Pulpit Politics

March 21, 2000

Perhaps you grew up in a home where you were told never to discuss politics and religion. In recent years, we seem to be talking about both--even at the same time. While there is nothing wrong with that, doing so in a church pulpit is another matter.

Hillary Clinton went to Riverside Church a few Sundays ago, took the pulpit during services, and gave a blatantly political speech for 18 minutes. A few Sundays before that, Hillary Clinton and Al Gore actually endorsed each other’s candidacy from the pulpit of Wilborn First Temple Church in Albany, New York.

Now contrast that with the actions of a pastor at the Pierce Creek Church in Binghampton, New York who told his congregation in 1992 that a vote for Bill Clinton would be a sin. The IRS stepped in and revoked the tax exempt status of this church. It is highly unlikely that any such action will take place at the churches where Hillary Clinton has been speaking. The reason is simple. The IRS has clamped down on conservative churches that speak out in political ways, and apparently looks the other way when Democrats have been speaking in liberal churches.

Frankly I believe this should be a campaign issue. After all, if it is relevant to ask why George W. Bush spoke at Bob Jones University, shouldn’t it also be relevant to ask why certain candidates are allowed to deliver political speeches from the pulpits of liberal churches? Even if the IRS does not enforce its regulations equally across the board, I believe the media and the American people should raise this issue in the campaign. We may no longer be afraid of talking about politics and religion, but we should be concerned when they are mixed together by candidates in the pulpits of liberal churches.

I’m Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that’s my opinion.