August 2, 2004
A Christian attorney is encouraging pastors to be bold when it comes to speaking out about political and moral issues.
Earlier this month, Democratic vice-presidential nominee John Edwards spoke from the pulpit of St Mark AME Church in Orlando, Florida. No one complained about the speech.
But Liberty Counsel president Mat Staver says when Dr. Jerry Falwell expressed his personal opinion -- in a non-church publication -- about supporting President George W. Bush, the liberal group Americans United for Separation of Church and State lodged a complaint.
Staver accuses several groups -- among them Americans United, People for the American Way, and a Kansas-based group known as "Mainstream Coalition" -- of attempting to muzzle the Church. "[They] simply want to silence people of faith," he says. "Liberal organizations that want to undermine traditional family values want to silence churches and people of faith."
According to Staver, such liberal groups are using scare tactics in an effort to chip away at the voice of conservative Christians when it comes to issues dealing with traditional family values.
"They are sending out erroneous information, engaging in scare tactics to try to make churches be silent," the attorney maintains. "The last thing we should do during this most important cultural war of our lifetime is remain silent. Now is the time to speak up."
The Liberty Counsel head points out that since 1934, when a lobbying restriction was added to the Internal Revenue code, not one church has ever lost its tax-exempt status.
He emphasizes that pastors, without fear of losing their church's tax-exempt status, can preach on biblical, moral, and social issues -- such as traditional marriage and abortion -- and can also urge their congregations to register to vote.
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Liberty Counsel (http://www.lc.org)
© 2004 Agape Press.