OK, people – a few hundred dollars worth of hardware and labour and the loss of my Windows 7 Professional software later, I’m back online and ready to rock.
Only one subject this morning – Hail Satin!!
IRS recognizes Satanic Temple as ‘church’, grants tax-exempt status
April 26, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has formally recognized the Satanic Temple as a church, according to a celebratory announcement by the organization and as confirmed by the Associated Press.
On Thursday, the Satanic Temple announced on Instagram that “for the very [first] time in history, a satanic organization has been recognized by the United States federal government as being a church.” The IRS website confirms that the Satanic Temple is now a tax-exempt organization “eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions,” but gives no further details on its status beyond being a “public charity.”
The AP, however, reports that it received a copy of the notice, which classifies the Satanic Temple as a “church or a convention or association of churches.”
The IRS’s decision comes despite the Satanic Temple’s own website all-but acknowledging it isn’t a religion in the traditional sense. The group’s FAQ page explains that it doesn’t believe Satan or other supernatural concepts literally exist, but embraces Satan’s name as a “symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority.”
It claims to qualify as a religion because it has “deeply held beliefs that we actively advocate,” a “narrative structure by which we contextualize our lives and works,” and a set of symbols and practices that give a “sense of identity, culture, community, and shared values” – a definition of “religion” that could encompass any number of ideological, political, or cultural groupings not traditionally considered to be religions.
“IRS regulations draw a clear distinction between ‘churches’ and other religious organizations,” Catholic News Agency adds. “A church must have certain characteristics, according to IRS requirements, including: a recognized creed and form of worship; distinct ecclesiastical government; formal code of doctrine; ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study; established places of worship and regular religious services.”
Rolling Stone notes that the Satanic Temple itself has rejected tax-exempt status in the past, but reversed its position in 2017. Temple president Lucien Greaves made the change in protest of President Donald Trump’s moves to protect religious liberty, which Greaves claimed was turning religious groups into a “privileged class” from which Satanists should benefit as well.
“This acknowledgment will help make sure The Satanic Temple has the same access to public spaces as other religious organizations, affirm our standing in court when battling religious discrimination, and enable us to apply for faith-based government grants,” the Temple’s announcement added, meaning the new status is likely to bolster its legal claims in cases such as its placing of Satanic statues in the state capitals of Arkansas and Illinois.
The Daily Caller notes that the new status is “redundant” on the matter of grants, as there currently aren’t any federal grants exclusively available to faith-based groups, and faith-based and secular groups are equally free to compete for grants.
To: ebb tideIt will be the official Church of the Democrat(sic) Party.
2 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:22:45 PM by Reverend Wright (TAX the WOKE !)
To: ebb tide
Leftist, commie, socialist, anarchist, satanic-demokkkRAT bureaucrats; the gov’t is stocked with so many of them, my calculator melted trying to count one agency’s roster.
3 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:23:34 PM by carriage_hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
To: ebb tideThe main sacrament of Satanists is abortion
Think about that for a minute
5 posted on 4/26/2019, 4:25:07 PM by Truthoverpower (The guvmint you get is the Trump winning express !)
To: ebb tide
To: Roman_War_CriminalSodom and Gomorrah comes to mind.
6 posted on 4/26/2019, 5:25:11 PM by ExTexasRedhead
To: Roman_War_CriminalIt’s an anti-Christian hate group of atheists.
What’s their religion?
Is the Klan a religion too?
8 posted on 4/26/2019, 5:34:00 PM by a fool in paradise (Denounce DUAC – The Democrats Un-American Activists Committee)
To: Roman_War_CriminalCalling the President, please pick up the house phone.
13 posted on 4/26/2019, 5:57:38 PM by Midwesterner53
To: Roman_War_CriminalSo you argue about the political legitimacy of a religion based on your own religious beliefs. Have you actually read the constitution? It says nothing about your “savior” being the chosen one in the country.
I agree that this is more a tax scam than a religion. But one need only look at the millions funneled to Evangelicals and The Pope to see tax scams.
17 posted on 4/26/2019, 6:56:08 PM by Vermont Lt (If we get Medicare for all, will we have to show IDs for service?)
To: Roman_War_Criminalwe are the generation who will live to see the Rapture of the Church
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. … for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. Zechariah 14:7
BREAKING: Multiple People Shot At California Synagogue Townhall.com ^ | April 27, 2019 | Timothy Meads Posted on 4/27/2019, 3:27:22 PM by KaslinHarrowing reports of a shooter at a synagogue emerged as victims called 911 in Poway, California at roughly 11:30 am local time this morning. San Diego Police quickly responded to the scene where at least four injured were transported to local hospital.
ABC10 reports that, “The incident was reported at the Congregation Chabad located at 16934 Chabad Way sometime before 11:30 a.m., the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office twitter account reported.
“Deputies investigate reports of a man with a gun. Please stay clear of the area and allow deputies to safely do their job. Thank you for your patience and cooperation,” said the tweet.”
According to ABC10, the suspected shooter has now been detained and is being questioned by police. His motives are unclear.
ABC 10 notes, “The synagogue was hosting its Passover Holiday Celebration which was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., according to an event announcement. The celebration was to end at 7 p.m. with a final Passover meal.”
To: Kaslin“His motives are unclear.”
To: catnipman“His motives are unclear.”
To: 4LibertyI was thinking that it was either muzzies or democrats.Hard to be sure.
To: KaslinGreat news for the gun-grabbers!According to the press conference that is still going on, the shooter used an AR style assault weapon.
To: faithhopecharity
Sorry but it sounds pretty much like it’s some white guy.
Just like last week’s run-down of Moslems is a black MIL guy who doesn’t like Moslems.
We need to stop immediately naming every murder as Moslem. We end up with egg on the face.
It is VERY possible the murderer won’t match our preferred narrative. Just like when it doesn’t match liberal MSM narrative. There is too much of that excited happy jumping the gun here on FR, just as we accuse the commie side of doing.
96 posted on 4/27/2019, 5:37:40 PM by the OlLine Rebel
To: KaslinShould I even guess the ethnicity? Has that come out yet?115 posted on 4/27/2019, 6:41:36 PM by Captain Peter Blood
To: NoLibZone
To: NoLibZone
From his “manifesto”:
Lightning round.
“Are you a Trump supporter?”
You mean that Zionist, Jew-loving, anti-White, traitorous cocksucker? Don’t make me laugh.“Are you affiliated with any political ideology?”
Yes. It’s called not wanting to go extinct.“Are you a conservative?”
I am not a useless, spineless coward so no—I am not a conservative. Conservative is a misnomer. They conserve nothing. They’ll complain all they want but they won’t take up arms and threaten their government with death (the only thing that works). Ever heard about the Battle of Athens (1946)? Find your balls again you insufferable faggots. If you do not defend your rights you deserve none.28 posted on 4/27/2019, 8:14:06 PM by NoLibZone (America’s dead. Gone. Get used to it. The Trump admin & Smollett has shown the experiment has ended.)
Well, well, well. Posting this to my Facebook page got me put in FB jail. I wonder if the algorithm bot objected to the Freeper quotes, or the pic of jerkboy in a Bin Laden mask wading the Rio Grande?
They never tell you why, either. My wife once put up an ad for her business that they rejected and wouldn’t tell her why.
Sorry to hear you had computer problems. Just yesterday, my hard drive experienced the dreaded “click of death”. Fortunately, I had backups, so after visiting the local computer store and getting myself an SSD, everything was back up and running same day.
Yeah – I supposedly had a full O/S backup, but when I tried to restore from it, I got “invalid image”.
D’oh! That sucks.