Churches and politics ADVERTISING Churches and politics The president signed an executive order for the Internal Revenue Service to look the other way when churches support political candidates. He is concerned that the tax code denies pastors their right to
Churches and politics
The president signed an executive order for the Internal Revenue Service to look the other way when churches support political candidates. He is concerned that the tax code denies pastors their right to free speech during elections.
Don’t be fooled. This is not for you and your pastors; it is for the politicians.
Churches already are free to preach the Bible, which includes extensive policy-relevant passages concerning peace, justice, mercy and not coveting one’s neighbor’s wife. No, the politicians want the pastors to endorse them, and don’t think this will stop with a few mega-church pastors.
Soon enough, local candidates you never heard of will show up in your own church, all smiles and holiness, will drop $100 on the collection plate, offer some kind of “guest prayer” and launch into a campaign speech. Cheaper than renting a downtown storefront, and a captive audience already.
If your church has any kind of national organization, by 2018 the collection plate will be coming around a second time every Sunday for some campaign or party because donations through the church are tax-deductible. Eventually, the pendulum will swing and the churches will lose their tax-exempt status.
You can hardly walk away from the mess because all the aunties and uncles in the church depend on your fellowship, even if they start arguing about politics every Sunday.
No, this is a bad executive order. Ignore it.
Kathleen Friday
Hilo
What happened?
I am writing in response to your May 2 article regarding Gene Bernhardt and the shooting in Papaaloa (Police: Man fatally shot had pointed crossbow at 3 officers, Page A1).
The article failed to mention the fact his wife had called police twice requesting help for her husband because he was in an agitated state.
She asked police to visit her husband and assure him he was safe. She was told by the officer she spoke to that he was good at calming things down. What happened between that phone call and the police response to a complaint from a neighbor? Did anyone respond to the call for help?
There is anguish and heartbreak on all sides of this situation. My hope is this tragedy receives the full and complete attention it deserves, with particular focus on the procedures in place for de-escalating volatile situations. We don’t want this to happen again.
Kimball Dougherty
Laupahoehoe
