Pulpit Freedom Sunday

September 27, 2012

Writer

On Thursday's radio show, Glenn invited Pastor Jim Garlow onto the show to discuss Pulpit Freedom Sunday.The event is designed to raise awareness about the fact that pastors are not allowed to speak up about political issues from the pulpit without losing their tax-exempt status. Garlow and other pastors want to fight back against the idea that politics have no place in discussions within the church. You can catch the whole interview in the clip above from radio. Read more on these issues at TheBlaze.

Read a Rush transcript of the interview below:

GLENN: Pastor Jim Garlowe is a church in San Diego. This is a church that has stood in California and has stood against all odds and the attacks on this church are just staggering. They have tried to put this church out of business, and they're not going to step down. He is here because he is seeing over and sheparding a program. How many years have you been doing this?

VOICE: This is only my second year.

GLENN: What the government is telling you that you can't get involved in politics that is an out‑and‑out unconstitutional lie. They want it to be challenged in court because they know it's unconstitutional.

VOICE: Years ago Lyndon Baines Johnson returned from Texas angry at two businessmen. They opposed him through 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. He was going through the Senate was an overhaul of the tax code. He asserted a few words called the Johnson Amendment. They didn't have churches in mind. They had just had these two guys he was mad at. Even the Internal Revenue Service doesn't know. So the result over all of these years pastors have backed away from fear, and people in the pew have bought into the cultural myth of separation of church and state. So pastors aren't speaking out on issues. They bought into a cultural myth thinking as pastors we wouldn't speak politically if we got the tax exemption. The tax exemption comes from our founding fathers. Knowing if the government can tax and they can control and the government can destroy. Based upon that separation, there have been no taxation of churches. There should be no government intrusion into the pulpit and so an entire movement has developed.

GLENN: This is really important because of everything that we're facing now with the President, this week coming out and laying the groundwork for no blasphemy laws for Islam or any religion. Uh‑huh. The way we are moving and the press and freedom of speech is overrated, and the rest of the world doesn't agree with it. And America needs to grow up, and starts moving the way of the rest of the world. It is if we control the speech of pulpits. The pulpits are the most important thing. Jim I know when we first met it was right before Restoring Honor in Washington D.C.. you were one of the few that stood up, and you were bold at the time, and I hadn't seen a lot of the bold preachers or priests or rabbis. They were being quiet. Now a lot of them are standing up, and they're not being quiet. Because they know it's over if they don't.

VOICE: It is over. It's changed dramatically even the last few years. I'm amazed what has happened in the area of religious liberty. Those that are discerning know you can have religious liberty and have radicalists coming at the same time in the nation. That line is sliding very rapidly.

GLENN: I know. That's what a church is for to tell you what the parameters are. I don't need somebody to tell how to vote. To tell me the standard God's standard that he holds. And then I can Judge myself. But you can't even talk about the standard. We're moving to a place where you can't talk about that standard because it's political or racist or sexist.

VOICE: The Internal Revenue Service would say that we can. Now that the people in the pew oftentimes have this wrong understanding pastor if you're going to speak that way I'll find myself another church. Consequently alliance of religious liberty, and hand selected 33 pastors in 2008 to intentionally challenge the Johnson Amendment. The Johnson Amendment says we cannot oppose or endorse a candidate directly or indirectly. So pastors are afraid of it. They don't want to lose their tax exemption. They recorded their sermons, and sent them to the court. There's a Damocles sword threatening pastors if you do this. They sent in their sermon nothing happened. In 2009 84 pastors exercised their constitutional rights but violated the Johnson Amendment which we believe is unconstitutional. And they sent their sermons. Nothing happened. The next year 2010 100 pastors did it. Last year 539 pastors did it, this year around 1,100 have signed up. We anticipate it will be around 1,500 or more masters.

GLENN: If you're a pastor. You go to a parish and you want your priest to be involved in this what do.

VOICE: They go to pulpitfreedom.org. And October 7th is pulpit freedom Sunday. Most of us are doing it in solidarity October 7th. They can sign up at pulpitfreedom.org. This applies to a liberal left wing church. It was replies to everybody. We say there should be no governmental intrusion. They monitor our speech to see what we're saying. We encourage people to go to pulpitfreedom.org.

GLENN: If they do this, and the Internal Revenue Service decides to go after them.

VOICE: There are 2200 attorneys prepared to defend us pro bono. It used to be the church would roll over and play dead. If a church lawyers up, the Internal Revenue Service strings it along for a couple of years and then say we're going to close your case, and just don't do it. The alliance defending freedom is this group of attorneys saying this is unconstitutional based on the First Amendment. We're absolutely making it nationwide very open posting our names and sending in our sermons saying sue us, so we get this to court, and get this defined and taken care of.

GLENN: You don't have to worry as a church you won't have to worry about being strung along. The attorneys will do it.

VOICE: There are attorneys all across America.

GLENN: Are you going to be saying to vote for one person.

VOICE: I will walk through the biblical principles, and where the candidates stand on the issues.

GLENN: There's nothing wrong with that.

VOICE: Any follower of Jesus Christ would not want to vote for a candidate that is defying biblical principles.

GLENN: I don't have a problem. I do have a problem vote Mitt Romney or Barack Obama. Not a legal problem. I don't want my pastor saying that.

VOICE: If somebody doesn't wan tto hear it that they can go to another church. We don't want the ‑‑ the issue is who decides what a pastor says? Is it going to be the state ultimately or that pastor and the church. We're contending ‑‑ we're not even saying a pastor has to endorse or condemn a candidate.

GLENN: The problem is that our churches have stopped saying if you believe the Bible, I mean ‑‑ my daughter she went with a friend to a Catholic Church that's run by a priest who is ex communicated by the Catholics. And I said did he start his own church. That's not a Catholic Church. That's not a Catholic Church. I don't have a problem with you disagreeing. You want to do stuff. When you go to church I don't understand the people that don't buy into it. Why are you there? What are getting out of it if you can't get somebody standing up there here's the principle, and here's how we apply it, and live your life according to these rules. Otherwise what are you doing? How many people do you think go to church who're just are going there because I don't know ‑‑ I don't even know.

VOICE: We're told only 9% of the people in the pew of a church know how to apply the scripture to life. And in other words have a biblical world view. 9 out of 10 do not. Are any of our communities more righteous or less righteous. We had this privilege in America for 166 years until it was taken away in 1954, and it was working very good at that time.

GLENN: Look at our world. Some things have gotten better, but a lot of things have gotten worse.

VOICE: Think what would happen if 350,000 churches would have been saying to the electorate we should be choosing the people to represent us in Washington D.C. thou shalt not steal from future generations. That's a moral biblical issue. Our nation is in economic suicide because of a failure to follow scriptural principles.

GLENN: Go to pulpitfreedom.org. It has to be reversed. It has to be put to rest. Pulpit freedom.org. Sunday October 7th. Make sure that your church is participation. Quickly how is your wife.

VOICE: She's doing well. We're moving on this cancer journey. It's come back seven times in five years. It's been a long walk here. We're moving forward. She's having some good days recently. That's why I'm able to be here.

GLENN: You want a good pastor or good church it's the Garlowes in San Diego.

Top five executive orders Trump plans to sign

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Donald J. Trump has officially been sworn back into office, and the restoration of America begins today!

Over the weekend, President Trump gave a sneak peek into the tidal wave of executive orders he has promised to sign on day one. Judging by the nature of these orders, it appears that Trump will hit the ground running, making massive strides toward his campaign promises mere hours after being sworn in. While the scope of the 200-plus orders is wide-reaching, there is a special focus on the southern border, the energy crisis, and purging DEI policies from the federal government.

Below we have compiled a list of the top FIVE executive orders that will be on Trump's desk today:

Declare a national emergency at the border

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The situation on the U.S.-Mexico border has been in a state of free fall for the past four years as millions of undocumented, illegal immigrants have flooded into our nation. By declaring this crisis a national emergency, Trump will bring the needed attention to the border, as well as free his hands to act decisively.

Designate cartels as terrorist organizations

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Drug cartels are responsible for many of the most heinous crimes committed across the border. These cartels are well-organized and run illicit operations including drug and weapon smuggling and human and sex trafficking. Over the past four years, the cartels have begun to establish themselves deeper and deeper in America, as in the case of an apartment complex reportedly being taken over by a Venezuelan cartel in Aurora, Colorado. By labeling these cartels as terrorist organizations, we can begin handling them with the necessary force required to relinquish their hold on American soil.

Resume construction on the border wall

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Shortly after taking office, President Biden halted the construction of the border wall, a project that was a staple of Trump's 2016 campaign. Over the past four years, no progress has been made on the mammoth structure designed to help secure our border—but that ends today.

Declare a national energy emergency

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During Trump's first term in the Oval Office, America was energy independent, a status quickly lost under Biden. By declaring an energy emergency, Trump plans to cut through miles of red tape and help America tap its bountiful natural energy sources, such as oil and gas. Under Trump, Keystone XL can resume, and new sources of oil and gas can be tapped for the first time, ending our reliance on foreign energy.

Force the federal government to recognize biological sex

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Flying in the face of the woke ideology that has been permeating the American government for years, Trump will sign an executive order that establishes a government-wide acknowledgment of the gender binary—that is, that there are only two genders, male and female. This will require all government identifications, such as passports and personnel records, to reflect biological reality and end the forced use of "preferred pronouns." It will also end taxpayer-funded transition procedures for members of the military and prisoners.

15 MLK quotes the far-left does NOT want you to read

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While members of the far-left often herald Martin Luther King Jr. as an emblem of their movement, it is ironic that many of MLK's core values and teachings are at odds with their values. On this day when we honor Martin Luther King Jr., one of America's most articulate and transformational leaders, it is important that we remember his teachings as they truly were, and not what the modern-left would like them to be. Here are 15 of MLK's most impactful quotes the far-left would like you to forget.

MLK was a firm believer in non-violent demonstration, unlike ANTIFA and many of the modern-left movements today. He also taught the motivation behind these non-violent movements should be love, not hate.

1. I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive nonviolent tension that is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must see the need of having nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men to rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood. So, the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.—Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963

2. After contemplation, I conclude that this award which I receive on behalf of that movement is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time – the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts.—Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1964

3. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.—"I Have a Dream" speech, 1963

4. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.—Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1964

5. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.—Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1964

6. I still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. “And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.”—Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1964

MLK believed just laws are derived from God's law alone. He defined unjust laws as those that do not treat all men equally in dignity, as God's law requires. Civil disobedience is only justified when it involves breaking an unjust law in pursuit of moral law, he taught.

7. How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law, or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law.—Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963

8. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. To use the words of Martin Buber, the great Jewish philosopher, segregation substitutes an "I - it" relationship for the "I - thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things.—Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963

9. We can never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal. If I lived in a Communist country today where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I believe I would openly advocate disobeying these anti-religious laws—Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963

MLK did NOT hate America. On the contrary, he loved America's founding principles and fought for the equal application rights of principles and America's Judeo-Christian heritage. He was hopeful rather than hateful of the future of America and mankind.

10. So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.—"I Have a Dream" speech, 1963

11. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters they were in reality standing up for the best in the American dream and the most sacred values in our Judeo-Christian heritage.—Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963

12. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men — yes, Black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.—"I Have a Dream" speech, 1963

13. I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him.—Nobel Prize acceptance speech, 1964

Unlike Critical Race Theory and modern leftist movement, MLK fought against applying special privileges to a particular race. Instead, MLK dreamed of both black and white people living together in love and brotherhood as equals.

14. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.—"I Have a Dream" speech, 1963

15. When this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.—"I Have a Dream" speech, 1963

Join Glenn at Donald Trump's inauguration livestream on BlazeTV

Join Glenn and Stu this Monday, January 20th, starting at 11 a.m. Eastern, for an unforgettable livestream of Donald Trump’s second inauguration. Broadcasting live from the heart of the nation’s capital, Glenn will bring you unparalleled coverage during the last hour of his radio program of this historic moment as the United States ushers in what Glenn describes as a "golden era" under Trump’s leadership. After his radio program, join Glenn for BlazeTV's live stream of the inauguration with special guests, live commentary, and the energy of being right on-site at this historic event for coverage you don’t want to miss.

Subscribe to BlazeTV+ today to be part of this historic event. Use the promo code Glenn47 to receive $47 off your annual subscription and gain access to this and more content from your favorite BlazeTV hosts. Don’t wait—this is your chance to witness history live with Glenn and the team as we look toward the future of America with BlazeTV!

4 ways Biden is SABOTAGING Trump on his way out of office

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President Biden has less than a week left in the White House, but that doesn't mean he's down for the count quite yet.

Next Monday, January 20th, President-elect Trump will be officially sworn into office, marking the beginning of his second term. But after such a bitter and contentious election, the Democrats aren't ready to roll over. Instead, they have been working around the clock to ensure that Trump will face as many obstacles and challenges as possible the minute he is sworn in. These political landmines are designed to sabotage his presidency—at the cost of the well-being of the American people.

Biden's job approval rating currently sits around 38.7 percent, one of the lowest approval ratings of any president, he has nothing to lose from these reckless ploys. Here are four ways Biden and the Left are trying to sabotage Trump:

Pardoning criminals

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In November, President Biden customarily pardoned the Thanksgiving turkey ... along with his son Hunter and dozens of other controversial criminals, including 37 felons on death row. Hunter's 11-year-long blanket immunity sets a dangerous precedent for future presidents, and we may never know the full extent of the Biden family's crimes and corruption.

Destroying U.S. energy

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Biden has made several moves that have damaged America's ability to produce its energy independently, including canceling the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. Earlier this month, Biden signed another order that has dire consequences for the energy sector, effectively blocking any new drilling off the U.S. coast indefinitely. This not only further kneecaps the U.S. oil industry during a time when gas and energy prices are on the rise, but moreover, the way the executive order was written means Trump will have a much harder time undoing it. Thanks, Biden.

Escalating overseas wars

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America's involvement with the ongoing war in Ukraine has been tenuous from the beginning, but under Biden, it has escalated to a Cold War-like proxy war. Neither pleas from Americans in need nor threats from Russia have deterred Biden. He has approved countless aid packages sent to Ukraine, totaling billions of dollars. Recently, Biden has decided to up the ante by supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles, despite Putin's warnings that Russia would consider this an act of war. It's almost like Biden wants to start WWIII before handing the reigns over to Trump.

Installing a "shadow cabinet"

It's time we borrow an idea from our British friends. My proposal for a shadow cabinet isn’t just about holding our political leaders accountable - it strengthens and protects our democracy.

Learn more from my speech today on the House floor.⬇️ pic.twitter.com/cjP8pP7fxw
— ARCHIVE Rep. Wiley Nickel (@RepWileyNickel) November 14, 2024

For years Glenn has warned of the dangers of the deep state, and its very existence has been denied ... until recently. Shortly after the election Democratic Rep. Wiley Nickel made a disturbing speech on the House floor where he proposed the creation of a "Shadow Cabinet" designed to hamper the Trump administration and to step in if Trump were removed from office. This "Shadow Cabinet" would be composed of Democrat counter-picks to Trump presidential cabinet members, and they would scrutinize every act made by the Trump administration and propose alternative actions. This just proves that the deep state will do anything to stop President Trump.

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