Michael Bowman (Pictured) told a U.S. District Judge on Thursday that that he is not a tax protester and considers himself a true patriot

An Oregon man who cites his Christian faith as a legal defense against the government in a felony tax evasion case has won the first round in court.

Michael Bowman told U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman on Thursday that that he is not a tax protester and considers himself a true patriot, but refuses to give a dime of his money if its allocated to fund government subsidized abortions.

Mosman noted in his ruling that prosecutors failed to prove Bowman tried to conceal or mislead the government by keeping a low bank account balance so tax collectors couldn't garnish his account to pay taxes, according to The Oregonian.

'Not everything that makes collection efforts more difficult qualifies as evasion,'' the judge added Wednesday.

Bowman said that he has refused to pay federal income taxes since 1999, arguing that the government must make accommodations for his strongly held religious beliefs.

'I'm not a tax protester. I love my country. I have a duty to my country. I have a duty to my conscience,'' the 53-year-old contract engineer from Columbus City.

US federal prosecutors say that Bowman has failed to submit a timely or accurate tax return since 1997.

Bowman said he refuses to give a dime of his money to the government if its allocated to fund government subsidized abortions (Pictured: IRS Building in Washington DC)

In retaliation, the government began garnishing his wages from his bank account in January 2012 to make up for the unpaid dues.

That's when Bowman said he adjusted how he makes his financial transactions, cashing his checks and keeping a low bank statement from January 2010 to January 2014 in order to avoid the government withdrawing cash from his account.

'Defendant's altered bank behavior removed his income from the reach of taxing authorities and allowed him to avoid payment of assessed taxes,'' Assistant U.S Attorneys Donna Brecker Maddux and Rachel K. Sowray wrote in their original criminal complaint against Bowman.

The prosecutors argued that numerous notifications were sent to the Oregon native from 2002 to 2014, informing him that failure to pay his taxes would result in penalties and possible jail time.

The indictment said that Bowman owed $356,857 to the federal government after tallying penalties accumulated in 2000, 2001, 2008 and 2009, along with his failure to pay income tax to the IRS from 2012 to 2014.

Judge Mosman (Pictured) noted in his ruling that prosecutors failed to prove Bowman tried to conceal or mislead the government by keeping a low bank account balance

Bowman's defense lawer argued, however, that it was not a crime to deposit a check and then withdraw the cash from an account, particularly when the checks were all disclosed to the IRS.

'Like a player collapsing as they lose Twister, the government has reached too far forward and stretched way too far back,'' attorney Matthew Schindler wrote in a motion to dismiss the charge.

'Cashing a check at your own bank, made out to you, representing income contemporaneously disclosed by employers through 1099 and W-2 forms to the IRS is not 'handling one's affairs to avoid making records.'

Mosman ultimately agreed with the defense, writing in his decision that "Just cashing checks is not evasion.'

But the judge rules that the case would be dissmissed without prejudice, which means the government can reopen the case against Bowman if they so choose.

Maddux said that the government needs to deliberate on prosecuting the case again and will decide on how to move forward, the Oregonian reported.

Bowman still faces four counts of willful failure to file tax returns, a misdemeanor.