Our secular establishment prides itself on the concept of a “wall” of separation between church and state. The Warren Supreme Court based many decisions, including the banning of prayer in public schools, on this so-called wall as they extrapolated it from the Constitution. Groups like the ACLU have attempted to eradicate Judeo-Christian religion from all aspects of our public life and discourse. The degree in which they have pressed this agenda, at times bordering on the absurd, and their spirit of hatred for God centered religion, is well known to most of us. Liberals, however, are proving to be completely phony defenders of the separation. Their stand is a Trojan Horse. Their goal is to convert all religions into their own faith, secular humanism. They are using the strong arm of the state to accomplish this.
The humanists have been curiously silent on the most significant and dangerous threat to this separation in our history. That imminent threat is a bill passed by Congress, and signed into law by President Reagan in 1984 that requires all churches to register with the State and Federal government for the purpose of paying taxes. All churches that are tax exempt are now required to pay FICA taxes for employees earning $100 or more. This law was passed under the guise of reforming social security. What it does is create a de facto, state church and therefore a state religion.
When the FICA tax was first proposed in 1934, President Roosevelt exempted churches and referred to FICA as a “coercive tax”. Congress agreed saying “no, we can’t tax God”. In 1951, Congress changed this to allow churches to be taxed voluntarily. Some opted in, some chose not to. The 1984 legislation mandated the tax. This forces the church to finance the secular government and at the same time, allows the government a foot in the door in terms of r egulating what goes on in the church. While this should set off alarms to liberals and civil libertarians their reaction is the exact opposite.
Liberals are not up in arms over this blatant infringement of the state in religion because their agenda of “separation of church and state” is for them nothing more than a pitstop on the road to state control of religion. They want to extend their monopoly of secular humanism, already dominant in government run schools, public institutions, and the public sector. Secular humanism maintains a totalistic, universalist philosophy and feels justified in using the powerful levers of state to further their cause. This is why the ACLU and like minded groups are more concerned with children bringing candy canes to school on Christmas than the government meddling in the affairs of church.
Pastor Greg Dixon is chairman of the American Coalition of Unregistered Churches. He rejects the principal of financing the government on scriptural and political grounds. He backs up this scriptural position with numerous quotes from the Bible, which he considers to be the word of God. One quote will make the point:
EZRA 7:24 “Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, Nethinims, or ministers of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon them”.
Dr. Robert McCurry, writing in “The Temple Times” states that after 1984, every church in America became a state church. Dr. McCurry states that “A state church is a church that is recognized by the state, serves the state, provides revenue for the state, and serves a public purpose that is not contrary to established public policy”. Churches are essentially registered when they receive a tax identification number.
Since the 1984 law, over 8,000 Christians and churches have been put on trial for various infractions stemming from this registration. Baptist evangelist B.B.Caldwell predicted that the “government will haul ministers of the Gospel into court on alleged tax irregularities and challenge ministerial authority of independent ministers, churches, and associations and a State church will be set up”. This prediction is well on the way to becoming reality. President Roosevelt was correct in his assessment of FICA being a “coercive tax” when applied to churches. We are witnessing a state takeover of religion.
The Federal Government has given Pastor Greg Dixon and his Indianapolis Baptist Temple until April 10, 2000 to settle a judgement brought against them. Chief Judge Sarah Evens Barker of the Southern District of Indiana has signed a summary judgement that includes penalties and interest for unpaid taxes from 1987-1993 which amount to approximately $6 million dollars. Originally, the judge agreed to allow the church to continue to occupy its building and conduct its classes until the case completes the appeals process. This has been changed with the addition of the requirement of monthly financial reports and the placement of taxes in an escrow account. The judge now states that if the situation is not resolved by April 10, the church may be seized and sold, and Pastor Dixon could face serious charges.
This constitutes a direct assault by our Federal Government on religion, private property and civil rights. Establishment and left wing hypocrites will stand back and sneer at this valiant stand for religious freedom. The 1984 law is clearly unconstitutional and should be repealed. A separation of church and state would obviously contradict the merger of government and religion into one entity. That is exactly what is happening.