Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site dciem.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!mmt From: mmt@dciem.UUCP (Martin Taylor) Newsgroups: net.politics,net.religion Subject: Re: "Secular Humanism" banned in the US Schools. Message-ID: <1692@dciem.UUCP> Date: Wed, 25-Sep-85 20:45:27 EDT Article-I.D.: dciem.1692 Posted: Wed Sep 25 20:45:27 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 25-Sep-85 22:00:26 EDT References: <1072@ulysses.UUCP> <607@hou2g.UUCP> <5847@cbscc.UUCP> <673@utastro.UUCP> <5878@cbscc.UUCP> <717@utastro.UUCP> <1091@uscvax.UUCP26 Sep 85 00:45:27 GMT Reply-To: mmt@dciem.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE) Organization: D.C.I.E.M., Toronto, Canada Lines: 31 Summary: >Look at this from the other side. If the donations to a church were taxed >the government could claim a right to look at any records of the church >to determine contributions. Such power can be (ab)used by the state to >harass unpopular sects. Something of this sort happened to a TV preacher in >LA. The FCC decided that it had a right to see all donation records to the >church to determine whether or not fraud had been committed by the preacher. >The preacher (Gene Scott) never let his records out for various religious >and constitutional reasons. However, the courts didn`t see it that way and >the FCC pulled the license for his TV station. The last that I heard the FCC >was going after a TV station the church owns in No. California and after a >couple of radio stations owned by the church. The problem here is that a >church does have a right to protect its records from government intrusion. >The FCC needs to see those records to determine whether a fraud has been >committed. The FCC claims it has a right to see the records since his TV >ministry is a television station business and the FCC has been given broad >power over its licensees. In this case, it appears that the FCC has overstepped >the bounds of its authority. But since it was upheld by the courts it >can go about trying to silence that church (on TV that is). Why is this harrassment? Should all so-called churches be treated differently from other advertising agencies? These TV "churches" are mainly money-spinners, so why shouldn't they be investigated for possible fraud? What does that have to do with religion, except for the unsavoury habit these people have of preying on the praying? -- Martin Taylor {allegra,linus,ihnp4,floyd,ubc-vision}!utzoo!dciem!mmt {uw-beaver,qucis,watmath}!utcsri!dciem!mmt Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com