to ostracize radical Christianity. It's not something we secularists have the power to do. Only you folks can do that and have any prayer (excuse the term) of making a dent in the beady-eyed self-righteousness these people wrap themselves in. Will they go away forever? Of course not. But their extremism can be pushed back to the fringes, rather than occupying the forefront as it currently does.

Exactly John! They're actually lying when they say that the IRS says they can't do it. They certainly can indorse a lousy candidate as long as they give up their tax-exempt status and quit pretending to be a real religion.

Which part of the Bible says its OK to break the law to stump for politic hacks?

Oh that's right, NONE.

I say dump these welfare cases, make them pay their fair share. imagine the tax revenues on all those megachurches,...

God? The guy who "created" the universe and gave life to all beings and said... "I've got good news and bad news. The good news, I've created life to all creature on earth. The bad news... you have to eat each other to survive".

I don't know about you but I think that guy has a fucked up sense of humor!

Don't even mention the Noah's ark thing.

How awful. Clergy in this country and our founding fathers must be outraged. So when is the tax man going to visit these pastors? Who needs our constitution anyway

Maybe they can pray so your favorite sports teams win

pmb @ 113:

So if you dont vote for McCain God will puniish you? Why does God dislike Obama so

You have to ask? For heaven's sake, the man's middle name is Hussein! He's just gotta be a Muslim! And you know how God (our God...the correct one...) just *hates* those dang Muslims!

cubiclegrrl @ 117:

someguy @ 111:

McCain the Liar @ 102:

Tax all churches. No exceptions.

That would be in violation of freedom of religion.

taxing atheism on the other hand.....

well that would just be dickish.

You're better off not opening this can o worms.

You were being ironic, right? Calling atheism a religion is like calling bald a hair color. Taxing something has sweet FA to do with its right to believe whatever nonsense it chooses. What seems to be lost in this discussion is the fact that taxation by definition means opening the books. I think *that's* what these pinheads fear more than anything--that anybody can peek at their expense account...and how many cookies have gone a-missing from the jar. Me, I happen to like the idea of open book accounting. Sunshine being the best disinfectant and all...

After all, as this God-anointed Administration has taught us, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Riiiiiiight???? And if these pastors will ultimately have to account to God for their husbanding of His resources, surely it's merely a trifle to let humans do so. Riiiiiiiight???? Bottom line, if you wanna act like a political advocacy group, you play by the same rules. End of discussion.

Someone has a case of the mondays. :P

Yes I was joking around when I suggested atheists be taxed.

The other guy wasn't kidding though hence he needed to be reminded of a little thing called the bill of rights.

Avouz @ 90:

I get very nervous when these Religious Right churches try to buck the system like this. A lot of folks here are saying yank the tax exempt status from all of religious organizations.

Contrary to what most of the anti-religion crowd that frequents this blog believes, most churches and other religious organizations are NOT rolling in money. The church I pastor barely makes budget every year. And if we lose our tax exempt status, that's it. Who then will feed the poor who use our food pantry? Who then will provide money for those in need when the gas bill falls behind in the middle of winter? Those are ministries of my church, which is situated in a community of 700 in rural America where the average income hovers barely above the poverty line.

There's more to the church (and all religions) than the megachurch with 10,000 affluent members. A significant number of lower income people rely on religious organizations for help in times of need, help that is given freely because it's the right thing to do.

You may not believe in what I preach from my pulpit. That's your freedom. But don't punish me, my parishioners, and the people of my community for the idiocy of these Religious Right fools who seem to think Jesus would have endorsed criminals and warmongers as our secular leaders.

Avouz, the real threat to your justified tax-exempt status is from these churches challenging the law. A few kneejerk comments on a liberal blog saying "tax all churches!!" is not a threat.

Get a load of this clown:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/09/27/20080...

He's saying it's Obama supporters who will be breaking the law. But to no surprise, all of them spoke for McCainchurian.

I think the whole tax exempt status thing should be done away with. We should treat them like for profit corporations. That is what they are.

XuYu @ 125:

Who would Jesus want to have a beer with?

Chances are McCain would either bore or depress Jesus and Palin would probably shoot him if he started talking about love and peace.

Revelation 16

The False Prophet(Those that had the truth and now have betrayed it)(Most Evangelicals) has started doing their work in politics.

[12] And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
[13] And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
[14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
[15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

I'm sorry this isn't so much a legal issue as from a rights point of view as it is an issue about tax regulation. Since they do have a freedom of speech, but they do NOT have a freedom of tax exemption.

If they violate the rules by which they are granted these bountiful tax exemptions then by all mean they can say what they want, and PAY for the privilege of being a non-tax exempt community organization with substantial taxable assets.

Hellelujah. I'm not a schizophrenic? Amen. WTF.

why can't we just admit that the preachers are just as befuddled about the election as the next person, and that they can not interpret the will of a god that has yet to register to vote?

if they want to do this, they should leave the Church out of it and mention that there is a private group meeting to discuss the preacher's view about the elections and how his/her view might relate to the Bible.

this is much more true than preaching that this is how God would vote.

my vote is that God would appreciate this as washington d.c. is nothing more than a temple of money-changers.

I have to say I agree. The choice should be this:

1) Stop trying to tell your congregates who to vote for if you like to keep your tax-exempt status.

or

2) Tell away about who your congregates should vote for if they "want to go to Heaven" (and if there is a God, the "let's bomb the sh** out of people to make them love us" crowd probably isn't one he/she would support), but kiss your tax-exempt status goodbye.

lewis_stoole @ 134:

why can't we just admit that the preachers are just as befuddled about the election as the next person, and that they can not interpret the will of a god that has yet to register to vote?

if they want to do this, they should leave the Church out of it and mention that there is a private group meeting to discuss the preacher's view about the elections and how his/her view might relate to the Bible.

this is much more true than preaching that this is how God would vote.

my vote is that God would appreciate this as washington d.c. is nothing more than a temple of money-changers.

really? your befuddled? is your brain festooned with confusion?

The Catholic Church in Omaha is in violation of its 501 ( 3 ) status as a religious or charitable organization and should be taxed accordingly. According to the IRS Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations, the law requires avoidance of “any issue advocacy that functions as political campaign intervention.“ I’m pretty sure that means churches don’t get to pick sides. Well, technically, they’re not supposed to pick individual candidates, so maybe we’ll have to give them a pass on what happened last Saturday night at Christ the King. Maybe they were advocating for the candidates running for OPPD.

Violation of the prohibition against electioneering is a violation of the public trust. In a free society, the privilege of selecting leadership is reserved for those who pay the society’s bills. Those who operate, at least in part, because of the resources provided by the taxpayers (roads, police, civil order, and infrastructure) are required to take what they are given and keep their mouths closed, with the exception of occasional expressions of gratitude, to God, I expect, and to the society that helps make it possible for them to function smoothly.

These must be difficult days for prolife religious, especially those for whom the definition of “prolife” is anti-abortion. It may be new to some that a few Catholics take pro LIFE literally, and abortion is not its sole concern. But there are clergy who’ve set aside the broader boundaries of the term. I sympathize. I understand that many are tortured by the choice between remaining silent on an issue they desperately care about, and violating the law. In the quiet of their own consciences, they must be aware that they may hold in their hands the power to influence the face of the future, (a fact that, rightly, I believe, scares the hell out of those with no access to that kind of power). But what is a priest to do? The dictates of tortured consciences compel many to speak from the pulpit, even when it violates the law of the land.

Outlawing abortion and overturning Rowe versus Wade is a moral imperative that has been prioritized at the top of the heap, ahead of war and poverty, by none less than the Pontiff himself. High stakes. I learned all this about the Pope last Saturday night, September 20, at a mass at Christ the King church. The homilist read the Pope’s instruction on the subject, to wit, a higher moral priority than war or poverty or, (Genocide or holocaust? I asked my flabbergasted self, sitting quietly in my place in the pew, or, let’s say -- why not? Torture? Or plain old hunger, or any one of the horrific immoral, flagrantly anti-life conditions that cause the suffering of humanity… ? But that was just my own mind, reeling.)

I was so busy reeling I didn’t catch the specifics on how important politics were, but I think I came to in time to get the gist of the rest of it. Since the Pope’s highest moral priority is abortion, as good Catholics, it must be ours as well. Ergo, we listeners have a specific moral imperative and obligation to vote for candidates who will work to end abortion, and further, that issue must trump all other concerns. Enter the upcoming election, and escalate the stakes.

Now, the priest, in all humility and self-effacement, and, I can only assume, knowledge of the law, assured us he would not be endorsing a candidate. Instead, after walking us through our obligation to make abortion our watershed issue, he directed us to a website which would inform us about candidate’s position on abortion, and pleaded with us to study and vote accordingly. Good Catholics, I concluded, have no alternative to voting for John McCain. In the presidential race, only John McCain, who advocates overturning Rowe versus Wade, fills the bill, the dictates of the Pope, and the requirements of decency and a clear conscience.

In spite of his disclaimer, my priest apparently wasn’t familiar with the full requirements of the law, which provides scant room for wiggling. The IRS requires that even if a church doesn’t name names, it must refrain from identifying candidates by referring to “distinctive features of a candidate’s platform.“ Hmmmmm. And further, it says, the prohibition is particularly cogent when such communications refer to candidates or voting “in a specific upcoming election.” Can you say busted?

The giant leap over the line, as I say, was no doubt catalyzed by a tortured sense of obligation, for, as Nelsen Mandela says, who will speak for those who do not have a voice? Fine and dandy, only don’t expect the IRS to look the other way when it comes to paying a fair share of the tax burden. The church has made its choice. It told us which candidate we are obliged to vote for. Now, it should be willing to take the consequences, IRS – related, and IRATE - related. If we begin the game of playing fast and loose with the public trust, we must be prepared to take the consequences. When churches feel obliged to tinker under the hoods of parishioner’s consciences, let the potential for subtle erosion of the final authority of those same consciences not escape notice. Religious organizations have the power to influence millions of people. Need I say more? And by the way, my conscience, so far, as I know, has not yet eroded, and I will vote accordingly. And just for the record, I leave the results of my choice to God.

More churches do this than you think. In 2000 the one I used to go to did this and one year there was a lady we could call to tell us who we should vote for. This was announced by the pastor. So this is nothing new it has always been done under the radar.

cubiclegrrl @ 104: When's the last time that you or anyone from your congregation went into one of these travesties-with-a-steeple and called out the money-changers?

I do. Frequently. But one has to ride a fine line here. The "mainstream church" has been under assault from these right wing heretics for decades and many of the undereducated in the pews, whose donations pay my salary, are more willing to listen to them than they are to me.

I step too far out of line and I'm out a job. Their complicity with "our enemies" frustrates me. And yes, I do call them "enemeis", because it's the truth. Look up the IRD and see what sorts of things are going on in mainstream Christianity right now. I resent that this sort of thing forces me into silence. I do what I can, but my hands are tied in a lot of ways. Got a family to feed.

This is why I left the Southern Baptist church. I don't want or need to hear politics preached in the pulpit. Just preach the Gospel, and I'll figure out my own politics.

Noah @ 24:

If they were endorsing Obama something would be done about it ...

Noah, you are so right!!!!

The governance of this country is so corrupt that we should simply remove all of it and start over - and we are quickly getting to that stage given world and domestic events.

Just remove the tax breaks from all of them, period. As an example. Typically, churches are exempt from even local municipal property taxes. This is unfair because they receive police and fire protection, use parks for social meetings, get require roads to get there and storm drainage systems to collect the water that comes off their church roofs/parking lots. You and I subsidize this. Why? I never voted to give them free services! They should have their properties assessed just like the rest of us. If they were I would agree that they are like any club and their pastors can same any damn thing the want. Now? You squeal like a pig about tax-free status and get a political exemption, then shut the hell up.