Christian Message Boards: Government meddling in incorporated 501c3 church matters

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Posted by kirkguardian (Member # 3563) on :

501c3 incorporated churches as "creatures of the State."

In her April 24, 2004 article in World Magazine, entitled "Brother Against Brother," Lynn Vincent reported on the civil litigation against Cross Church in Fresno, California by former members of that church (http://worldmag.com/world/issue/04-24-04/cultural_2.asp). That article expresses concern that the case "could set a precedent for government meddling in ecclesiastical matters" and that the case is the equivalent of the "camel's nose under the tent." However the fact of the matter is that there should be no such concern for this being a precedent-setting case. The precedent was actually set long ago, and the camel's nose has long been under the church's tent.

As was noted in the article, Cross Church is a California corporation. At law, all corporations are "creatures of the State." The fact of the matter is that civil government has been meddling in incorporated church affairs for decades. That which the State creates the State may meddle with. One of the first legal attributes of a corporation is that "a corporation may sue and be sued." A church "is not an entity recognized in law." A church may not be sued, but a corporation most certainly can be.

In a case filed against an incorporated church in Kentucky in 1981, the judge, in his determination, made the following proclamation:

"The State Street Baptist Church has been in existence for over 140 years. In 1973, the membership organized a nonprofit corporation… once the church determined to enter the realm of Caesar by forming a corporation, it was required to abide by the rules of Caesar, or in this case, the statutes of the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

Churches should carefully ponder whether the State's so-called "limited liability protection" really protects a church, or merely becomes the means by which a church may be sued (and meddled with). To better appreciate the problem, as well as for some solutions to the problem, there are resources available at http://501c3.hushmoney.org