'For the first time in American history, churches began to pull back politically'
For the past seven decades, an insidious heresy has infiltrated the American Church, causing it to become greedy, idolatrous, proud, cowardly and blind.
Dubbed “The 501(c)(3) heresy,” it has spread like an engineered Chinese virus to every corner of the American Church leaving few pastors, churches, seminaries, Christian Schools or Christian organizations untouched.
As the American Church has crumbled slowly from within and failed in its mission to be the spiritual conscience of the nation, America has crumbled as well. Now the Deuteronomy curses God warned about are being poured out in a calamitous crescendo as the nation edges closer toward destruction.
Everywhere, the corrupt fruit of “The 501(c)(3) heresy,” proliferates. Prayer (Engel v. Vitale, 1962), the Bible (Abington Township v. Schempp, 1963) and the Ten Commandments (Stone v. Graham, 1980) have been removed from America’s public schools. Murdering babies was legalized (Roe v. Wade, 1973) and continues in the states (Dobbs v. Jackson, 2022). Homosexual marriage was instituted (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015). Drug addiction has become an epidemic. Comprehensive sex education in schools sexualizes and perverts children. Crime, murder, pornography, rape and child sex trafficking are running rampant – and America is now the greatest debtor nation in the history of the world.
So what exactly is “The 501(c)(3) heresy?” that has caused such destruction? Here are its chief tenets:
• The American Church should be a-political, staying completely out of the public square.
• Tax Exempt Status is to be prized over speaking the Truth, being salt and light – and all else.
But how did this doctrine of demons actually begin and then gain a strangle hold over most of the American Church like a mighty serpent crushing its victim to death before devouring it?
In 1954, then U.S. Senator (and future president) Lyndon Johnson snuck a small tax code amendment into the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. This amendment threatened churches (and other 501(c)(3) non-profits) with the loss of their tax-exempt status if they involved themselves in the political arena. Johnson introduced this amendment in order to settle a personal vendetta he had against a conservative non-profit group that opposed him politically in Texas – and to silence them.
Popularly known today as the Johnson Amendment, this 31-word addition to the 501(c)(3) non-profit tax code mandated that churches and other 501(c)(3) non-profits must “refrain from endorsing or opposing political candidates or contributing money to their campaigns.” Any violation of these provisions would jeopardize a church or non-profit’s tax-exempt status, according to IRS guidelines.
Here are the 31 words of the Johnson Amendment that were added to the 501(c)(3) IRS tax code: “…and which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”
Churches were suddenly faced with the dilemma of choosing between the Biblical mandate of speaking Truth to power (such as John the Baptist condemning Herod for taking his brother’s wife) and its consequences (John the Baptist lost his head) – or remaining silent politically and protecting their cash.
For the first time in American history, churches began to pull back politically, choosing money over Truth – and the heretical “we don’t talk about politics” church was born.
Soon, many compromised churches and non-profit organizations across the country began priding themselves on their skillfulness at avoiding political and cultural issues. This fine art of “apolitical moral piety” has now spread to the majority of American churches and Christian organizations.
No longer is the church the moral gyroscope of the nation that God intended. Instead, pastors and churches have chosen to hide behind their “we just talk about Jesus” religious rhetoric – and let the country literally go to hell.
Nowhere in scripture is the church commanded to be silent on moral or political issues. Period. Despite 501(c)(3) restrictions on religious free speech, pastors are still free to engage in every kind of political speech, as long as they are willing to risk their precious tax-exempt status – but few have been willing.
Further, there is little talk at most churches of a Christian’s responsibility in the public square – and little encouragement of congregants to even register and vote their conscience in elections.
This is astounding as the IRS 501(c)(3) guidelines clearly state: “…Activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity [at churches] if conducted in a nonpartisan manner.”
Extending tax-exempt status to churches can be traced back at least as far as 457 B.C., when King Artaxerxes of Persia gave Jewish priest Ezra the order to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. In King Artaxerxes’ royal decree, he stated, “You are also to know that you have no authority to impose taxes, tribute or duty on any of the priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers, temple servants or other workers at this house of God.” (Ezra 7:24)
A vibrant church guarantees vast benefits to a righteous government, and more than pays the state back for the revenue it would have gained from taxing churches and non-profits; but tying a church’s tax-exempt status to political silence is a diabolical infringement on constitutionally protected free speech.
The Johnson Amendment clearly violates the political free speech rights of Christian pastors and non-profit organizations guaranteed under the First Amendment – and needs to be repealed by Congress or struck down by the courts. Though the constitutionality of the Johnson Amendment has never been properly tested in court, it would certainly fall if brought before the Supreme Court.
The chilling effect of the Johnson Amendment on free speech in the American Church has been profound and breathtaking. Its progeny, the 501(c)(3) heresy, has transformed the once vibrant and powerful American Church into a mostly fearful, greedy and misguided band of heretics that have lost their saltiness – and as Jesus states in Luke 14:34 are not even fit for the dung heap.
Let the American Church corrupted by The 501(c)(3) heresy be on notice and be reformed before it’s too late – or one day soon, we may be holding church services in Chinese, behind barbed wire fences!
Note: Please forward this article to every Christian pastor, Christian church, Christian school and Christian organization you know – and help put an end to The 501(c)(3) heresy once and for all!
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