Religious organizations need to play by the same rules as the rest of us
Who: Seattle Atheists
What: Fraud investigation into Family Stations Inc. for deception about May 21 rapture
Why: Religious organizations need to be held accountable for their actions.
Contact: http://www.seattleatheists.org/contact
SEATTLE, WA – As suicide hotlines are set up to pick up the pieces after Family Radio’s failed prediction of the Rapture, Seattle Atheists demands accountability. “We support free speech, but this is shouting ‘Rapture!’ in a crowded theater,” said John Keiser of Seattle Atheists.
This was no vague suggestion, and even now the Family Radio web site says “Judgment Day May 21, 2011: The Bible guarantees it!” Mainstream Christians laughed this off as nonsense, and yet this prediction has had consequences. Already we read anecdotal evidence of people spending their retirement savings to publicize this nonevent or giving away their goods to make themselves right with God.
Seattle Atheists calls for an investigation into Family Radio’s claim. Did they benefit? How much of their income has been due to this false Rapture campaign?
“There must be consequences,” said Bob Seidensticker of Seattle Atheists. “For this radio network to be financially healthy when they have caused many of their listeners to be destitute or distraught—that’s wrong. We want a way for those injured by this prediction to come forward so they can be compensated by Family Radio.”
Family Radio might argue that they have been as surprised as anyone by the failure of their prediction, but is this true? Neither Family Radio nor its president, Harold Camping, made any disclosure that they were giving away their assets. Someone who actually believed that they wouldn’t need their assets after the Rapture would have given them to those left behind—to people who could benefit. Did Family Radio convince many of its listeners that the date was a certainty but not believe themselves? Seattle Atheists urge an investigation into possible fraud.
Of course, discovering how much money Family Radio made from this campaign isn’t possible with current laws. In return for tax-exempt donations, the IRS demands that nonprofit organizations open their books to make public what they’re doing with this benefit—except religious organizations. That means $100 billion tax-free to US religious organizations annually with no accountability.
“Has this whole episode been a financial windfall for Family Radio?” Seidensticker said. “We can’t know. So that the public can understand this and thousands of other questionable religious organizations, we call on Congress to make the rules consistent for all nonprofits. If a ministry is comfortable with God knowing how it spends its money, surely it can’t have anything to hide from the public.”
While as a Bible-believing Christian (with degrees in both Philosophy and Religious Studies from secular universities) I normally wouldn’t agree with ANYTHING coming from what I call the radical arm of atheism, I agree with you 150% on the call to investigate Family Radio.
I don’t think that this is simply a case of someone ignoring the Biblical prohibitions against setting dates, and I suspect Family Radio is taking advantage of the exemption for recording money contributions as a means of defrauding people. What I would like to know is whether Family Radio voluntarily submits to the ECFA. I doubt it, but since putting up a ECFA logo on their website or even announcing their affiliation is not a requirement, one cannot be certain.
Again, while your organization and myself may be on opposite sides in a lot of the arguments in the atheism-theism debate, the questions you have raised here are excellent, and you should be applauded for raising them.
Yours truly,
Tom Bryant
Walhalla, South Carolina
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
The 1st amendment is near and dear to our hearts. In fact, protecting it is one of the most important parts of our mission. But the free exercise of religion does not allow people to break the law. You cannot murder or steal as part of a free exercise of religion. And you cannot commit fraud.
I’m not sure fraud is the right charge here. More like malicious falsehood.
The accusation of fraud entails that the executives and decision-makers at Family Radio were obtaining benefits in terms of cash and in-kind contributions by making claims they did not actually believe.
Did the executives at Family Radio contribibute money to a 401(K) or IRA retirement plan? Did they set aside money for a college education? Do they have emails or other communications suggesting that they will be participating in activities – conventions, vacations, reunions – that were due to take place after May 21st (or October 21st)?
If these people did not actually believe what they were saying, as demonstrated by their actions, then what we are talking about here is not the free exercise of religion. We are talking about fraud. The con man cannot protect himself from these charges merely by claiming that his religous practice is to lie to people in order to get them to give him money.
Tom Bryant…
so, do a lot of “Bible-believing Christian (with degrees in both Philosophy and Religious Studies from secular universities)” who don’t agree with anything coming from athiests read this blog regularly?
..why?
Why do you care if Camp is wrong in his predictions? Aren’t you atheists? Oh, I forgot….it’s about publicity!
Personally? I care because peoples’ lives were ruined, and other people died. It’s about justice.