#1: Pulpit Freedom Sunday 2009 Author: HalleluYAH, Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 11:05 am ---- The following is a copy of an email that I got from David Barton:
There is great news about recent efforts to free pastors and pulpits from the threat of government interference, especially from the IRS. (No government restrictions were placed on the pulpit until 1954, when freshman U. S. Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson added a one-line provision to a Senate bill limiting the right of non-profits to engage in what had always previously been free speech.)
Last year, Alliance Defense Fund, a premier national legal group that defends the constitutional rights of Christians, organized a concerted effort to push back against this unconstitutional government intrusion. On September 28, 2008, numerous pastors participated in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" by preaching a sermon specifically addressing the candidates running for president in light of Scriptural truths.
For example, during the presidential primaries in May 2008, the Rev. Gus Booth of Warroad Community Church in Minnesota told his congregation:
"If you are a Christian, you cannot support a candidate like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for president....They both support abortion and homosexual marriage, and the Scripture vehemently opposes both."
Months later, Pastor Booth preached a sermon addressing the 2008 presidential election. He then turned himself in to the IRS, sending them a copy of both sermons. The IRS has just notified Pastor Booth that it has closed the investigation against him, with no action taken! This is another of several recent cases where the IRS has closed the investigation without taking action against the church or pastor.
This year, the Alliance Defense Fund is encouraging pastors to participate in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" on September 27, 2009. According to ADF:
(1) ADF will encourage churches and pastors to exercise their right to comment on current government officials and the issues they espouse. Every church should feel very safe in commenting on the moral strengths and weaknesses of sitting politicians and the issues they promote without endangering their tax-exempt status.
(2) Some pastors may choose to exercise their full range of constitutional rights in preaching from the pulpit in ways that may bring them into conflict with the vague standards contained in the Johnson Amendment. ADF continues to believe that the Johnson Amendment is unconstitutional as applied to prohibit any part of a pastor's speech from the pulpit. (By the way, ADF represents pastors and churches without charge should any challenge be filed against them.)
Your church can help make Pulpit Freedom Sunday a great success. Now more than ever, the church must be heard on all the vital issues of the day. Pastors should not fear the IRS when they boldly confront the moral and social questions of the day in the realm of politics. Call ADF today (800-TELL-ADF) or visit their website (www.telladf.org/church) and let them know of your church's willingness to participate in Pulpit Freedom Sunday. ADF attorneys stand ready to answer your questions.
We hope you will be among hundreds of pastors who will sign up to participate in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday." Some will be addressing elections in their state or locality (e.g., Virginia, New Jersey, etc.), and others will be addressing policies being enacted by sitting politicians. Whatever the case, we strongly encourage your church to contact ADF and let them know that you will participate.
Daniel Webster rightly noted: "God grants liberty only to those who love it and are always ready to guard and defend it," and the freedom of the American pulpit is a liberty worth defending. On behalf of this effort, I agree with the prayer offered by signer of the Declaration Francis Hopkinson who, when contemplating America's struggle against its oppressors, fervently uttered: "And may Heaven prosper their virtuous undertaking!"
