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Freedom From Religion Foundation Asks IRS To Investigate Lakepointe Church After ‘How to Vote Like Jesus’ Sermon
Protestia ^ | October 17, 2024 | staff

Posted on 10/17/2024 8:44:15 AM PDT by Morgana

The hive of scum and villainy known as the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is “demanding that the IRS take away the nonprofit status of an electioneering Texas church that has Josh Howerton as its senior pastor,” according to a press release from the organization.

The prominent anti-Christian group’s purpose is to “promote the constitutional principle of separation of state and church, and to educate the public on matters relating to nontheism.” Put another way, they launch tons of lawsuits that have “removed Ten Commandments and Jesus paintings from public schools, stopped city/school board prayer; halted school subsidy of child evangelism, removed nativity scenes and Christian crosses from public property, and stopped censorship of freethought displays, literature distribution, license plates and invocations.”

During a recent sermon at Lakepointe Church, Howerton preached on the importance of voting and lamented the lack of political engagement and silence from church leaders on political leaders, saying the choice to be silent is “completely and utterly unbiblical.” He also compared and contrasted the views of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris on several issues, including abortion, immigration, and religious freedom, and intimated that while Trump is not a perfect candidate, he ought to be preferred.

The FFRF summarizes the sermon this way:

Speaking to a congregation of about 20,000 members and 340,000 Instagram followers, Howerton identified three types of biblical leaders during his sermon: 1) the righteous King Josiah 2) the unrighteous Ahab and Jezebel and 3) the flawed King Jehu.

While mostly refraining from naming candidates, Howerton seemed to cast Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as “unrighteous” while depicting Trump and his vice presidential pick Sen. JD Vance as merely “flawed” in this scenario.

“We all want a King Josiah. But sometimes, God uses a flawed leader for good purposes,” Howerton said to applause. “A flawed leader used to do some good things is better than suffering under wicked leaders.”

As a result, the FFRF is “flagging this as an election endorsement on Lakepointe Church’s part” and reporting them to the IRS because they have “improperly used its status as a religious organization and 501(c)(3) entity to intervene in the U.S. presidential election.”

They are asking the IRS to “immediately investigate Lakepointe Church and ensure that it no longer receives the benefits of 501(c)(3) status and that donations made to the church are no longer treated as tax deductible.”

In response to the actions of the FFRF, and whether or not he was worried, Howerton told Protestia:

I’m sleeping great. We’re unconcerned with selectively-deployed lawfare tactics whose purpose is to intimidate pastors into silence.


TOPICS: General Discusssion; Religion & Culture; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 10/17/2024 8:44:15 AM PDT by Morgana
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To: Morgana

You think leftie churches aren’t doing this?


2 posted on 10/17/2024 9:00:00 AM PDT by Fido969
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To: Fido969

I’ve posted about leftie churches doing this.


3 posted on 10/17/2024 9:00:56 AM PDT by Morgana ( “Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.” — Alice Paul )
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To: Morgana

Ahab and Jezebel = Bill and Hillary


4 posted on 10/17/2024 9:01:44 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: Fido969

Barack Hussein’s pastor “God damn America”


5 posted on 10/17/2024 9:02:33 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: Fido969

The Leftist platform... when you’re hate ain’t working, HATE HARDER!!!!


6 posted on 10/17/2024 9:08:28 AM PDT by FiddlePig (The greatest threat to our sacred liberty is to not value it!””)
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To: Morgana
It was a bad idea to use Josiah, Ahab, Jehu as examples. Instead he should have used the goalie archetype to save America from the collectivists.






7 posted on 10/17/2024 9:09:55 AM PDT by Tom Tetroxide
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To: Morgana

Let me see, did the “Freedom From Religion Foundation” protest against Kamala Harris preaching a political sermon from the pulpit of a church in North Carolina? No. Why not? They didn’t protest Kamala’s sermon because they are a totally hypocritical outfit.


8 posted on 10/17/2024 9:13:10 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: Morgana

Is the Freedom From Religion Foundation a non-profit? Just curious. (Completely rhetorical)


9 posted on 10/17/2024 9:20:31 AM PDT by liberalh8ter ( Ephesians 6:10 - 18)
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To: Morgana
IRS has long ago admitted in writing that they DO NOT have authority to regulate speech in churches. AUSCS and other anti-Christian groups are just threatening and intimidating conservative and especially pro-life speech in churches. They have no case!
10 posted on 10/17/2024 9:46:01 AM PDT by Missouri gal
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To: Morgana

Freedom From Religion Foundation Asks IRS To Investigate the many black churches that support and openly campaign for black democrats. Sure they will! The Freedom From Religion Foundation will investigate black democrat churches when hell freezes over.


11 posted on 10/17/2024 9:49:29 AM PDT by JesusIsLord
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To: Morgana

But they will NOT ask for an investigation of the black churches that have functioned as Democrat rallying points for decades.


12 posted on 10/17/2024 9:58:31 AM PDT by Steve_Seattle
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To: Morgana

The States determine if a church is a church, not the IRS. A real church organized under their State’s Articles of Incorporation as a religious institution do not need a 501c3 to be a church. A 501c3 only allows a church to prepare your year-end statements on your behalf. My church is over 100 years old and does not have a 501c3 - because it was always intended that the individuals kept track of their donations and not the churches. If more churches realized this, the proposed threat would lose its’ sting.


13 posted on 10/17/2024 10:44:14 AM PDT by jettester (I got paid to break 'em - not fly 'em)
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To: jettester

EXACTLY! The reason churches want to track the donations is so that it can harass you to give more. What you give should be between you and God.


14 posted on 10/17/2024 11:14:52 AM PDT by 2nd amendment mama (Self Defense is a Basic Human Right!)
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To: Morgana

No church has ever lost its tax status for political speech from the pulpit. The IRS has never been willing to take a single such case to trial. They know it’s unconstitutional.


15 posted on 10/19/2024 7:14:04 AM PDT by circlecity
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