When, after years of separation, Joseph of the Old Testament was reunited with his brothers who sold him into slavery, they feared he would seek revenge, even though he had flourished in Egypt. He allayed their fears saying, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
If churches lose tax-exempt status because of non-compliance with government edicts mandating they perform same-sex marriages, then whatever the government’s intentions, the end result will be good for the church. Or, better than good.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness”
- Isaiah 5:20
“Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no
God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!”
-Psalm 14:1
Wonder how the black churches are going to like marrying homosexuals.
Pray America is waking
I have never understood the reasoning behind churches being “tax-exempt”. That sounds very akin to applying for and receiving permission from the government to be a church. Does this mean, If I want to start a branch of some existing denomination I have to ask permission from the government?
The other side of that argument, what is a higher and best use of a piece of property, a tax exempt church or a home or business that the government can collect property and other taxes from?
....The federal government is unlikely to undertake a frontal assault on Roman Catholics, but it could move aggressively against one of the smaller, less financially endowed, Protestant denominations. Or, it may act against a very large, independent congregation.....
Or some of the Orthodox jurisdictions, especially the smaller and less financially endowed ones!
All the more reason to get a genuinely conservative president elected. There will most likely be two or three vacancies on the Supreme Court during the next term. We can’t have any more people like Roberts on the court.
I agree with the author. The churches are better off without tax exempt status. Charitable deductions are about to go away anyway; caesar can’t stand anyone but himself reaping the largesse.
Under the First Amendment to the Constitution, Congress cannot make any law “respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech.” The phrase “unless the religious organization wants to be tax-exempt” does not appear in the First Amendment, yet arguably, the Code does each of these things which the Constitution outlaws.