Blackwell Takes Offense at Accusation of 31 Pastors
www.columbusdispatch.com/news-story.php
Separation of Church and State has been and continues to be a sticky issue that many conservative politicians and religious Americans in general find themselves continually tip-toeing around. In particular, those in Church leadership need to take extra precautions when deciding if and how they can demonstrate personal support for various candidates on the one hand, and yet not “cross the line” where they would be considered, as Churchmen, to be “illegally engaging in partisan politics,” on the other.
I have personally witnessed some Catholic priests use the rather innovative and clever technique when giving homilies of, without mentioning particular candidates by name, making it clear that it would be immoral and contrary to Church teaching to support a political candidate who is pro-abortion or who endorses the legalization of gay marriage, for example. Phrased in this manner, it isn’t necessary to endorse one candidate by name or denounce some other because of his or her stances on these or similar issues - in these instances, we all know who they are talking about. But, as was mentioned, one must be careful lest the accusations start flying. The accusation, that is, that such religious authorities are overstepping their boundaries and using their influence as community leaders to meddle in affairs of state.
This accusation was recently leveled, by 31 Columbus-area pastors, against the “Ohio Restoration Project,” and several “allied religious entities” who had invited Ohio gubernatorial candidate, Kenneth Blackwell, to address the assembly of 450 pastors and Christian conservatives at a luncheon last week.
Aside from seeking an Internal Revenue Service investigation that could possibly result in the accused churches losing their tax-exempt status, “the pastors also asked the IRS to seek a court injunction “if these churches’ flagrant political campaign activities do not cease immediately””.
Upon hearing the accusation and impending investigation against these Churches, candidate for governor, Kenneth Blackwell offered these rousing words to the accused pastors, “You tell those 31 bullies that you aren’t about to be whupped.” He further claimed that “political and social and cultural forces are trying to run God out of the public square.” One need only to consider the recent and hotly debated issues of whether or not it is a violation of the separation of Church and State to have the Ten Commandments publically displayed in government buildings, and if it could be considered “unconstitutional” to have the words “one nation under God” included in the Pledge of Allegiance.
“Blackwell said he was invited to events sponsored by Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church in Columbus and Rev. Russell Johnson, pastor of Fairfield Christian Church and chairman of Ohio Restoration Project, including (the) lunch, because of his vocal support for a successful 2004 ballot issue to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage and because of his long opposition to abortion rights.
"The last time I checked, there was not anything (in the IRS code) that prohibited them from recognizing my leadership in the public square," Blackwell said.”
Johnson called the actions of the pastors a "secular jihad against expressions of faith" and said, "We are not going away. We will not be intimidated."
Perhaps he could have likewise said simply, even as it is expressed on our own currency, “In God We Trust.”
BLACKWELL TAKES OFFENCE AT ACCUSATION OF 31 PASTORS
Separation of Church and State has been and continues to be a sticky issue that many conservative politicians and religious Americans in general find themselves continually tip-toeing around. In particular, those in Church leadership need to take extra precautions when deciding if and how they can demonstrate personal support for various candidates on the one hand, and yet not “cross the line” where they would be considered, as Churchmen, to be “illegally engaging in partisan politics,” on the other.
I have personally witnessed some Catholic priests use the rather innovative and clever technique when giving homilies of, without mentioning particular candidates by name, making it clear that it would be immoral and contrary to Church teaching to support a political candidate who is pro-abortion or who endorses the legalization of gay marriage, for example. Phrased in this manner, it isn’t necessary to endorse one candidate by name or denounce some other because of his or her stances on these or similar issues - in these instances, we all know who they are talking about. But, as was mentioned, one must be careful lest the accusations start flying. The accusation, that is, that such religious authorities are overstepping their boundaries and using their influence as community leaders to meddle in affairs of state.
This accusation was recently leveled, by 31 Columbus-area pastors, against the “Ohio Restoration Project,” and several “allied religious entities” who had invited Ohio gubernatorial candidate, Kenneth Blackwell, to address the assembly of 450 pastors and Christian conservatives at a luncheon last week.
Aside from seeking an Internal Revenue Service investigation that could possibly result in the accused churches losing their tax-exempt status, “the pastors also asked the IRS to seek a court injunction “if these churches’ flagrant political campaign activities do not cease immediately””.
Upon hearing the accusation and impending investigation against these Churches, candidate for governor, Kenneth Blackwell offered these rousing words to the accused pastors, “You tell those 31 bullies that you aren’t about to be whupped.” He further claimed that “political and social and cultural forces are trying to run God out of the public square.” One need only to consider the recent and hotly debated issues of whether or not it is a violation of the separation of Church and State to have the Ten Commandments publically displayed in government buildings, and if it could be considered “unconstitutional” to have the words “one nation under God” included in the Pledge of Allegiance.
“Blackwell said he was invited to events sponsored by Rev. Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church in Columbus and Rev. Russell Johnson, pastor of Fairfield Christian Church and chairman of Ohio Restoration Project, including (the) lunch, because of his vocal support for a successful 2004 ballot issue to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage and because of his long opposition to abortion rights.
"The last time I checked, there was not anything (in the IRS code) that prohibited them from recognizing my leadership in the public square," Blackwell said.”
Johnson called the actions of the pastors a "secular jihad against expressions of faith" and said, "We are not going away. We will not be intimidated."
Perhaps he could have likewise said simply, even as it is expressed on our own currency, “In God We Trust.”
posted by T.M.R. | 8:03 PM
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