TaX tHe ChUrChEs!!!1!
“If a church isn’t open to shelter people experiencing homelessness during a blizzard then it isn’t a church, it’s a business.”
The above quote is from a self-described “Agnostic, but practicing Christian.” Her quote was shared by the political Facebook page called “Being Liberal.”
Any excuse to start the drumbeat of “Tax the Churches!” will do. The recent tragedy in Texas was just the latest. Many people on this discussion thread argued that any church that doesn’t open its doors to homeless people is not a church, but a business - and should be taxed. Many of the most self-righteous, bitter, and angry comments came from people blasting Joel Osteen for not opening the doors of his megachurch during the storms. The only problem is, he did. I’m no fan of Osteen, but I’m also no fan of people lying and then using their lie to beat up all Christians. Nope. Not a fan.
And of course, many commenters piled on about what a great idea taxing the churches is.
I remember many years ago the comedian George Carlin bellowing out “Tax the _______ s!” employing an idiom involving one’s female parent. Another progressive political comedian, Bill Maher, forcefully argues for taxing the churches - and does so with a bitterness that would make Gollum’s face light up. The hatred in his argument isn’t even couched. The folks at Bigthink.com say that taxing the churches could make the rest of us a cool $71 billion a year. And they are not only arguing for doing so based on the economic windfall, they also just so happen to believe that the world would be better without religion. I know that must sound like a shocking coincidence. Former progressive presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke argued for a policy of selectively only taxing churches whose doctrine does not permit same sex “marriage” - because the founders most certainly imagined the federal government pressuring members of churches into adopting doctrines that the politicians think are important. The comedian Frank Zappa was also a fan of taxing churches, along with making sure politicians have access to prostitutes. Don’t they get enough benefits? Republican politician Mike Huckabee suggested that churches give up their tax exemption so as to become openly political organizations and endorse candidates… you know, like him, I suppose. Maybe that’s what our Lord meant when He said, “My kingdom is of this world.” Wait, did I mess that quote up somehow? Maybe that’s from the NIV or something.
At any rate, the salivating enemies of the Church understand what Chief Justice John Marshall was getting at when he said, “The power to tax is the power to destroy.” And they make no bones about their dream to destroy the Christian Church.
Of course, our churches are 501c3 organizations - the exact same category as the Clinton Foundation. Our progressive friends never say: “TaX tHe ClInToN fOuNdAtIoN!!!1!” I don’t know whether or not the Clinton Foundation campus opens its doors to the homeless in periods of inclement weather, but I have my suspicions.
I took part in an interesting discussion about this topic. The hatred for Christians was not even hidden a little bit. One person said that if churches keep any money at all - including for salaries, they are a business and should be taxed. I pointed out that the CEO of the 501c3 Clinton Foundation, Kevin Thurm, makes $394,089 per year - not counting bennies. I asked if the Clinton Foundation should be taxed as well. So far, I have heard only crickets.
As tax exempt organizations go, the Clinton Foundation is actually small potatoes. Its annual revenue is about $20 million, and its endowment is about $300 million. It has 2,000 employees. The world’s largest tax exempt charity is the Novo Nordisk Foundation in Denmark with an endowment of $49 billion, followed by the Gates Foundation from the USA, which has an endowment of $46.8 billion - which has a massive corporate headquarters in Seattle and nearly 1,500 employees. Again, I don’t know if the Gates Foundation headquarters is open for the myriad homeless of Seattle or not. I have never seen any media reports that this is the case.
Moreover, there are many non-profit clubs that are 501c3 organizations. I have never heard a progressive argue that a a group of guys in a model airplane group should have to pay taxes unless they were housing the homeless during inclement weather.
Many people have the impression that the church exists for the sake of doing charitable acts. And if you don’t open your building to the poor and homeless - especially after a tragedy of some sort, you are not doing what churches “are supposed to be doing.”
I replied in one place: “The Church is not a homeless shelter or a hospital. We preach the Word of God and administer Sacraments - for the forgiveness of sins and for the resurrection of the dead. That’s not a business. What we offer is free. You can’t buy eternal life, but you can receive it by grace.”
In response to the fact that the Clinton foundation is also a 501c3, one lady replied: “Clinton doesn’t have a church that goes around saying help the poor and feed the hungry, but churches do. Guess they say that without meaning it.” The Clinton Foundation’s “about” tab is pretty vague on what they actually do. It is as evasive as President Clinton answering questions under oath.
I replied:
I don’t have the Clinton Foundation’s gazillions of dollars, but my little congregation supports our local food bank by buying extra food and bringing it to church. Every week, I drive it to the food bank in my city. I think we’ve been doing this since 2007. Time flies. Not sexy work like the Clintons, but we do what we can with what we’ve got.
I don’t think our little food bank gets a dime from the Clinton Foundation.
So we don’t ‘go around saying’ we do this or that. We just do what we do out of love for our neighbor.
That said, the church is not primarily about such things. We do them out of love. But the purpose of the church is to proclaim the Word of God and to administer sacraments. We charge for nothing. Everything we do is free. I baptize, absolve, give communion, preach, and teach. I am with my parishioners on their deathbeds. I am with them in the hospital. I am with them in good times and in tragedies.
Christians believe that in spite of our sinfulness and unworthiness, that Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead.
By His grace and mercy, through the proclamation of this Good News, and in receiving Him in His gifts, we have eternal life - and that our bodies will literally be raised from the dead.
We believe this message of hope is for all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, or socioeconomic status. All are welcome.
Again, nothing is bought or sold. There is no profit. I am able to serve my congregation based on their offerings in the plate - from their incomes that have already been taxed.
Our Lord told us that we would be hated, and so we are. And I have no doubt that your wish will come true, that we will be taxed, and those of us on the margins will lose our meager buildings. But if and when that happens, my work will continue in private homes: preaching, teaching, baptizing, absolving, communing.
We will continue to proclaim the good news and do what we can to love and serve our neighbor even after George Carlin’s advice to “tax the you-know-whats” comes true and your dream is realized.
We won’t go away. We may even win you, your children and grandchildren to Christ and give them the gift of eternal life.
And we still won’t charge them.