Kenneth Copeland, who lost his bid for immunity from possible prosecution when his favourite candidate Mike Huckabee lost the GOP nomination to John McCain, is now really pulling out all the stops to block the Senate Finace Committee's investigation of his and five other ministries. Copeland has now set up a website called -- get this -- Believers Stand United.
If anyone believes this is going to stop Chuck Grassley and Max Baucus from stopping their bi-partisan investigation of the ministries, they are mistaken. It's time to sub poena the false teachers before the Senate not for their teachings but for their financial misdeeds -- if they want to plead the Fifth that's fine; but that will only serve to add more suspicion upon them.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
6 comments:
Copeland has a right to stand up for what he believes. The IRS is the proper organization to conduct this type of investigation and decide if necessary. The implications for the future if the Senator is given this type of authority is what is scary. Here is a good read...even Grassley's own staffers are doubting...
http://www.grassleywatch.com/
When questioned by Pilate... Christ remained silent... even though speaking could have proved his innocence. Matt 27:12
The proper governing authority in the USA is the IRS, not Grassley.
Why would you automatically assume financial misdeeds? Nothing has been proven or even alleged at this point. As Harry Truman said when he spoke out against Senator McCarthy's witch hunts, "It is not the American way to slur the loyalty and besmirch the character of the innocent and the guilty alike."
The pattern set by the likes of Jim Bakker, Robert Tilton, V.W Grant and more recently Benny Hinn suggests something is fishy with Copeland. Consider he buys a corporate jet and vows on national television it will be only used for ministry purposes -- and FAA flight records since prove that has not been the case, with private vacations in Colorado and the South Pacific.
Like Tilton, Roberts and the late Rex Humbard, former Copeland insiders insist he almost never prays over anything sent in to him -- he uses the latest iteration of mail merge and has his employees pray for him. If he's represented he actually does pray over such letters in his mailings, that is mail and wire fraud which could surpass any IRS problems.
Copeland claims he wants to deal with the IRS and not Congress ... however that might backfire against him because the IRS is known for using secrecy as well as investigative tactics that violate due process but which the courts have upheld as legal.
The IRS won't look into ministries such as Copeland's because of PR concerns. Besides, they don't have the power to close loopholes, only Congress can which is why I think the Senate Finance Committee wants to take a look at the most obvious of the non-profits.
If preachers are abusing the rules or bending them to the max, imagine what 527c groups like MoveOn (on the left) and Club for Growth (on the right) are capable of. Actually, we've already seen what they can do.
Truman you bring up a good point. It's not right to assume there has been wrong doing because Copeland is standing up for what he believes is right. I just fear what could come if Grassley is given this power. Here is a good article I recently read...
www.americanchronicle.com/articles/60222
See http://www.kcm.org/news/index.php?p=news_article&cid=10&eid=23912855 for their letter trail, which includes the answers that were provided, disclosures. Decide for yourself. Thank you.
Post a Comment