When it is as obvious as the officially allowed Three-Self Church in China, it is easy to see government’s hand on religion. Coming from a place of absolute repression, such a thing on first glance fools many who don’t know better. But when it comes from the other direction, will it fool as many as easily?
.. London (CNSNews.com) - Religious charities in Britain will from next year have to show that they provide a “public benefit” or risk losing their government recognition.
That’s the camel’s nose under the tent. That’s the frog in the pot. And that’s a good place for the Church to say “Thanks gov, but stuff it”!
..Under sweeping new laws passed by parliament in late 2006, charities that promote religion, along with those dealing with poverty or education, have lost their long-standing automatic right to tax privileges.
In the future, they will have to prove each year that their activities have a “public benefit.”
I appreciate that tax breaks for religious organizations have been a good thing, and I’m grateful to live in a country that still extends such benefits. But the church should NEVER allow itself to be placed in a position where it feels it must ok its good works with the State before bringing them before the Throne. Render unto Caesar, AND go make disciples. There is nothing about tax breaks in the Gospel. Should we obey men and not God? Are we to be men pleasers, or God pleasers?
..Although the government is still drawing up an exact definition of “public benefit,” a draft document released earlier this year broadly described it as an identifiable benefit to a section of the public, including low-income people.
The Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship (LCF), one of the groups worried about the new law, says it is unclear how the change may affect charities that focus on evangelism or promote traditional teaching on the family.
We have the same kind of encroachment in America, and it is a shame that so many churches focus on their tax status rather than their integrity to the Word. Would it be such a burden to lose that property tax break? Yeah, if that mega-million dollar property and building is your idea of “doing God’s work in the community”. And your tax exempt status? Heaven forbid we should lose that, so maybe pastor ought to tone it down a bit this Sunday when he talks about the culture. And I know there are some who might have trouble writing that tithe check, if they didn’t get to also write it on their 1040.
Then there’s the other end of camel slipping under the tent. Here is a quote from Barrack Obama, speaking from the pulpit of a New Orleans church last weekend
..The church is doing everything that it can. The church is trying to build that foundation on the rock, but they need a little helping hand from the state government and the city government and from the federal government.
If that doesn’t make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, you might want to see if you can find your Bible and take a little quiet time. And if you can’t find your Bible, at least Google up a copy of the Constitution. Then repeat after me “thanks gov, but stuff it!”
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