This page is added so the reader can quickly go to this specific information regarding the 2 issues specifically addressed here – 501(c)(3) and incorporation of churches.

To download a document, right click the link, then left click “Download Linked File” or “Download Linked File As.”

Click here to go to Miscellaneous Articles by Jerald Finney, some of which are relevant to church corporate/501c3 status

The 501(c)(3) Song

God Betrayed: Separation of Church and State/The Biblical Principles and the American Application an encyclopedia of information on the issue of separation of church and state. Links to all the chapters of this book are in the “Books by Jerald Finney” page.

For one who has some concept of the biblical principles involved, the author was encouraged to write Separation of Church and State: God’s Churches: Spiritual or Legal Entities?, a book which gets to the church issues of incorporation, 501(c)(3), how a church may utilize property without becoming a legal entity, etc. much more succinctly.

The study which follows presents Section VI of God Betrayed and all of Separation of Church and State. See the “Books” page for complete coverage of God Betrayed and for additions to the information in God Betrayed.

1. Preface to “God Betrayed: Union of Church and State in America”
2. Introduction to Separation of Church and State: God’s Churches: Spiritual or Legal Entities? (Chapter 1 of Separation of Church and State: God’s Churches: Spiritual or Legal Entities. This introduction is more suitable for one who has not read God Betrayed.
3. Introduction to Chapter 1, Section VI of God Betrayed: Separation of Church and State/The Biblical Principles and the American Application. This introduction is for one who has read the first 5 sections of God Betrayed.
4. Spiritual versus legal entities (Chapter 2 of Separation of Church and State. This is a summary of important information for one who has not read God Betrayed.).
5. Incorporation of Churches (Section VI, Chapter 2 of God Betrayed; Chapter 3 of Separation of Church and State)
6. Incorporation of churches in the colonies and the new nation (Section VI, Chapter 3 of God Betrayed; Not included in Separation of Church and State)
7. Federal government control of churches through 501(c)(3) tax exemption (Section VI, Chapter 4 of God Betrayed; Chapter 4 of Separation of Church and State)
8. The church incorporation-501(c)(3) control scheme (Section VI, Chapter 5 of God Betrayed; Chapter 5 of Separation of Church and State)
9. Spurious rationale for church incorporation: limited liability/incorporation increases liability of church members (Section VI, Chapter 6 of God Betrayed; Chapter 6 of Separation of Church and State)
10. Spurious rationale for church incorporation: to hold property (Section VI, Chapter 7 of God Betrayed; Chapter 7 of Separation of Church and State)
11. Spurious rationale for church corporate-501(c)(3) status: tax exemption and tax deductions for contributions OR Tax reasons given for church corporate 501(c)(3) status: a biblical and legal analysis (Section VI, Chapter 8 of God Betrayed; Chapter 8 of Separation of Church and State)
12. Spurious rationale for church corporate-501(c)(3) status: one’s convictions (Not included in God Betrayed or Separation of Church and State)
13. Spurious rationale for church corporate-501(c)(3) status: winning souls is more important than loving God/The Most Important Thing: Loving God and/or Winning Souls (Not included in either God Betrayed or Separation of Church and State)
14. The results of ignoring the biblical principle of separation of church and state (Section VI, Chapter 9 of God Betrayed; Chapter 3 ofSeparation of Church and State; Not included in Separation of Church and State)
15. Conclusion to Separation of Church and State
16. Conclusion to Section VI, Chapter 10 of God Betrayed: Separation of Church and State/The Biblical Principles and the American Application

News Clip: 501(c)(3) Controls Your Church

IRS Publication 557: Tax Exempt Status for Your Organization

Blogtalk Radio Shows:
Top Reasons Given For Church Corporate 501c3 Status April 17, 2014
(Go to about the 50 minute mark for beginning of the discussion on this issue. This broadcast begins the study of the “limited liability” excuse.)

For Jerald Finney’s audio teachings on the above, click the link which follows:
God Betrayed: Union of Church and State in America

A biblical and historical Baptist principle is that God desires separation of church and state, not separation of God and church or separation of God and state. Study Jerald Finney’s writings and/or audio teachings to discover the truth about and how to apply the principle. Finney’s teachings prove that the revisionist view of Separation of Church and State accepted without examination by most American “Christians” is false and has done great damage to the cause of Christ and to America.

–