Freedom of religon

by plmkrzy 3 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  plmkrzy

  Check this out. I stumbled across this while looking through old news papers.

  A BAPTIST CHURCH SEIZED BY U.S. GOVERNMENT

  On February 15, 2001 U.S. Marshals occupied and seized the building of the Indianapolis Baptist Temple in Indianapolis, Indiana. The worshippers were forcibly removed from the building. Those unwilling to leave while praying were overpowered and carried out on stretchers. The church was taken over by the Internal Revenue Service - the U.S. taxation department - allegedly for unpaid taxes amounting to $5.7 million.
  Really?
  A respected American Internet magazine, http://www.worldnetdaily.com
  published this explanation for our benefit on its Web site:
  "The Indianapolis Baptist Temple was illegally seized by the federal
  government not because, as many news reports suggested, it hadn't paid
  taxes. Churches aren't required to pay taxes in America. The church was seized because it refused to deduct withholding and payroll taxes from employees' paychecks. The church's reason was very sound: It did not want to submit to regulations by the federal government.
  In other words, the federal government didn't lose a penny of revenue
  because of the actions of the church. There isn't even any allegation by the government that it did. Employees of the church paid taxes individually - just as millions of other employees and independent contractors do every year."
  According to the information available from other sources, notably from http://www.freerepublic.com and http://www.sierratimes.com some time ago, the tax money sent by individual taxpayers was returned to them with a request than an identical amount be sent again - by the Church.
  The Indianapolis Baptist Temple was reluctant to cooperate with the Internal Revenue Service. Documents made available to us suggest they had a reason to do so.
  Documentation from FreeRepublic informs us that, in order to obtain their tax-exempt status as religious bodies, churches in the United States must:
  1. Be incorporated
  2. Have a recognised creed and "IRS approved form of worship" 3. Have "IRS approved code of doctrine" 4. Be neutral on political issues
  5. Pastor must answer to IRS as to "daily activities of the church"
  6. Pastor must supply a list of all donors - make the books available
  7. Church must advocate and support racial integration
  8. Church may not engage in activities opposing pornography
  9. Church may not support legislation saying "children belong to parents" rather than "the state" 10. Church may not form a Political Action Committee nor support legislation "opposing lotteries and gambling"
  11. Church may not publicly declare "we are to obey God rather than the government"
  FreeRepublic says there are 19 more requirements in the IRS publication 1826(9-94) Cat.No.21096G.
  No more comments.
  
  Henry L. Marconi
  Pravda.Ru
  Sydney, Australia
• 

  ozziepost

  Where does Sydney, Australia fit into the picture?
• 

  PopeOfEruke

  Ozzie

  Sydney is about 900 kms north of Melbourne.

  Pope
• 

  plmkrzy

  I was thinking the same thing Ozzie, don't know what deal is with that, but the article was inteesting anyway.

  lol@the pope

  On another note about religious freedom. I read this in todays stories and thought about the jws ...women, to partake or not to partake?

  had to laugh.

  Women Barred From Holy Thursday Ritual Wed Apr 7,12:45 AM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo! ATLANTA - Women will not be allowed to participate in Holy Thursday foot-washing rituals at Roman Catholic churches in Atlanta. In a letter to the archdiocese's priests, Archbishop John Donoghue said only 12 men at each parish should be selected for the ritual, which represents Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. Donoghue, his staff and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops refused to comment on the issue Tuesday. However, the Conference of Catholic Bishops' Web site states: "It has become customary in many places to invite both men and women to be participants in this rite of recognition of the service that should be given by all the faithful to the church and to the world." Catholic churches in Atlanta, where Donoghue has been in charge since 1993, have included women in the foot-washing rite for years. Several women said they plan a protest Thursday at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, where the archbishop will preside over Holy Thursday Mass. "We'll stand in solidarity, and we'll sing and we'll pray," said Lalor Cadley, who organizes Catholic retreats and workshops. Donoghue sparked a similar protest 15 years ago when he banned women from foot washing in Charlotte, N.C. Several priests in Atlanta did not immediately return telephone messages left at their offices by The Associated Press. Priests are bound by a vow of obedience to follow their archbishop's orders and generally are prohibited from openly criticizing those orders. "A shepherd who cares only for the rams won't have a flock for very long," said Kathleen Pruitt of Bremen, Ga., who attends several Catholic churches.