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ORIGINAL: Arturas
My favorite cable channel, MSNBC, informed us the Congressional Black Caucus is "providing guidance" to black preachers. This "guidance" provides rules on what they can and cannot say to their flocks on political matters.

Did the black preachers ask for guidance from the Obama Administration and is this really about silencing black preachers to prevent their preaching against gay marriage which it feels will lower black voter turnout in November?

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ORIGINAL: Arturas
This morning, in contrast, the senator specifically said this "guidance" is to keep black preachers from endangering their non-profit status by preaching on political subjects.

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ORIGINAL: Arturas
My guess is political subjects is code for "gay marrage", but hey.

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ORIGINAL: Arturas

Did the black preachers ask for guidance from the Obama Administration and is this really about silencing black preachers to prevent their preaching against gay marriage which it feels will lower black voter turnout in November?

Obama IS the anointed one, of course black Preachers will listen.

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What they can't do without paying taxes like the rest of us for the privilege is talk about how the President is the devil because he's eroding traditional family values and therefor you need to vote for Romney.

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a little history

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Do you know what this guidance consists of? Because there are actually some rules concerning involvement in politics that religious organizations need to follow or risk loosing their tax exempt status.

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery

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a little history

lol.

It's hard to know where to start with that mess.

From 1620 to 1863, a twisted wreck of misunderstanding.

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ORIGINAL: Arturas

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What they can't do without paying taxes like the rest of us for the privilege is talk about how the President is the devil because he's eroding traditional family values and therefor you need to vote for Romney.

Actually, they can.

Nobody can take away their tax exempt status for preaching anything they want from the pulpit. The separation of Church and State does not specify what you can preach about or not preach about. Now, no doubt, Obama's muscle has tried to make it look like they can, but they cannot.

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ORIGINAL: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-08-antiwar-sermon_x.htm
The Internal Revenue Service has warned a prominent liberal church that it could lose its tax-exempt status because of an anti-war sermon a guest preacher gave on the eve of the 2004 presidential election, according to church officials.

The Rev. George F. Regas did not urge parishioners at All Saints Episcopal Church to support either President Bush or John Kerry, but he was critical of the Iraq war and Bush's tax cuts.

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ORIGINAL: http://www.wnd.com/2000/05/4497/
Yesterday, a federal appeals court upheld the

Internal Revenue
Service’s decision to revoke the tax-exempt status of a church that had paid for newspaper ads against then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992.

The revocation is the first in the history of the IRS and serves as a warning from the federal judiciary that churches may not fund partisan activity. U.S. law granting tax-exempt status also forbids tax-exempt organizations from involvement in “any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”

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ORIGINAL: http://www.christianitytoday.com/cbg/1998/julaug/8y4060.html
In the United States, the church receives its privileged tax-exempt position at the cost of outright political involvement

In an election year, churches often are asked to distribute voter guides, host candidate forums, or take a stand on impending legislation. At other times, churches and their leaders may promote or oppose legislation at the community, state, or national level.

The IRS is Watching
Before churches or their leaders engage in political activity, they should consider the consequences. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which determines whether organizations qualify for tax-exempt status, forbids churches from participating in partisan politics. Though some critics say the IRS selectively targets churches that are involved in the abortion issue, it is clear that the IRS is increasing its monitoring of church involvement in politics.

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ORIGINAL: Musicmystery
Thanksgiving, incidentally, starts in 1863.

And Lincoln wasn't thinking Puritans.

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ORIGINAL: Arturas

They same Consitution Obama violated with his Health Care mandate forcing citizens to do something the government wants them to do, much like the English King wanted the puritans to worship as he wanted them to.

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ORIGINAL: Arturas

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What they can't do without paying taxes like the rest of us for the privilege is talk about how the President is the devil because he's eroding traditional family values and therefor you need to vote for Romney.

Actually, they can.

Nobody can take away their tax exempt status for preaching anything they want from the pulpit. The separation of Church and State does not specify what you can preach about or not preach about. Now, no doubt, Obama's muscle has tried to make it look like they can, but they cannot.

Why? Well a little history lesson is needed. The puritans founded this Country and we celebrate Thanksgiving "with them" each year. They preached politics and actually moved to America because of politics. So, this freedom and even this requirement to say what we wish to say even in the pulpit is ingrained in our laws and our Consitution. They same Consitution Obama violated with his Health Care mandate forcing citizens to do something the government wants them to do, much like the English King wanted the puritans to worship as he wanted them to.

Finally, as a real life example of a preacher being able to say what he likes (now, don't get ahead of me) I point to Obama's life long mentor and preacher, the one who preached politics weekly.