Bob Jones Univ. To Get Tax Exempt Status Back After 30 Years

[TCassidy]

A college has no constitutional right to tax exemption.

Correct. But Title 26 U.S. Code § 501a reads, in part,
"(a) Exemption from taxation
An organization described in subsection (c) . . . shall be exempt from taxation under this subtitle . . . .
(C)(3) Corporations, and any community chest, fund, or foundation, organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes . . . "

So, according to Title 26 USC the Bob Jones decision (461 U.S. 574) resulting in the revocation of BJU's tax exemption was illegal as it was not based on the applicable tax code, but was hidden behind "a compelling government public policy." In other words they did not break any laws but the court wanted to punish them anyway.

 

[Baptist Brother]

Exactly. A college has no constitutional right to tax exemption.

Your anti-religious freedom position is also an anti-constitution position. The First Amendment, with any sensible reading, prohibits the government from discriminating against organizations for their religious beliefs.

So, the only people who can agree with you are those on the Left. BJU has the same right to a tax exemption as any other college.

 

[Salty]

Your anti-religious freedom position is also an anti-constitution position. The First Amendment, with any sensible reading, prohibits the government from discriminating against organizations for their religious beliefs.

So, the only people who can agree with you are those on the Left. BJU has the same right to a tax exemption as any other college.

So you are saying that the govt has no right to stop a "religion" that practices:

a) killing animals for sacrifice or other religious rites
b) having "intimate" relations with a non-spouse of the opposite gender
c) endorses the use of slaves
d) Extreme physical punishment for being unorthodox in the church belief?
e) No reflective signals on the back of their horse and buggies
f) use of alcoholic - even by children for religious purposes
g)

 

[Baptist Brother]

So you are saying that the govt has no right to stop a "religion" that practices:

a) killing animals for sacrifice or other religious rites
b) having "intimate" relations with a non-spouse of the opposite gender
c) endorses the use of slaves
d) Extreme physical punishment for being unorthodox in the church belief?
e) No reflective signals on the back of their horse and buggies
f) use of alcoholic - even by children for religious purposes
g)

Generic answer: Yes, the government has no right to stop those things. The mentality of the Left is that freedom is only for people who do things you agree with, which isn't freedom at all. The Left is pro-slavery enforced by the extreme physical violence of the government.

a) Killing animal for sacrificed is legal. Orthodox Jews sacrifice chickens in America regularly, as is their right (even though this practice mocks the Bible).

b) In America, fornication is completely legal and backed by government force. In a free America, fornication wouldn't be supported or protected by the government, but it would still be legal.

c) The Left supports slavery, as long as it's slavery to the government under the way the Left thinks we should live. Slavery is non-consensual and therefor shouldn't be legal. It takes away the freedom of the next person.

d) If the punishment is consensual, it should be legal.

e) There's a vast difference between conduct on private property (BJU) vs. public property (the public streets). Also, the use of reflectors on buggies is a very minor intrusion with a great safety benefit to people who haven't consented to hit buggies at night.

f) Even during prohibition, the religious use of alcohol was legal, as it should have been.