Christ Church (Moscow, Idaho)

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Christ Church is a Reformed and evangelical church in Moscow, Idaho pastored by Douglas Wilson, and a member of the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches. The congregation is known for a conservative religious ideology and a number of institutional projects, including a publishing operation (Canon Press), a magazine (Credenda/Agenda), a three-year ministerial training program (Greyfriars Hall), a private accredited college (New Saint Andrews), and a campus ministry (Collegiate Reformed Fellowship). Sabbath House, a ministry to former refugees and torture survivors, is currently being developed.

1 Beliefs
2 Criticism
- 2.1 Racism and slavery
- 2.2 Taxes and zoning
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Beliefs

Christ Church is a traditional Calvinist church, holding to conservative Reformed theology. It is known for its promotion of Christian education and biblical courtship, and for its opposition to liberalism and feminism as being contrary to the Christian faith. Christ Church also holds to biblical inerrancy and adheres to the Westminster Standards, the Three Forms of Unity, and the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. It is a charter member of the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches.

[edit] Criticism

[edit] Racism and slavery

Christ Church has drawn criticism locally and nationally, being described as "Taliban on the Palouse" by journalist Mark Potok, who accused the church of promoting racism, the neo-Confederate movement, and an idiosyncratic view of history, particularly the Confederacy and slavery in the southern United States.^[1]

Christ Church explicitly condemns racism.^[2]

[edit] Taxes and zoning

Tax evasion is one charge leveled against Christ Church and its satellite enterprises. The tax-exempt status of Anselm House, the site of the Church’s headquarters, and of New Saint Andrews was the subject of multiple court rulings in 2004. In late 2005, the Idaho Attorney General declined to file criminal charges against Wilson and another representative of Christ Church, Eric Burnett, regarding allegations that both men committed perjury in November of 2002 while giving testimony at a Board of Tax Appeals hearing. Christ Church has been cleared of all tax evasion charges and has rejected "any refusal to pay taxes based upon legal or historical quibblings."^[2]

The church and its affiliates have also been involved in many intensely contested zoning and land-use disputes, brought upon the church by various community members.

However, Christ Church claims that it has been persecuted and treated unfairly by many of its critics and by the local governments. It has accused local opponents of having a bias against the church and its affiliated ministries and seeking to close them down because they disagree with the message taught by the church.