About a month ago, I wrote on “the Grassley Six,” who hold the interest of Senator Grassley’s investigation into several high profile televangelists’ finances and spending patterns with church members’ money.
The Senator ordered all televangelists to comply with the Dec 6th deadline, today, to produce all financial records, tax returns, receipts, accounting in writing about why and where they had stopovers, including explanations where applicable for cosmetic surgery, multi-million dollar airplanes, and gifts of Bentleys to other ministers.
Since Grassley’s investigation opened a few weeks ago, one of the female televangelists under scrutiny, televangelist Paula White, who is in the midst of a divorce from televangelist Randy White ….appeared on Larry King, it seemed, to answer the very pointed Grassley inquiries, but not to Grassley, rather to a star chamber composed of ‘television viewers…’
But the long antennae of the law continues to reach and search.
Of the six televangelists being investigated, only two complied with today’s deadline to submit the required documents:
–Senator Grassley’s office said it received a package of material Thursday from representatives of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, who head a ministry in Texas.
–-Joyce Meyer Ministries of Fenton, Mo., run by the speaker, audio tape maker, and author, provided documents earlier this week.
Two other ministers from the Georgia megachurch, pastors Creflo Dollar and Bishop Eddie Long, have issued statements balking at Senator Grassley’s ultimatum, raising questions about this being a violation of the constitutional protections given to churches… that this investigation is unwarranted.
Texas-based faith healer Benny Hinn asked for more time to respond, and Grassley’s office said a meeting with Hinn’s attorneys is set for Friday.
Grassley’s office said lawyers for preachers Paula and Randy White of Tampa made initial contact with the senator’s office Thursday and gave no indication of a further response.
Attorneys for some of the ministries have said that probing the groups’ inner workings amounts to ‘unconstitutional governmental meddling in religion.’
Grassley has emphasized that he is not investigating doctrine but making sure organizations enjoying the benefits of tax-exempt status are playing by the rules.
A spokesman for Long, of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Ga., said in a statement Thursday that the senator’s request “clearly disregards the privacy protections of the Church under law and appears to cross the line of Constitutional guarantees for churches.”
“The Church will fully comply with all laws applicable to churches but will insist upon the preservation of its Constitutional freedoms of religion and Equal Protection under law,” the statement said. Grassley’s office said it had not received a formal response or material from Long’s lawyers before the deadline.
The televangelist Benny Hinn has recently posted general financial statements for his work on his website, along with letters from auditors confirming his data.
But Hinn said his ministry does not make public “itemized annual financials” because “both corporate and ministry financial reports can be manipulated by unscrupulous people with unsavory agendas.”
read more at Why Black Women are Angry blog “TELEVANGELIST INVESTIGATION UPDATE: BENNY HINN BECOMES 2ND MINISTER TO GIVE SENATE ‘THE FINGER’ here
Christian Integrity blog has an interesting take on constitutionality and ‘reasons’ for Grassley’s review.
at Rant and Reason, there are some interesting comments from a former member of a religious cult, and also some links to books on what I’d call matters of faith and works, vs faith and exploitation.
h/t helaine