CHRISTIANS GAGGED IN CANADA

Churches have received official warning from the Canadian government not to address issues some view as political:

According to LifeSiteNews, churches are not only admonished against recommending certain candidates or political parties, but they also face crackdowns for speaking out on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

"The best thing for a charity to do, especially during an election, is to stay away from those issues," Dawna Lynn Labonté, a spokeswoman for the minister of national revenue, told the news agency. "There are certain issues, especially during election times, that are very political."

The gag order on religions is said to cover all moral issues, even poverty.

"Taking out a full page ad before Christmas on homelessness might not be considered political, but doing the same thing the week of an election might be considered political," Labonté said.

Of course, in a secular ideological society where all issues are political no moral or societal issue a church might address would be "non-political". Without question we find a flagrant attack on the freedom on religion.

South of the border, in Arkansas, a similar assault is underway:

Americans United for Separation of Church and State, headed by Barry Lynn, filed a complaint with the IRS against Ronnie Floyd, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., accusing him of preaching a sermon promoting President Bush's re-election July 4.

The complaint challenges the church's tax-exempt status as a religious organization.

The local Democratic Party is supporting the IRS probe, saying the sermon should be "investigated thoroughly."

I'm not one to endorse candidates from the pulpit (although I'll speak on any moral issue I see fit), but there used to be freedom of speech, but I guess that only applies to Internet porn these days.

By the way, when was the last time the IRS investigated one of the black churches John Kerry likes to quote Scripture in?