Representation without Taxation? July 1, 2010

Last night, I sat down briefly after dinner to watch a favorite cooking show of mine, and, while waiting for it to air, ran across TBN (whatever its goals were at its inception and whatever good it may have ever accomplished notwithstanding, in our house it’s known as The Blasphemy Network). The show of a certain religious television personality who trades heavily in end-times fearmongering and is known to be deeply involved in American politics was on, and the gigantic display of the U.S. and Israeli flags behind his pulpit caught my eye.

Curious, I watched as he began a talk on economic policy, the value of the U.S. dollar, and the ways our present government (and those of European nations) have colluded to destroy the world’s economy. This informational (and politically charged) lecture might easily have been held in a classroom or election rally and seemed more prescient. Whatever one’s personal feelings on the subject matter, I couldn’t help but wonder what place such discourse has as (presumably) the main sermon at a church service. I watched for ten minutes before any reference to Scripture or anything of a spiritual nature entered the lesson, and when it did, it was a passing remark about 2 Thessalonians 3:10 (”If anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either“).

This spectacle got me thinking again about an idea I’ve kicked around before–should churches be tax-exempt, especially when they engage in rhetoric and activities so focused on directing public policy? The TBN program is just one (extreme) example of this abuse of tax-free status. Many mainline U.S. denominations actively promote liberal causes and candidates from the pulpit; many otherwise theologically sound evangelical churches do much the same from the conservative side of the spectrum, though they tend to be more careful not to mention specific parties or candidates because of greater media scrutiny. It seems to me that any organization (with or without a spiritual/religious) pretext that seeks actively to influence elections, laws, and policy should be willing to pay their fair share for a “seat at the table” just like the rest of the individuals and businesses in the country.

Tax-exempt status is, and has historically been, a great blessing to Christians. It enables them to afford the costs of ministry; it provides further  incentive for faithful giving (through income tax deductions); it has helped boost the expansion of the Gospel message around the world by funnelling resources to tax-exempt missions agencies and parachurch ministries. As such, it should not be tossed aside lightly, but at the very least, there should probably be more severe penalties for those that violate the intent of tax-exemption by openly advocating (or denouncing) political positions and candidates. Churches should treat this status as the privilege that it is, and use its benefits to dedicate themselves wholly to the work of the Gospel, not to push the envelope of political involvement.

Biblically, you could make a decent case against any special treatment for Christianity from government. Jesus in Matthew 17:24-27, instructs Peter to pay the temple tax (and miraculously provides the means to do so), specifically seeking to avoid unecessary prejudice against His message by bucking a disliked law. In Matthew 22:15-22, Jesus thwarts the machinations of the Pharisees by  distinguishing between spiritual realities (the work of God in his people, who bear His likeness) and political/financial realities (the Roman tax, paid with money which bore Caesar’s likeness). We are told in Scripture to submit to government (Rom. 13, 1 Pet. 2), to pray for those in authority (Rom 13, 1 Tim 2), and to live within the law (1 Pet. 2), but never to desire power, to publically promote the government, or seek to overthrow it (I’ve witten more extensively about this subject here and here). This doesn’t mean that we should not oppose injustice and evil (whether or not it is sanctioned by government), that we should be uncritical of social and cultural trends that lead people away from the Lord, or that Christians who are so gifted should not live out their faith in public service. It does mean that the gathered Body of Christ should focus its attention on the Lord and His work and trust His hand in the movement of governments.

What do you think? Should the Church be tax-exempt? Why or why not? Would you trade the right to tax-exemption in order to speak openly about politics from the pulpit?

Posted by Justin Lonas

Of Politics and Faith May 3, 2010

As is often the case in times of economic stress, political life in America becomes much more vocal and more polar than usual. In such a climate, political viewpoints can make odd bedfellows. That certainly seems to be the case with last week’s news that Fox News Channel commentator Glenn Beck would be delivering the commencement address at Liberty University.

Beck is, by all counts, a devout Mormon who finds his conservative politics embedded in his religion’s teachings. Liberty University, of course, is the living legacy of Jerry Falwell, whose name is nearly synonymous with Christian involvement in conservative politics. While at a policy level, Mr. Beck and the leadership of Liberty share much in common, their underlying faiths are anything but similar.

Under ordinary circumstances, it would be unthinkable to have a vocal member of a non-Christian religion (though most Mormons I’ve met would disagree with that characterization, we know theirs to be a false gospel) to speak, with official blessing, to the students of a distinctively Christian university. Somehow, however, these believers came to the conclusion that the times dictate political association to be of equal or greater importance than orthodox faith.

It seems as though Liberty continues to struggle much in the same way most American Christians do with politics.

At the risk of oversimplification, we tend to take one of two approaches in this arena, both of which are damaging to the Gospel. 1) We cherish our religious freedom and we believe that it is the government’s job to enforce morality in the culture, or 2) We cherish the work of Christ and we believe it is the government’s job to do justice and love mercy.

When we succumb to the first approach, we show a watching world that Christianity is not as important in society as general conservatism and that we don’t trust God to redeem men from the inside out as He has always done—as Jared Wilson put it, the message of the Gospel is not “behave”. When we fall to the second, we show the world that Christianity is less about personal sacrifice and more about making sure someone else takes up their cross and gives involuntarily to the poor and needy through taxes. We show that we don’t trust God to move His Church to live out His kingdom. In either case, we show a willingness to compromise certain key teachings of Christ in order to advance a temporal agenda.

Both approaches belie a fundamental distrust of God’s view of things—if there is one theme that Jesus hit over and over again during His ministry, it was that His kingdom was not of this world. He had eternity in view in everything He did, and Christian involvement in politics is, at a grand level, idolatry of the present and visible over the permanent and invisible.

The reason why both camps struggle so much in modern America, I think, is because the Bible is eerily silent on democracy. Jesus said, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Luke 20:25). Paul said, “Be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God…Render to all what is due them…” (Rom. 13:1; 7), and “I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

Scripture’s stance on government assumes absolute despotism as the norm and that citizenry has but two choices—obedience and disobedience. The concept of representative government of, by, and for the people (cherished though it may be by most Americans) is not given a category in Scripture. We struggle, in short, because we are torn between the submission and prayer commanded of us and the very tangible ability to change things through political action.

This doesn’t answer the intractable problems we face, but it is something I have to keep in mind daily to keep me focused on the true reality of Christ and my true calling as a believer. Politics has never changed a person’s heart or brought eternal salvation to anyone.

Posted by Justin Lonas

Lest We Forget… February 11, 2010

These days it is fashionable to be pessimistic about Western culture in general and the United States of America in particular. Conservatives blame liberals for the palpable decline in our culture’s moral climate; liberals blame conservatives for the greed of corporations and the economic collapse; Christians cast plenty of blame all around for the destruction of life through abortion, the glorification of sin in wider society, and the lack of reverence for things of God. The arguments from all sides have one thing in common–the assumptions that one or more entities are willfully leading society away from its ideal and that the right leadership would shift the balance the other way.

Every side of the so-called “culture wars” misses three vital points that every Christian should strive to remember:

1) Earthly “leadership” does not have the mythic powers of social movement that we ascribe to it.
Remember what happened when the Children of Israel gave up on following the Lord and demanded a king to lead them (just like every other nation had). Samuel, whom the Lord had appointed to judge His people, was discouraged and brought his concerns to God. The Lord answered, saying, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day–in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods–so they are doing to you also” (1 Sam. 8:7-8).

The Lord then directed Samuel to give the people a king, and to warn them of the price of their request. Samuel goes on to list the astonishing toll the king would exact on the people, taking their sons for the military, taking their labor, taking a portion of all their wealth through taxes to enrich himself, and culminating in the taking of their joy: “Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day” (1 Sam. 8:20). God effectively told Israel that if they made this bed, they would have to lay in it, and yet they ignored Samuel’s counsel, forging ahead to get their king. While many of the kings followed the Lord (and the Lord blessed the land when the king led the nation in God’s path), they ultimately succumbed to the people’s tendency to stray from God, eventually leading the nation headlong into idolatry and immorality. The downward spiral ended with God’s judgment in the form of the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions that moved the whole people into captivity.

The message is that people change leaders more than leaders change people. Cultural momentum is seldom shaped by a single individual or group and almost never shifted by one. Cultural change is truly a grassroots effort, with individuals and families shaping others–godly leadership at a national level is a valuable thing, but that alone cannot turn a nation to the Lord.

2) The key problems that plague society cannot be corrected this side of glory.
“Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil will you eat of it all the days of your life, both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:17b-19). This portion of the curse concerns the futility in which we live during our time on earth–things fall apart, and it takes immense effort just to maintain the status quo. The material world trends away from usefulness and people trend away from obedience (i.e. usefulness to God). It is because of this that “the whole creation groans” (Rom. 8:22) for redemption. The “sweat of our faces” cannot produce a just, peaceful, and healthy world; the final vision of God’s creation must wait for His return.

Does this mean that we should do nothing? By all means no! The natural and moral evil that the Fall brought into the world constantly create havoc and destroy lives. Christ spent a great deal of His earthly ministry healing the visible scars of the Fall, showing glimpses of what His ultimate redemption would bring. He also charged us with spreading that light and reminding a weary world that this is not how it is supposed to be (in Matthew 25:34-40 and elsewhere). We should be tireless in our efforts to spread the good news of Christ and the holistic redemption that He brings, but we should not rely on governments and organizations to do these things on a macro scale.

3) We are the problem.
G.K. Chesterton famously responded to a Times of London request for essays on the subject of “What is wrong with the world?” with a short letter:

“Dear Sirs,
I am.
Sincerely Yours,
G.K. Chesterton.”

A fundamental truth underlays the humor of this–that the fallen nature of the human heart is the biggest reason that cultures cannot be moved to righteousness by political action. Scripture is nearly as replete with references to the depravity of man as to the holiness of God. “For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground, for man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:6-7). “There is none righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10, quoting from Psalm 14). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

This ties back into the first two points in that human nature dictates a slide away from God’s way that even the best of leaders are unable to reverse entirely. It serves as a poignant reminder that social change doesn’t work its way into the hearts of men, but that God working in the hearts of men often produces social change. When we are tempted to write off the Western world (which has been used mightily of the Lord to proclaim His glory to the nations over the centuries) as a failed experiment, we should ask ourselves if this impulse reflects trust (or lack thereof) in human leadership or in the power and plan of Almighty God. The answer to the sin of pessimism (of which I am chronically guilty) is the same today as it has been for all eternity: “…to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

Translation: Do what you know is God’s will; strive after viewing and treating others as God does; patiently trust in Him to sort out the things that are too big to comprehend.

Posted by Justin Lonas