At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I feel moved to belabor something that should be blindingly obvious: In America, you cannot be an oppressed majority. When roughly 80% of Americans self-identify as “Christian,” one who claims to be a Christian can no more claim to be oppressed than I can claim to have the vocal range of Celine Dion. Oh…and by the way, having the freedom to speak freely from your pulpit is NOT ipso facto proof of a tyrannical government censoring you. In fact, I’d wager the government doesn’t much care what you have to say. About anything.
If you’re a church, and you want to maintain your tax exempt status, you CANNOT engage in politically partisan activity. Period. Despite this legal restriction- Section 501(c) of the federal tax code- there are those men of the cloth who feel they’re accountable to a “higher” law, and as such they should be allowed to do and/or say as they see fit. Being a Christian (or “an oppressed majority”) doesn’t put you able the laws that govern the actions of the rest of us mere mortals. The “no political activity” stricture isn’t censorship; you can’t expect the American taxpayer to subsidize your political activity if that’s what you choose to do.
The definition of censorship is not requiring you to refrain from partisan political activities if you want to continue to be subsidized by taxpayers. If you want to lead a politically active and involved church, then more power to you. Just keep in mind you’ve no right to demand that your church must continued to be propped up financially by the rest of us- some of whom aren’t Christian….
The latest example of the American Taliban’s desire to have their cake while simultaneously consuming mass quantities of it is the curiously named “Pulpit Freedom Sunday.” As you might expect, “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” has little to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s far less about Christianity and leading a Christ-like life than it is spreading hatred “justified” by a selective interpretation of Scripture.
It’s What Jesus Would Do.
(Read the full post at What Would Jack Do?)
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