The Internal Revenue Service approved a tax-exempt church that recently called the term “God” sexist.
The First Church of Cannabis, a marijuana-themed religious organization that is not currently based anywhere because it doesn’t own a place, received 501(c)(3) status to operate as a tax-exempt church on May 26. The organization, run by a man named Bill Levin, shared the news on the group’s Facebook page.
“What a GLORIOUS DAY it is folks… Absolutely BEAUTIFUL…HAPPY TUESDAY! Our NOT FOR PROFIT 501 C3 status came in today… WE ARE 100 % a LEGAL CHURCH… All say HALLELUJAH and SMILE REAL BIG!… We are OFFICIAL! Come on feet we are doing a HAPPY DANCE…”
Shortly after announcing its “100 % a LEGAL CHURCH” status from the IRS, the self-proclaimed “Cannataerians” shared their official policy on God on May 31, saying that the term is sexist.
“We are a CHURCH based on LOVE… as soon as we say the word “GOD” which is LOVE… we have a sexist thing going.. shouldn’t it be Goddess some will say.. others have different versions of “GOD”… some say he in on a cross, others say “HE” is on a fiery chariot in the sky… to others it is George Burns.. so we will be celebrating “LOVE” … We will NOT define “GOD” as anything other than “LOVE”.”
“So LOVE is our Cornerstone… There for, LOVE is our GOD/GODDESS without sexism in the translation. Because GOD is EVERYONE and EVERYTHING… OMNIPOTENT … so is LOVE! Pure and simple.”
We are a CHURCH based on LOVE… as soon as we say the word "GOD" which is LOVE… we have a sexist thing going…..
Posted by The First Church of Cannabis on Sunday, May 31, 2015
The IRS-approved church has more than 34,000 Facebook likes and has raised more than $10,000 on GoFundMe but is still on the hunt for a building to actually hold services in, according to its Facebook page.
“We currently have 2 buildings we are looking at. One is a very Humble small church… Maybe seating 200+ the other is a building in need of a LOT of LOVE… Needs roof on part… we are waiting to see what our legal dept and the realtors come up with. $10,000 to start with when acquiring a building… is truly a small amount of money… we are doing our best to offer our congregation the best possible location. Hopefully we will have answers soon. Some of the players are on vacation so 1 person can hold up the whole thing as we are learning. I Love You all…. You are all AMAZING PEOPLE with TRUE LOVE in your HEARTS…”
Levin signed off on that Facebook message with a holy prayer: “One Toke, One Smile, One Love!”