Why the Internal Reveue Service Can't Tolerate Christians

I’m as shocked and confused about the congressional hearings on IRS persecution of Christians as everyone else in the country is. Who would have ever thought—even in our era of political polarization—that there were governmental employees and whole agencies in our own nation that would single out followers of Jesus for harassment and, yes, persecution?

If we’re learning anything from the hearings, it’s that such persecution is indeed happening. I know that “persecution” is a strong word. And by using it, I’m not suggesting that the persecution Christians are facing in our nation is the same as that of those heroic martyrs of the faith dying even today in Muslim nations. We’re not at that point…yet.

But let’s not fool ourselves, what the hearings clearly reveal—despite the squirming and whining from the various witnesses—is that the IRS in an official capacity singled out conservative organizations in general and Christian ones in particular for harassment as they applied for tax-exempt status.

The poster child for all this is Lois Lerner, director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division. Her acknowledgement that IRS personnel intimidated the groups were a key piece in the on-going congressional nquiry. In Wednesday’s telling development, Lerner herself took the Fifth Amendment and refused to give testimony that could be used against her if the matter winds up in criminal court.

During her tenure, hundreds of conservative, Christian applications were targeted for harassment. One in particular stands out. In 2009 the Iowa Coalition for Life, a Christian pro-life organization, applied for tax-exempt status. Among the many documents required by the federal agency there was an additional one that was, well, peculiar to say the least. The IRS wanted to know about their prayer meetings.

That’s right, the IRS demanded to know what the group was praying for.

Here’s an excerpt of the letter the group received on June 22, 2009:

Please explain how all of your activities, including the prayer meetings held outside of Planned Parenthood, are considered educational as defined under 501(c)(3). Organizations exempt under 501(c)(3) may present opinions with scientific or medical facts. Please explain in detail the activities at these prayer meetings. Also, please provide the percentage of time your organizations spends on prayer groups as compared with the other activities of the organization.

I guess the IRS’s Exempt Organization Division under Ms. Lerner’s able leadership is unfamiliar with the First Amendment, political sensitivity, standards of common decency, rational thought and good sense—in that order.

Turns out, though, that this isn’t Lerner’s first excursion into harassment of Christians. Before she arrived at the IRS, Lerner served as head of the Enforcement division of the Federal Election Commission from 1986-2001. During her tenure it came to her attention that Lt. Col. Oliver North and Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson had engaged in what she apparently perceived as unauthorized prayer so she ordered an investigation of the Christian Coalition, an organization they were both active in. The inquiry was even more onerous than that experienced by the Iowa Coalition for Life. You can read the entire account at http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/irss-lerner-had-history-harassment-inappropriate-religious-inquiries-fec_725004.html

The following deposition between Lt. Col. North and the FEC lawyer acting on Lerner’s orders took place in the late 1990’s. It  could be used in a comedy show if not so deadly earnest. In the transcript “Q” is the government lawyer. “A” is North. “O” is North’s attorney.

Q: (reading from a letter from Oliver North to Pat Robertson) “‘Betsy and I thank you for your kind regards and prayers.’ The next paragraph is, ‘Please give our love to Dede and I hope to see you in the near future.’ Who is Dede?”

A: “That is Mrs. Robertson.”

Q: “What did you mean in paragraph 2, about thanking -you and your wife thanking Pat Robertson for kind regards?”

A: “Last time I checked in America, prayers were still legal. I am sure that Pat had said he was praying for my family and me in some correspondence or phone call.”

Q: “Would that be something that Pat Robertson was doing for you?”

A: “I hope a lot of people were praying for me, Holly.”

Q: “But you knew that Pat Robertson was?”

A: “Well, apparently at that time I was reflecting something that Pat had either, as I said, had told me or conveyed to me in some fashion, and it is my habit to thank people for things like that.”

Q: “During the time that you knew Pat Robertson, was it your impression that he had – he was praying for you?”

O: “I object. There is no allegation that praying creates a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act and there is no such allegation in the complaint. This is completely irrelevant and intrusive on the religious beliefs of this witness.”

O: “It is a very strange line of questioning. You have got to be kidding, really. What are you thinking of, to ask questions like that? I mean, really. I have been to some strange depositions, but I don’t think I have ever had anybody inquire into somebody’s prayers. I think that is really just outrageous. And if you want to ask some questions regarding political activities, please do and then we can get over this very quickly. But if you want to ask about somebody’s religious activities, that is outrageous.”

Q: “I am allowed to make-’’

O: “We are allowed not to answer and if you think the Commission is going to permit you to go forward with a question about somebody’s prayers, I just don’t believe that. I just don’t for a moment believe that. I find that the most outrageous line of questioning. I am going to instruct my witness not to answer.”

Q: “On what grounds?”

O: “We are not going to let you inquire about people’s religious beliefs or activities, period. If you want to ask about someone’s prayers-Jeez, I don’t know what we are thinking of. But the answer is, no, people are not going to respond to questions about people’s prayers, no.”

Q: “Will you take that, at the first break, take it up- we will do whatever we have to do.”

O: “You do whatever you think you have to do to get them to answer questions about what people are praying about.”

Q: “I did not ask Mr. North what people were praying about I am allowed to inquire about the relationship between-’’

O: “Absolutely, but you have asked the question repeatedly. If you move on to a question other than about prayer, be my guest.

But this isn’t really about Lois Lerner. I don’t think for one minute that she’s unique in government service or that she’s acting on her own. People like her are legion in today’s public service. True Believers acting for the good of the whole while attacking those whose beliefs formed the nation to begin with.

In modern America, this is what persecution looks like. It’s not rogue, illegal or unmannerly. It occurs in clean, well-lit offices and is carried out by dutiful public servants following accepted policies, advised by articulate lawyers, convinced they’re doing the right thing. Persecution is becoming institutionalized. And that’s what should concern us.

All this begs the question that we really should be asking: What are they scared of? What is it about Christians that motivated Lerner’s office to single us out? While there are many questions about all the whole affair we can’t answer yet, this one we can. We were singled out for the same reason that Christians of every era—some more so than others—are singled out. We’re singled out because we believe.

And for those who don't believe in anything beyond the tyrannical power of the state, the mere presence of those who have a higher vision is unacceptable.

The Apostle’s Creed (which Baptists don't use as much as we should) says: “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord…I believe in the Holy Spirit…” Christians have looked to this creed since the earliest days of the church as the expression of our deepest loyalties.

In other words we believe the state along with its apparatchiks doesn't have the final say, in this life or the next. There's a higher source of authority that one day will hold them as well as us to account. And it's that belief that makes us intolerable to those who fancy themselves as sovereign.

Gay Marriage: the End of the World as We Know It

Anyone who opposes gay marriage is assumed to be a bigot, hopelessly ignorant or so deluded by outdated religious notions that they have no place in the modern world. The truth of the matter is far more troubling.

The thinking is that just as black Americans were long denied full citizenship benefits because of  race, homosexuals today suffer the same fate because of their sexual orientation. The result has been that their status—especially when it comes to marriage—has become widely perceived as a civil rights struggle.

And in America, once the status of any group becomes framed as a matter of civil rights, the outcome is a foregone conclusion. Make no mistake, gay marriage will be the law of the land, if not this year in the very near future.

Stomp on Jesus

The latest stage in our public universities’ rapid descent into anti-Christian bigotry was reached recently at Florida Atlantic University.

Professor Deandre Poole, teaching a course called “Intercultural Communications” instructed his students to write the name of Jesus on a piece of paper, put it on the floor then step on it. All the class jumped right in except for Ryan Rotela, a Mormon who was offended and refused to cooperate. He later claimed he was suspended from the school for his action.

Brave New World: Boy Scouts and Homosexuality

Boy Scouts  are so deeply ingrained in American life that it’s hard to imagine our country without them. But changes their leadership is considering may well lead to that unfortunate outcome.

When Churches Lose Their Way

 

A friend received a mail-out this week, obviously part of a mass mailing. It advertised a new church start up in a community a few miles from where I live. Actually, it’s a church that’s been around for a little while—the name isn’t important—but has recently partnered with a Texas mega-church to become one of their satellite campuses.

Top Ten Religious Stories of 2012

 2012 saw an upheaval in religious events across the world. In the United States, the Presidential election spun off several events that will affect religion in America in the coming years. Internationally, Islam continues to move in a more political direction—with dire consequences for many Christians. And at least one notable death occurred this year that brings into sharp relief the church’s calling in caring for the forgotten people of the world.

It’s always dangerous to put together a top ten list, especially of religious stories, since everyone has a different opinion. But from my vantage point as a local church pastor, these are the ten that will impact the church most in the coming months and years.

 1. Mitt Romney runs for President of the United States. For a major political party to nominate a Mormon as its candidate for President is a game-changer, especially when you consider the influence that conservative Christians have exercised in the Republican Party for the last thirty years. On the one hand, Romney’s candidacy brought a degree of legitimacy to his religion. Mormons had been widely ridiculed for decades. On the other hand, it also demonstrated how religion plays less and less of a role in American political life.

Confronting Evil--the Newtown, Connecticut School Shootings

When I first heard the news of the school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, I had the same feelings in my gut as everyone else. First, an overwhelming sense of pity for the twenty precious children who died. They were perfectly innocent yet in an instant their lives were snatched away by a monster.

The Mayan Calendar and the End of the World

Over a century ago the English social critic G.K. Chesterton accurately predicted the end result of atheism. “When people stop believing in God,” he said, “they don’t believe in nothing—they believe in anything.”

Recent events are proving him more prescient than he would have imagined. People across the world are now awaiting the end of the world on December 21. Why? Because the ancient Mayan calendar predicted the looming apocalypse over 1500 years ago.

Zig Ziglar: Last of a Breed

One of America’s best known and best loved public speakers, Zig Ziglar, died last week at age 86, in Plano, Texas. There’s no shortage of salesman-turned-motivational speakers in our nation, but Ziglar’s life is worth thinking about for a number of reasons. Not the least of which is that he was among the last of a particular breed able to communicate both passionate faith and professional success in such winsome ways that untold millions were affected by his life. On news of his death, even rapper LL Cool J tweeted, “Zig Ziglar rest in peace. Your life inspired us. Thank you.”

Celebrating Christmas

It’s almost Christmas, and at my house we’re about to unpack the boxes in the attic full of special decorations we only use this time of year.

Down through the years my wife and have accumulated loads of stuff. The Christmas tree decorations are my particular favorites—everything from the first bauble we bought as a newly married couple over thirty years ago to the set of loopy ceramic penguins that always presides over our home from the most visible position on the tree.

Then there are the manger scenes (maybe a half dozen), lights, seasonal candles, table runners, china and various knick-knacks we’d never show in public any other time of the year. Like everyone else I know, at Christmas we pull out all the stops and make our home as festive as the holiday itself—all green and red and smelling of pine.

The rationalistic, material world we live in doesn’t have a language adequate to describe the wonder of Christmas, so we turn to symbol, tradition, actions and objects to describe what words cannot say. Even non-believers understand the principle: “Silent Night, Holy Night” can still stir the heart of the most jaded skeptic.

Why Duck Dynasty Matters

I got obsessed with Duck Dynasty while channel surfing one Friday night. A group of long-haired, scruffily dressed bearded guys was playing golf, sort of. What they were really doing was goofing off.  I watched as they discovered a pond full of frogs. The golf match forgotten, the three of them grew more and more excited. Then one of them—I learned later his name was Jase—spoke up.

The only thing I want from frawgs is to eat more of ‘em, he said.

He had me at hello.

Where do we go from here? –an evangelical response to President Obama’s re-election

I’m still reeling from last week’s election. Most people I know are, too. Even though the polls told us clearly enough that President Obama was highly likely to win, many of us had persuaded ourselves in the end Mitt Romney would prevail.

In the weeks leading up to the election evangelicals across the country prayed, held rallies, preached, wrote and in general did everything possible to assure the faithful that God was going to defeat Obama. But in the end, Romney didn’t even do as well as John McCain, the 2008 Republican candidate against Obama.

It was as though David slung his stone at Goliath, and missed.

A Christian Goes to the Polls

The endless campaign for President finally comes to an end today—or maybe it does. With the possibilities of recounts, voter fraud and looming litigation the election may not be over for a while longer. I certainly hope that’s not the case. I’m worn out by it all.

My wife and I went to the polls the first thing this morning. We’re both Christian from an evangelical perspective, which puts us in the bull’s eye of one of the key national constituencies that will probably end up deciding the election.

It’s Complicated: Why Evangelicals Will Reluctantly Vote for Mitt Romney

The upcoming Presidential election should be as clear as a bell for evangelical Christians. The two parties and their respective candidates represent such starkly different visions of America that there should be no problem for, especially, conservative Christians to make a decision between them—right? Turns out the election isn’t quite as simple as it ought to be. In the phrase young adults use to describe problematic relationships, it’s complicated. 

The Search for Justice at Penn State

By now the horrific details are visible in the light of day.

Jerry Sandusky, Assistant Coach for the Nittany Lions of Penn State University and anointed successor to sainted head coach Joe Paterno, spent the last fifteen years systematically raping young boys. Coach Paterno, University President Graham Spanier and several other administrative officials knew of the allegations yet failed to report them.

The High Price of Supporting Biblical Marriage

In an interview two days ago with Baptist Press Dan Cathy, CEO of the national fast-food restaurant Chick-fil-A, did what a public figure in the United States isn’t supposed to do. He stood up for traditional marriage.

The First Gay President and the Future of the American Church

Marriage as biblically defined—one woman married to one man—is the centerpiece of the American church. Even with the growing number of singles in our congregations, the institution of marriage provides the most visible social context for most church ministries.

Why We Loved Tim Tebow's Easter Message

Tim Tebow, maybe the most famous Christian in America, made news again this week as the featured speaker at an Easter service in Austin, Texas. A crowd of 15,000 people turned out to hear the NFL quarterback share his testimony with the Celebration Church, with some driving from as far as 100 miles away.  

President Obama's threat to religious liberty

Catholic Archbishop Timothy Dolan gets it exactly right. President Obama’s administration is in fact attacking the principle of religious freedom in his recent requirement that Catholic institutions provide for contraception in the health plans offered to their employees. Dolan apparently understands better than the President that when the First Amendment says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” it means what it says. 

Tim Tebow isn't the only Christian on the field

By now almost everyone has seen THE PASS that ended the NFL playoff game last Sunday between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the final play of the game—and the first play in Overtime—Denver quarterback Tim Tebow threw a laser forty yards downfield to a streaking Demaryius Thomas who ran the remaining distance to the winning touchdown in the blink of an eye.