To summarize its doctrine:

the ICC believes that McKean is the only true prophet of Jesus Christ,

that only ICC members will go to heaven, and that all non-members, including

Mother Teresa, the Pope, Billy Graham, and the rest of us, are going straight

to hell.

In the ICC, money flows upward,

to Kip McKean and the rest of the hierarchy at the apex, not to the people

at the bottom. The people at the bottom become "worker bees,"

who hustle money and new recruits as soon as they are converted.

I saw this up close and personal

during the time I spent rescuing a close relative of mine from the ICC.

Students were forced to tithe from their meager incomes and received nothing

in return. Older members of the ICC had to tithe all year and then were

required to cough up another 10 percent of their overall year's donation

amount in April of every year a kind of double whammy at tax time.

The ICC can be likened to a

giant Ponzi plan a pyramid scheme that continually needs a new layer of

fresh recruits that feed money to the layer above, which in turn feeds

money to the layer above, ad infinitum and ad nauseum.

In contrast, in a legitimate

faith-based organization, the money and assistance flow from the top down

to the bottom to the needy. Many if not all of the service providers are

volunteers. They are prompted to serve God by serving those in need. It

is these organizations we want to encourage with unrestricted, unqualified

Federal dollars.

So how will the Bush Administration

provide safeguards that insure that federal tax dollars don't flow to

these cults? Here are some guidelines that come to mind:

Establish an "approved

list" of organizations that have a proven record of success, and

avoid organizations that are thrown together simply to take advantage

of this program. Accept only those newly-formed organizations that have

broad, deep support in their communities. Choose organizations that already

have an infrastructure in place to dispense services.

President Bush's faith-based

initiative can have a dramatic impact on this country, by providing an

alternative source of funding for countless successful programs that are

always hard pressed to raise money. However, not one dollar of Federal

tax money can be allowed to fall into the hands of cults, who will use

it as a windfall for their treasury or even worse, to hustle young, impressionable

teenagers.

Lawrence A. De Marino

Peachtree City