All Saints v. New Revelation Missionary Baptist: IRS' Mysterious Ways

[DeepModem Mom]

The IRS Works in Mysterious Ways
September 24, 2006

Pastor William Turner Jr. is a robust man with an unshakable set of beliefs, and he's never been shy about sharing them with the congregation of his New Revelation Missionary Baptist Church in Pasadena.

He has preached against same-sex marriage, stem cell research and abortion. And he has proudly boasted to President Bush about converting 80% of his congregation from Democrat to Republican.

"I salute and support you President Bush and will work untiringly for your reelection," Turner wrote to the president in February 2004, telling him he had done the same for former California Gov. Pete Wilson....Roughly two miles away from Turner's church is All Saints Episcopal Church, which has a radically different political bent. The same year Turner took up Bush's cause, the Rev. George Regas delivered a guest sermon at All Saints involving a mock debate between Bush, John Kerry and Jesus. In the debate, Jesus said that Bush's preemptive strike on Iraq "has led to disaster."

So which of these two churches is under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service for taking sides in political contests?

The latter. Your precious tax dollars are paying for an inquisition of All Saints by the Internal Revenue Service, which has demanded church records and ordered rector Ed Bacon to testify at a hearing next month....

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez24sep24,0,6701932.column?track=mostemailedlink