Tithes Safe: The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals handed Crystal Evangelical Free Church a victory on 4/13/98, saying the federal bankruptcy trustee has no claim on tithe money given to the Minnesota church by a couple who later went bankrupt. This affirms the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and holds that a ’96 Supreme Court ruling striking down RFRA’s authority over state laws has no bearing when RFRA is applied to federal bankruptcy laws. Expect an appeal. Hundreds of churches are facing similar battles and one federal district court in Idaho has 90 such cases pending, mostly among Mormon churches. (Pastor’s Weekly Briefing 4/17/98)
