When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that local governments could use economic development as a cause for taking property, most Americans seemed to think that the case had little to do with a threat to their own property–or the property of their churches.
The power of eminent domain allows governments [or governmentally-approved agencies] to take private property for the cause of the common good. Generally, these purposes have been limited to causes like roads, utilities, and similar projects. Now, based on the Court’s decision in the case Kelo et. al. v. City of New London, governments may target private property for taking, claiming, for example, that the government needs additional tax revenue.
This news story explains why the threat may put churches at special risk. “Because all houses of worship are tax-exempt, they will continue to be attractive targets for seizure by revenue-hungry local governments,” said Jared Leland, media and legal counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. In any event, the decision also represents a significant expansion of government power.
An Eminent Threat to Churches?
June 27, 2005
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Words From the Fire: Hearing the Voice of God in the 10 Commandments
If God has spoken, then the highest human aspiration must be to hear what the Creator has said. God has indeed spoken, through the Ten Commandments, and Al Mohler explores this revelation of God and the implications for His people. The promise is to hear, to obey, and to live. These “Ten Words” tell us who God is and what His people should look like.
Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., serves as president of 
