Jim Garlow: No Government Intrusion in the Pulpit at All

Jim Garlow: No Government Intrusion in the Pulpit at All

Last Sunday was Pulpit Freedom Sunday (every Sunday should actually be that).  Because of that I wanted to share the video above which highlights a speech given by Dr. Jim Garlow , senior pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, CA, at the Under God Indivisible Conference in Arlington, Texas back in July.  In it he explains that the Johnson Amendment passed on July 2, 1954 with a voice vote and no discussion placed restrictions on the speech of just 501(c)3 organizations which includes churches.  Then Senator Lyndon Johnson (D-TX) sought to restrict the criticism leveled at him by two businessmen in his state who started non-profits during his previous campaign.This started the misconception that government, in particular the IRS, has any control over what is said in the pulpit

CAFFEINATED THOUGHTS

TONY DIGIROLAMO
PULPIT FREEDOM SHOULD BE AN ACT OF CONGRESS TO RESTORE WHAT THEY HAVE BROKEN.

Activist churches bait IRS, but agency won't bite so far

Activist churches bait IRS, but agency won't bite so far

Pastor Jim Garlow will stand before congregants at his 2,000-seat Skyline Wesleyan Church in La Mesa, California, on Sunday, October 7, just weeks before the U.S. presidential and congressional elections, and urge his flock to vote for or against particular candidates.

He knows such pulpit pleading could endanger his church's tax-exempt status by violating IRS rules for a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. A charity can take a position on policy issues but cannot act "on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office." To cross that line puts the $7 million mega-church's tax break at risk.

MSBNC

TONY DIGIROLAMO- AT CULTURE SHOCK WE'LL STAND WITH JIM GARLOW.

IN ANOTHER ARTICLE WRITTEN BY JIM, ''Preach It! Don’t worry about being ‘too political’ in the pulpit. For 57 years, people have believed a cultural myth that “pastors cannot speak out about politics.” Such is the nature of the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which suddenly stripped way from American pulpits what they had enjoyed for more than 160 years—no governmental intrusion in the pulpit. Not only is this “pastors-can’t-talk-about-politics” myth unconstitutional—check out the First Amendment—but it flies in the face of biblical authority.

Was John Wesley “too political” for being a cheerleader to William Wilberforce in his crusade to end slavery in the British Empire? Were Orange Scott and Luther Lee too political when they campaigned against American slavery?"

Speaking to 250 pastors and priests,

KEN CUCCINELLI, THE AG OF VIRGINIA SAID AS WELL: "SOME OF YOU WILL BE SURPRISED AT JUST HOW MUCH FREEDOM YOU DO HAVE! YOU CAN SPEAK TO ANY ISSUE IN AMERICA FROM THE PULPIT, FULL THROATED, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HOLD BACK AT ALL!"