John Walz and the "separation of church and state"
it only takes 3%
Dear Friends,
It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men. —Samuel AdamsConstitutional attorney and American historian KrisAnne Hall tells us it only takes an irate, tireless 3% of the population of any given political subdivision, to prevail.
Why did our Founding Fathers give us the First Amendment? To make sure we could play church and patty cake?
Or to make sure we had a peaceable means of contesting a government gone rogue/tyrannical, before it got nasty:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”What was “covid” designed to do? It was designed to prevent peaceable assembly. It was designed to divide and conquer. To steal, kill and destroy. To accelerate the implementation cultural Marxism. To accelerate the undermining and subversion of Western social and cultural institutions. Marxism is the subversive philosophy. Communism is the system of government based on Marxist principles.
It’s time to stand up and be counted. 3% is great. But 10, 20, 50 or 80% are a whole lot better and faster. We don’t have much time left.
Third District Congressional Candidate John Walz dared to enter a church and place campaign bookmarks in the hymnals. The “pastor” rebuked him by saying:
“We cannot permit and will not permit campaign literature in our church. It can jeopardize our tax exempt status and is inappropriate on many different levels. We do not politic in church.”Really? The pastor is more interested in his tax exempt status than in confronting evil and getting the truth out??
I am participating in an event tonight that John is hosting in Kearney. I have been asked to speak on the “Johnson Amendment.” There will be a panel of speakers, so I will only have 5 minutes. I am going armed with the following words:
I was asked to speak about the Johnson Amendment.
IThe Johnson Amendment was authored by Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1954. He was seeking re-election to the US Senate, and facing a very competitive primary challenger.
He assumed that tax-exempt foundations were secretly supporting his primary opponent
To stop them, he introduced an amendment to the IRS code under Section 501(c)(3), prohibiting tax-exempt status for any entity that supported or opposed political candidates.
The amendment was intended to prohibit churches from supporting political candidates and campaigns, NOT to prohibit churches from addressing “political” issues.
Somewhere along the way churches got the idea they couldn't speak to politics at all.
BUT stll, the amendment begs an important question. Can a line always be drawn between a candidate and the way he or she thinks? Can a line always be drawn between a candidate and the issues they support?? If one candidate supports abortion and another doesn't, and the church comes out against abortion, isn't the church coming out against a particular candidate??
The Johnson Amendment gets muddy, if our loyalty is to God over party, human legislation and political campaigns.
But the First Amendment of our Constitution IS NOT muddy.
The God-given right to freedom of speech SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.
The Johnson Amendment was unconstitutional back in 1954, and it remains in violation of the Constitution today. It was nothing but lawfare.
Church & politics can NOT be separated. Human government is part of the moral government of God.
God stands over all of the affairs of men. Abortion, gay marriage, transgenderism, etc., are moral issues under God.
For a pastor to set aside God and His Word on these issues is to deny God and His preeminence.
When we as Christians fail to apply God’s word to the issues of our world, our light goes out, and we stop being God’s salt on this earth. God calls us to let our light shine.
Our Founding Fathers Understood This Deeply
They spoke out boldly on the political/moral issues of the day and challenged the people behind them.
John Witherspoon, one of America’s most famous ministers, signed the Declaration of Independence, and in so doing, challenged the chief politician of his day, the tyrant King George.
John the Baptist challenged the immorality of one of the chief politicians of his day, King Herod
Elijah confronted King Ahab and Queen Jezebel over political/moral issues.
Isaiah confronted King Hezekiah over political/moral issues.
Nathan confronted King David over political/moral issues.
Eliezer and Jehu confronted King Jehoshaphat over political/moral issues.
Moses spoke to Pharoah over political/moral issues.
The list goes on.
President Trump signed an EO in May of 2017 to ease perceived restrictions imposed by the Johnson Amendment. A legislative conference was organized to reverse the Amendment, but the goal was never achieved.
It was stated that a reversal would enable pastors to exercise their First Amendment Rights once again without fear and to boldly apply Biblical principles to the political sphere – something our nation and our world desperately need.
But that is not an accurate assessment.
Our right to speak the truth, in any sphere of life, doesn't come from the First Amendment. It comes from God. And we shouldn't fear speaking it, whether laws protect that speech or not. We must love, fear and obey God rather than man. All the time.
Standing up to sinful legislation, and the sinful legislators/politicians from which they emanate, is no different for the Christian than standing up to anything or anyone else in life that is sinful.
Men and politicians alike should be called to repent for their sinful ways. God calls all of us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Separation of church and state is a myth.
Lyndon Baines Johnson was the mastermind behind the assassination of JFK. That should tell you something about his character.
I highly recommend educating yourself on the original intent of our Founders. A great place to start is David Barton's book, Original Intent.
If I had time, I would add the following.
How many times did our Founders reference God in their justification for "separation??
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them"…”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”
“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions…”
“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
And how many times did our Founders reference God our U.S. Constitution?
The ratification of the Conventions of nine States, shall be sufficient for the Establishment of this Constitution between the States so ratifying the Same.
Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present the seventeenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven and of the independence of the United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,
(There was really no need to reference Him further. The big question is simply, Did they reference Him? The answer is YES.)
And how many times does our Nebraska State Constitution reference God?
“We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, do ordain and establish the following declaration of rights and frame of government, as the Constitution of the State of Nebraska.”
“All persons have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own consciences.”
The end of the matter is this:
Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. —John AdamsWhere does that leave us?? It leaves us with desperately needing God’s intervention.
We must call upon and seek Him. We must stand for righteousness in His strength.
Mordecai (in the book of Esther) met the situation head-on with fasting and prayer.
I think we would do well to meet our situation the same way.
May God bless,
Robert J. Borer
P.S. Tonight’s event can be found here.
Thanks for this Robert, and standing with John. Similar BS rhetoric at many churches during the plandemic. Elders at my church also were against the posting of anything "political" to our social media pages, even though it affected Christians. Our churches have failed this country.
Agreed! I first heard of 508(c)(1)(a) which counters 501(c)(3). Seems that the "exemptions" are identical; however, the 508(c)(1)(a) give the 1st Amendment back to the church. Now, why would this not be common knowledge for CPA's? I've spoke with CPA's who "have no idea" on what a 508 is. Our church USED to be United Methodist. We voted 100% to disaffiliated with UMC and became independent. That's when I found out about 508. Most people poo-poo it away because the financial exemption is SO important. They do not look at their fundamental rights being taken away by a 501. Please, remember that as far as I know, a 508 and 501's exemptions are identical. Our vote, that we made in January 2023 to disaffiliate from UMC was definitely a political topic, and thus, a political vote, which could jeopardize the 501 status. It's frustrating that that basic subject escapes people all in the name of the almighty dollar (exemptions).