[pepsionice]

"...taking anything from God."

The problem here is that churches often don't act like churches. When you have guys using churches to build financial empires or vocational villas or paying off mistresses or buying BMWs for their top 10 managers or talking straight up politics and telling you precisely who you should vote for....then there are issues. Scientology never should have been given tax-free status...Tammy & Jim Baker should have had their status pulled the minute they put the vacation village up on the air to sell to the public.

In Germany...they have a tax free status for churches...but you have to present your financial books...and they tell you precisely what is approved and disapproved. You can spend tons of money on church buildings...but the minute you buy a luxury BMW for a church boss...taxes are assessed against the organization. If you look across at Jesus and the twelve...none were selling politics. I'd rather not see religions setting themselves up to be the party of the Democrats or the party of the Republicans...it has a bad smell to it and nothing good can come of that attitude.

[xzins]

Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets regularly spoke about politics. Got them in a lot of trouble, as a matter of fact.

John the Baptist lost his head over the subject.

You are really asking a fair question, though. How does one prevent the abuse of religion such as perpetrated by Jim & Tammy Baker?

My sense is that there would be two types of fraud: one would be morally wrong but not illegal. The other type would be the kind that breaks fraud laws.

In the case of the first, the church trial process for that religious body will be what handles the situation.

Of course, anyone who breaks a law against fraud will be prosecuted for illegal behavior.