WEST BEND, Wis. — Pastor Luke Emrich prepared his sermon last week knowing his remarks could invite an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. But that was the point, so Emrich forged ahead with his message: Thou shalt vote according to the Scriptures.
“I’m telling you straight up, I would choose life,” Emrich told about 100 worshipers Sunday at New Life Church, a nondenominational evangelical congregation about 40 miles from Milwaukee.
“I would cast a vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin,” he said. “But friends, it’s your choice to make; it’s not my choice. I won’t be in the voting booth with you.”
All told, 33 pastors in 22 states were to make pointed recommendations about political candidates Sunday, an effort orchestrated by the Arizona- based Alliance Defense Fund.
The conservative legal group plans to send copies of the pastors’ sermons to the IRS with the hope of starting a legal fight and abolishing restrictions on church involvement in politics.
Critics call it unnecessary, divisive and unlikely to succeed.
At the independent Fairview Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla., pastor Paul Blair said he told his congregation, “As a Christian and as an American citizen, I will be voting for John McCain.”
“It’s absolutely vital to proclaim the truth and not be afraid to proclaim the truth from our pulpits,” Blair said in an interview.
Because the pastors were speaking in their official capacity as clergy, their sermons were violations of IRS rules, said Robert Tuttle, a professor of law and religion at George Washington University. But even if the IRS rises to the bait, Tuttle said, there is “virtually no chance” courts will strike down the prohibition.
