{"id":81,"date":"2008-10-24T15:01:23","date_gmt":"2008-10-24T15:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/10\/of-bishops-and-signs-finding-n.html"},"modified":"2008-10-24T15:01:23","modified_gmt":"2008-10-24T15:01:23","slug":"of-bishops-and-signs-finding-n","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/10\/of-bishops-and-signs-finding-n.html","title":{"rendered":"Of Bishops And Signs: Finding New Ways To Flout Federal Tax Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

As noted in my last post, if that school assignment was to
\ndraw anything you want (and that’s the end of the story), then you were right
\nto intervene.  I would have done the same if her mother had called me.<\/p>\n

Now, we have been in longtime disagreement about politicking from the pulpit–
\nI like the 1954 provision of the IRS Code that allows for discussion of
\npolitical issues but strictly prohibits actions that constitute endorsement of
\nor opposition to any candidate for public office.  Recently, about 31
\npastors violated that provision with the encouragement of a group called the
\nAlliance Defense Fund, and they hope to create a test case for what they
\nerroneously call “pulpit freedom.”<\/p>\n

Two religious bodies have now gone way beyond the idea of speaking out on a
\nSaturday or Sunday morning in praise of somebody’s election.<\/span> <\/p>\n

Let’s start in New
\nJersey. <\/p>\n

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paterson, N.J., has
\npublished a letter on its website <\/a>and in the diocesan newspaper by its bishop
\nArthur J. Serratelli.  <\/span>In it, Serratelli
\n“cleverly” never mentions the name Barack Obama but suggests that “the present
\ndemocratic candidate” (who could that be?) is comparable to the biblical
\nmonarch Herod Antipas, the fellow who ordered the beheading of John the
\nBaptist.  <\/span>Serratelli then goes on a screed
\nabout how in this election we either “choose to respect life…or we sanction the
\nloss of our most basic freedom”.  <\/span>The
\nArchdiocese denies it’s an intervention<\/a> against Obama.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Jay, I’d like to think you would agree that it is obviously
\npartisan politicking even if you think the church should be allowed to do it. <\/p>\n

And, then, let’s move over to New Mexico. There, the Rock Christian
\nFellowship in Espanola posted two large photographs <\/a>on its building.  <\/span>One showed a smiling baby; the other the remains
\nof what appears to be an aborted fetus. 
\n<\/span>Under the healthy baby are the name of three Republican office seekers,
\nincluding John McCain; under the fetus, the names are of three Democrats
\nincluding Barack Obama.  <\/span>Below the whole
\ndisplay: “YOU WILL DECIDE.” <\/p>\n

Leaving aside seriously sight-impaired individuals who
\ncannot see this presentation, can anyone believe this is not a blatant
\nanti-choice message combined with a clear and unequivocal “vote Republican”
\nadd-on.  <\/span>Without any reference to the
\nelection, a church can put up pretty much anything; with the candidate endorsement
\nit is a clear violation of the law. 
\n<\/span>Pastor Michael Naranjo told the local paper : “I’d rather lose my 501 c
\n(3) than lose my soul.” <\/p>\n

If the IRS does its job, he should get his wish. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As noted in my last post, if that school assignment was to draw anything you want (and that’s the end of the story), then you were right to intervene.  I would have done the same if her mother had called me. Now, we have been in longtime disagreement about politicking from the pulpit– I like…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-81","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church-politicking","category-election-08"],"yoast_head":"\nOf Bishops And Signs: Finding New Ways To Flout Federal Tax Law - Lynn v. Sekulow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/10\/of-bishops-and-signs-finding-n.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Of Bishops And Signs: Finding New Ways To Flout Federal Tax Law - Lynn v. Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As noted in my last post, if that school assignment was to draw anything you want (and that’s the end of the story), then you were right to intervene.  I would have done the same if her mother had called me. Now, we have been in longtime disagreement about politicking from the pulpit– I like…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2008\/10\/of-bishops-and-signs-finding-n.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lynn v. Sekulow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-10-24T15:01:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rev. Barry W. Lynn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Of Bishops And Signs: Finding New Ways To Flout Federal Tax Law - Lynn v. 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Lynn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/32b\/32b0f12cad840c65bff61ad01e2664aax96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/32b\/32b0f12cad840c65bff61ad01e2664aax96.jpg","caption":"Rev. Barry W. Lynn"},"description":"Since 1992, the Rev. Barry W. Lynn has served as executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to the preservation of the Constitution's religious liberty provisions (www.au.org). In addition to his work as a long-time activist and lawyer in the civil liberties field, Lynn is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, offering him a unique perspective on church-state issues. An accomplished speaker and lecturer, Lynn has appeared frequently on television and radio broadcasts to offer analysis of First Amendment issues. News programs on which Lynn has appeared include PBS's \"NewsHour,\" NBC's \"Today Show,\" Fox News Channel's \"O'Reilly Factor,\" ABC's \"Nightline,\" CNN's \"Crossfire,\" CBS's \"60 Minutes,\" MSNBC's \"Countdown with Keith Olbermann,\" Fox News Channel's \"Hannity & Colmes,\" ABC's \"Good Morning America,\" CNN's \"Larry King Live\" and the national nightly news on NBC, ABC and CBS. On the radio, Lynn serves as host of \"Culture Shocks,\" a daily look at various issues affecting society and the culture. In the 1990s he served for two years as regular co-host of \"Pat Buchanan and Company\" and after that did a weekly syndicated radio program, \"Review of the News,\" with Col. Oliver North. Lynn is a regular guest on nationally broadcast radio programs, including National Public Radio's \"All Things Considered,\" \"Morning Edition\" and \"Talk of the Nation,\" as well as having appeared on national networks such as CBS Radio, CNN Radio, ABC Radio and AP Radio. Lynn began his professional career working at the national office of the United Church of Christ, including a two-year stint as legislative counsel for the Church's Office of Church in Society in Washington, D.C. From 1984 to 1991 he was legislative counsel for the Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2006, Lynn authored Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault On Religious Freedom (Harmony Books). In 2008 he coauthored (with C. Welton Gaddy) First Freedom First: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State (Beacon Press). Lynn writes frequently on religious liberty issues, and has had essays published in outlets such as USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Nation. Lynn also has op-eds published frequently by the McClatchy and Scripps-Howard newspaper chains. A member of the Washington, D.C. and U.S. Supreme Court bar, Lynn earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. In addition, he received his theology degree from Boston University School of Theology in 1973. Lynn, who was born in Harrisburg, Pa., and raised in Bethlehem, Pa., lives in Chevy Chase, Md., with his family.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/author\/blynn"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}