Mark's Notebook

God, politics and taxes

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Guest Commentary

ON OCT. 31 LAST YEAR, the Sunday before the 2004 presidential election, former Texas legislator Rick Green spoke before 3,500 congregants at the Calvary Chapel, an evangelical church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Vote for righteousness,” Mr. Green urged, and directed people to voters guides published by the conservative Christian Coalition that were on display in the hallway of the church.

Meanwhile, in St. Paul, Minn., at the Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church, the Rev. Christopher Wenthe simply declared that love of humanity “must begin with the protection of life, from conception to natural birth.”

Across the country in Pasadena, Calif., at All Saints Episcopal Church, former Rector George F. Regas delivered a guest sermon. He said that “good people of profound faith” could vote for either candidate, but then proceeded to blast Mr. Bush’s policies on Iraq and tax cuts for the wealthy.

Three churches, three sermons. Now one of these churches has been notified by the Internal Revenue Service that it may have its tax-exempt status revoked for intervening in political campaigns and elections.

Guess which one?

Those with suspicious minds will guess that the IRS has political motivations for singling out All Saints, one of Southern California’s largest and most liberal congregations. “It seems ludicrous to suggest that a pastor cannot preach about the value of promoting peace simply because the nation happens to be at war during an election season,” the church’s tax attorney told the L.A. Times.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/editorialcommentary/story/AABF
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Last updated Monday 3 August 2009