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In 1984, Greg Dixon, pastor of Indianapolis Baptist Temple, ordained all of the church's employees as ministers and stopped withholding income and Social Security taxes. The IRS has slowly been building to a crescendo. On Thursday, a federal judge issued the latest volley, ordering the congregation to move out of its church building and parsonage, which would then be handed over to the IRS in payment for nearly $6 million in unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest. "It's certainly the first time anything of this magnitude has occurred, where you're dealing with millions of dollars and a basic conflict over whether churches should be required to pay these kinds of taxes," Joseph Conn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State tells the Associated Press. (And that's the full quote. Usually you'd expect an Americans United quote to be something like "It's certainly the first time anything of this magnitude has occurred, and by the way, Pat Robertson is evil." But not this time. Maybe it's because the AP talked to Conn instead of AU head Barry Lynn. Anyway, back to the story … ) Dixon is predictably standing firm. "I'm not going to pastor in a church that is controlled by the government," he tells The Indianapolis Star. "I see this as a battle the Lord has given us. If we can win it, in the long run we will help all churches." We'll see what happens November 14. The U.S. Marshals Service is now authorized to use "force as necessary" to enter the church anytime after noon on that date. ( The court order is available in Adobe Acrobat format at the court's Web site.)

The weekly magazine's coverage doesn't add much to what Christianity Today readers will already know: Weigh Down founder Gwen Shamblin doesn't believe in the Trinity. World's coverage is largely limited by Shamblin's refusal to talk to the magazine (she has talked to Christianity Today, Baptist Press, and other media outlets). The story does note that Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, College Park Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, and other churches have dropped their Weigh Down dieting programs over Shamblin's theological teachings. Meanwhile, Shamblin has posted a 7,160-word article on her site expounding on her earlier statements denying Trinitarian theology. In a kind of Q&A format, she responds to "Is Jesus God?" with "The answer: I believe that Jesus and God are two separate beings." To "Do you believe that Jesus is equal in power and glory?" she responds, "The answer: No." She also has interesting words for her critics: "This article is very pointed and strong—but my accusers have forced my hand. I do not visit the web-sites of other ministries and then make national negative statements about them; I expect the same courtesy." (She doesn't visit this site? Dang.) She also tries to assure her readers that she's not a cult leader: "I would never be able to get any of my readers to ever drink poison (nor would I try!) because they would not find scriptures to back that suggestion up." No poison? Well, it's good to know that her dieting advice hasn't slipped as well.

Two explosions went off in the middle of a Korean church service near the Tajik capital of Dushanbe. At least 60 were injured, and at least 7 have been confirmed dead. As many as 400 were attending the service. The Russian news agency ITAR-Tass is reporting that explosive devices, as powerful as eight pounds of dynamite, were placed in the last row of the prayer hall.

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October (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44