J's Cafe Nette

Archive for June 13th, 2008

I think first of his family and then of his colleagues who must be overwhelmed with sadness and grief at this time.

Update: Tom Brokaw announcing Mr. Russert’s passing:

Mark Halperin provides comments from associates and others here.

Via Brietbart:

WASHINGTON (AP) – Tim Russert, who pointedly but politely questioned hundreds of the powerful and influential as moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” died Friday of an apparent heart attack. The network’s Washington bureau chief was 58.
In addition to his weekly program, Russert made periodic appearances on the network’s other news shows, was moderator for numerous political debates and wrote two best-selling books.

NBC interrupted its regular programming to announce Russert’s death, and in the ensuing moments, familiar faces such as Tom Brokaw, Andrea Mitchell and Brian Williams took turns mourning his loss.

Williams called him “aggressively unfancy.”

Our prayers and condolences go out to the Russert family. May he RIP.

Video has been provided of several who worked closely with Mr. Russert and their reactions to his sudden death:

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The title is from today’s Omega Letter, written by Jack Kinsella.

The Internal Revenue Service has launched an investigation/crackdown on Christian ministers and ministries that the IRS believes is in violation of the rules governing 501 (c) (3) religious tax exemptions.

In the main, the investigations are aimed at determining if a minister or ministry has made any political statements that violated IRS rules.

The IRS crackdown came following a special IRS task force investigation that concluded that as many as three-quarters of Christian ministries violated federal tax laws governing 501 (c) (3) religious charitable exemption status during the 2004 general election.

This time around, the IRS is taking a pro-active approach, targeting any Christian ministry that dares to express a political opinion, particularly those who express an opinion regarding Barack Obama or his relationship with Trinity United Church.

I’m not going to name the ministries now under investigation (they’ve already got enough to worry about) but I will say that among those now under IRS scrutiny is one that is nearest and dearest to us here — but it isn’t the OL.

If it seems to you that I am speaking in code, it means you are very perceptive.

Who would have ever believed that the day would come in America where one would have to speak in code about Christianity?

I have preached it for twenty years, but frankly, I never thought I’d live to see it. It came slowly, almost imperceptibly, until POW! — it was here.

The IRS 501 (c)(3) religious tax exemption status is a fairly recent trend dating back to 1954 when Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson added an amendment including ‘religious organizations’ to the tax code. Johnson was taking a lot of fire from church organizations back home at the time.

Johnson presented the amendment as a ‘favor’ to church organizations, but the ‘favor’ came with strings attached. Over time, those strings began to morph into the handcuffs they are today.

For a 501 (c)(3) church to openly speak out, or organize in opposition to, anything that the government declares “legal,” even if it is immoral (e.g. abortion, homosexuality, etc.), that church will jeopardize its tax exempt status.

The 501 (c)(3) serves to not just infringe upon, but to actually abrogate the free speech rights of the church.

To summarize, ever since 1954, churches and religious organizations have been able to claim a religious tax exemption under 501(c)(3) rules.

That begs a question – what about the tax status of religious organizations prior to 1954?

The United States has existed since July 4, 1776. The Internal Revenue Service came into being during the Lincoln administration under the authority of the Revenue Act of 1862.

It was called the “Bureau of Internal Revenue” until 1918, when it began using the name “Internal Revenue Service” on its tax forms. The 501 (c)(3) religious organization tax exemption status was created in 1954.

What was the tax status of churches from 1776 to 1862? Or, for that matter, from 1862 to 1918, or from 1918 to 1954?

It was tax-exempt. Churches and ministries were tax exempt in America since the day the Puritans landed at Plymouth Rock.

The 1st Amendment (the infamous ’separation clause’ clearly places the church outside the jurisdiction of civil government, saying, “Congress shall make NO LAW respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

If the Supreme Court can interpret some county courthouse in Kentucky that displays the Ten Commandments as being in violation of the 1st Amendment ‘by Congress’ how is it that tax laws passed by Congress does not?

As noted, the church was tax-exempt BEFORE Johnson tacked on the 501 (c)(3) exemption for churches. Religion cannot be free if you have to pay the government, through taxation, to exercise it.

In order to be governed by IRS rules, churches must place themselves under its jurisdiction. In order to be considered for tax-exempt status by the IRS an organization must fill out and submit IRS Form 1023 and 1024.

Otherwise, churches and religious organizations are ALREADY exempt under the IRS’ own rules. According to IRS Publication 557:

Churches, interchurch organizations of local units of a church, conventions or associations of churches, or integrated auxiliaries of a church, such as a men’s or women’s organization, religious school, mission society, or youth group. These organizations are exempt automatically if they meet the requirements of section 501(c)(3).

Did you catch that? Let’s look at it again. “These organizations are exempt automatically if they meet the requirements of section 501(c)(3).”

But wait! There’s more!

According to IRS Code § 508(c)(1)(A): Special rules with respect to section 501(c)(3) organizations.

(a) New organizations must notify secretary that they are applying for recognition of section 501(c)(3) status.

(c) Exceptions.

(1) Mandatory exceptions. Subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply to—

(A) churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches.

I’m not making this up. Churches are ALREADY exempt! They always were. This is known as the “mandatory exception” rule.

Thus, we see from the IRS’ own publications, and the tax code, that it is completely unnecessary for any church to apply for tax-exempt status.

In the IRS’ own words a church “is automatically tax-exempt.” Not only that, but individual contributions to religious organizations that qualify for 501(c)(3) status are ALSO “automatically tax-exempt” — whether that organization has filed for 501(c)(3) status or not.

Not only is a ministry not REQUIRED to file for a 501 (c)(3) exemption, until it does, it is not under IRS jurisdiction. It is the act of FILING for that exemption that grants the IRS jurisdiction.

If a church does not place ITSELF under IRS authority, neither can the IRS.

We’ve all heard about the tax protestors and “freemen” who refuse to apply for a Social Security number or refuse to file taxes by claiming the Sixteenth Amendment authorizing income taxes was never properly ratified.

This is different. In the case of the church, 1st Amendment trumps the 16th. Whether the 16th Amendment was legally ratified or not is irrelevant.

Congress is constitutionally forbidden from making ANY laws respecting the establishment of religion or the free exercise thereof.

Tax laws are “laws” — and they certainly aren’t ‘free’.

Assessment:

Since churches and religious organizations are already exempt from taxation, why do so many of them voluntarily place themselves under IRS rules? There are several reasons, not the least of which is ignorance.

501(c)(3) organizations can issue a tax receipt which can be deducted from a person’s individual income taxes.

This is a powerful incentive for donors to take money that would otherwise go to the government and redirect it to a ministry.

If a donor gives to a 501(c)(3) organization, he is, in fact, donating the government’s money, rather than his own — the donor doesn’t get to keep it in any case, so why not?

We see how effective the scheme is every day here at the OL. We’ve received a lot of emails over the years from members encouraging us to apply for tax-exempt status so we can issue tax receipts for donations.

We refused 501(c)(3) status from the beginning because it gives the IRS the authority to censor what we can say.

But when we tell prospective donors we cannot issue 501(c)(3) receipts, they tell us, sorrowfully, that they can’t donate unless they can submit tax-deductible receipts with the tax return.

In fact, whether or not a church or church ministry applies for and receives a “501 (c)(3) tax-exempt recognition letter” from the IRS is irrelevant under the law.

Any contributions made to a church are “automatically qualified” as a tax write-off to the contributor, pursuant to IRS Publication 526, and IRS Code § 170(c)(2)(B).

A church does not have to be a “nonprofit charitable organization” to be tax deductible, nor does it need IRS authorization to be tax deductible. According to the IRS, churches have that status “automatically.”

I’m not saying go ahead and donate to the OL because its tax-deductible. It is — but I wouldn’t ask anybody to go toe-to-toe with the IRS over it.

If I am not willing to tackle them head-on, (and I am not) I’m not about to ask you to — increasing donations isn’t the point of today’s OL.

The point is that, via the 501(c)(3) fiction, Christians have exempted themselves from the 1st Amendment guarantees, and consequently, churches are under Congressional oversight and have no free speech protection.

A pastor who speaks out about abortion can be censored. A church that speaks favorably about an anti-abortion candidate can face legal government persecution.

But their rights to the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech have NOT been ‘taken away’ from them.

They SOLD them to the federal government in exchange for tax-free money. The irony is that they sold their freedom in exchange for money that was ALREADY tax-free.

When a church accepts the 501(c)(3) status, that church also:

* Waives its freedom of speech.

* Waives its freedom of religion.

* Waives its right to influence legislators and the legislation they craft.

* Waives its constitutionally guaranteed rights.

* Is no longer free to speak to the vital issues of the day.

* Becomes controlled by a spirit of fear that if it doesn’t toe the line with the IRS it will lose its tax-exempt status.

* Becomes a State-Church.

It is fascinating to me that one of the ministries under investigation for 501(c)(3) violations is under investigation because of comments about Barack Obama’s pastor, Jeremiah Wright’s political statements from the pulpit.

The offending comments were not about Obama, but about the racial politics espoused by Trinity United Church.

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s political sermons are now among the most widely-circulated and politically controversial sermons in the land. If ever there were a case of politics masquerading as religion, Jeremiah Wright is its poster child.

But the IRS isn’t going after Jeremiah Wright, Otis Moss, Father Pfleger or Trinity United Church for violating IRS political rules. It is going after Christian pastors who disagree with the merits of the political statements themselves.

So, some minister (who will remain nameless of out fear of further government persecution) that questions whether or not America deserved the attacks of September 11 and dares to mention that it emanated from Obama’s church finds himself a target of the IRS Gestapo.

While the IRS ignores the sermon (and sermonizer) that predicated the disagreement in the first place.

One pulpit is protected, the other is not, based on the arbitrary whims of some government apparatchik. The church’s freedom of speech wasn’t taken from it — the Church sold its freedom — for money.

In His seven letters to the Seven Churches, Jesus outlined characteristics of each that, in hindsight, we can clearly see corresponding to seven distinct epochs within the Church Age, from the Apostolic Church of the first century to the lukewarm Laodicean Church of the last days.

Of all the seven churches, the Church of Laodicea was the ONLY one the Lord singled out for criticism without offering a single word of commendation.

“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” (Revelation 3:14-17)

Among 501(c)(3) ministries, fire-breathing sermons about social moral issues, like abortion, homosexuality, the family, divorce, child-rearing, and even doctrinal issues, like salvation through Christ alone, are largely a thing of the past.

Every word has to be weighed against the possibility it may violate one’s tax-exempt status, which would then shut off the donor spigot.

It boils down to a choice between shutting up and shutting down.

“I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.” (Revelation 3:18-19)

The Lord offers this advice to the remaining ‘free churches’ while there is still time:

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Revelation 3:22)

My husband and I tithe and give an offering, as do our children and grandchildren. I know my husband well enough to know even if there were no tax exemption we would continue to give the same amount, but if one is a true believer and has not yet committed to tithing he or she may think about tithing since we are talking about 10% of what God gives us. He lets us keep 90% and asks only for 10%.

If you are a believer and haven’t yet had the faith to tithe I encourage you to do so. You will be richly blessed, but don’t do it for what you can get out of it; do it out of love and obedience to our Loving God.

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The headline on this Fox News website front page is “Time to Start Praying”.

The story is about the floods in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the damage being done to property and lives.

“We’re just kind of at God’s mercy right now, so hopefully people that never prayed before this, it might be a good time to start,” Linn County Sheriff Don Zeller said. “We’re going to need a lot of prayers and people are going to need a lot of patience and understanding.”

Officials estimated that 3,200 homes were evacuated and some 8,000 residents displaced.

Days of heavy rain across the state have sent nine rivers across Iowa at or above historic flood levels. Residents were already steeling themselves for floods before storms late Wednesday and early Thursday brought up to 5 inches of rain across west central Iowa.

“We are seeing a historic hydrological event taking place with unprecedented river levels occurring,” said Brian Pierce, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Davenport. “We’re in uncharted territory — this is an event beyond what anybody could even imagine.”

Gov. Chet Culver has declared 55 of the state’s 99 counties as state disaster areas.

“We’re just kind of at God’s mercy right now, so hopefully people that never prayed before this, it might be a good time to start….”

I understand what the sheriff is saying, but why is it we pray only when there is a disaster that hits our families or our country, such as 9/11 and we forget all about God every other time in our lives?

We seem to look at God as though He were Santa Claus. We call on Him with our wish lists without giving Him the praise He is worthy of or taking the time to know Him in a personal way as the only God. He, Who loved us enough He sent His Only Begotten Son to earth to suffer as we did, know all the feelings we have and then die on a cross like a common criminal even though He had never sinned or committed a crime. But then His Son was risen from the dead to show us what will happen to us when He returns or when we die.

I’ve read we are the most Christian nation in the world today, but how many of us claim our God to be the Only God, none before Him and none after Him? How many of us acknowledge God came to earth in the flesh in the Person of His only begotten Son Jesus?

Do we pray just when times are hard or do we pray all the time? This isn’t rocket science but it does take faith. God is everywhere we are and we can pray to Him wherever we go while we are going there or after we get there. We don’t need an appointment to talk to Him and our only intermediary is Jesus, His Son.

Jesus told us there would be famines, earthquakes, pestilences and things that would make people’s hearts fail in the last days. He also said this had to happen, and when we see these things begin to come to pass to look up for our redemption draweth nigh.

Do you thank God for the meals you eat? For the clothes you wear? For all the necessities and niceties in this life, or do you call on Him only when you want something?

Just as Jesus had no idea when He would return while He was on earth (and maybe even now) I have no idea when He will return, but I can read the books of Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation and pick up a newspaper and compare them. We are seeing the beginning of the end times, but I don’t know how long before Jesus returns.

Jesus told us He would return as a thief in the night and we should always be prepared for Him. Instead we have people mock us for our belief and yet there will be no satisfaction on my part when He does return and those who have mocked Him are left behind to face the Tribulation and then eternal death. Neither will there be satisfaction on Jesus’ part. Only sadness because the Gift He offers is free to any who will accept Him as their Savior.

The first prayer God hears is the prayer for redemption from man. Until we acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness and repent He will not hear our prayers, no matter how urgent they are.

So, yes, if you haven’t prayed before now would be a good time to start. Start by accepting Jesus into your lives. If you don’t know how call a fundamentalist church and ask someone to meet with you or pray with you on the phone. Read John 3:16 and the book of Romans. However you do it, do it now for yourself and your family!

Now, let’s all pray for our nation and the people of the world who are suffering from cyclones, earthquakes, hunger, lack of housing etc. God can do anything but fail.

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Laura Bush has handled her role as First Lady with a quiet strength.

It has been consistently obvious the love she has for her family and for those who have served both her and the President.

She has never put herself in a position of embarrassing or appearing to usurp her husband and has always had a clear understanding that the voters did not elect Laura but rather George Bush.

This has been evidenced once again in Mrs. Bush’s recent trip to Afghanistan, and this subsequent piece the First Lady wrote for the Wall Street Journal:

This week has been a study in contrasts. On Sunday, I was in one of the most remote areas of Afghanistan – where unpaved roads are lined by tin-roofed shanties, and most people live without running water or electricity.

Today, I am in the City of Light. Yet while the circumstances of these visits could not be more different, their purpose is the same: to reaffirm the world’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan.

This morning, a delegation representing 80 countries and multilateral organizations will gather here for the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan. This event is a chance for developed nations to learn more about the challenges facing Afghanistan – and to offer the political and economic assistance it needs to recover from decades of war and oppression.

There was no fanfare, no constant photo-ops. Just a woman who is very comfortable in her own skin working for a cause in which she truly believes.

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