Religion's Back Door Government
Dear editor:
The Founding Fathers of our country framed the Constitution very carefully, based upon their history of religious persecution in Europe, and included the need for separation of church and state. They thought they had closed that door for all time, but evidently they only closed the front door and left the back door open. Yes, they made sure that the government could not specify and promote a religion, but they never thought about a religion specifying and promoting a government. And that’s where we are today.
Look at some of today’s scary front page news stories in nationally recognized papers.
From the Washington Post: “In the small East Waynesville (NC) Baptist Church Pastor Chandler led an effort to kick out congregants who did not support President Bush. Nine members were voted out at a Monday church meeting in this mountain town about 120 miles west of Charlotte. Forty others in the 400-member congregation resigned in protest. During the presidential election last year, Chandler told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for the Democratic nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), should either leave the church or repent, former member Lorene Sutton said.”
From the New York Times: “In his home town of Pearland, Tex., Baptist minister Rick Scarborough was tireless in promoting his conservative Christian way of thinking. He recruited like-minded candidates to run for the local school board and city council. He crisscrossed the country to protest the ousting of Roy S. Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, for installing a Ten Commandments tablet at his courthouse. And Scarborough created a network of "Patriot Pastors" to lead evangelicals to the polls in 2004.”
As individuals these, and many other extreme Fundamentalist leaders, have a right to express their political opinions. What they are doing, though, is misusing their pulpits in the name of religion and trying to remake our government into their particular religious viewpoint no matter whose rights they step on. And they do so at our expense. Our expense? Yes! All of the religious organizations that these people head or control have tax free status and “donations” to them are tax deductible. In addition they pay no property tax, their travel is paid for out of church or related funds and the government has no way (or desire) to check into their politically motivated slush funds.
It’s time we closed that back door and did away with the tax free status of these demagogues who want to take over our government and change our rights. Or would that be un-Christian?
The Founding Fathers of our country framed the Constitution very carefully, based upon their history of religious persecution in Europe, and included the need for separation of church and state. They thought they had closed that door for all time, but evidently they only closed the front door and left the back door open. Yes, they made sure that the government could not specify and promote a religion, but they never thought about a religion specifying and promoting a government. And that’s where we are today.
Look at some of today’s scary front page news stories in nationally recognized papers.
From the Washington Post: “In the small East Waynesville (NC) Baptist Church Pastor Chandler led an effort to kick out congregants who did not support President Bush. Nine members were voted out at a Monday church meeting in this mountain town about 120 miles west of Charlotte. Forty others in the 400-member congregation resigned in protest. During the presidential election last year, Chandler told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for the Democratic nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), should either leave the church or repent, former member Lorene Sutton said.”
From the New York Times: “In his home town of Pearland, Tex., Baptist minister Rick Scarborough was tireless in promoting his conservative Christian way of thinking. He recruited like-minded candidates to run for the local school board and city council. He crisscrossed the country to protest the ousting of Roy S. Moore, former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, for installing a Ten Commandments tablet at his courthouse. And Scarborough created a network of "Patriot Pastors" to lead evangelicals to the polls in 2004.”
As individuals these, and many other extreme Fundamentalist leaders, have a right to express their political opinions. What they are doing, though, is misusing their pulpits in the name of religion and trying to remake our government into their particular religious viewpoint no matter whose rights they step on. And they do so at our expense. Our expense? Yes! All of the religious organizations that these people head or control have tax free status and “donations” to them are tax deductible. In addition they pay no property tax, their travel is paid for out of church or related funds and the government has no way (or desire) to check into their politically motivated slush funds.
It’s time we closed that back door and did away with the tax free status of these demagogues who want to take over our government and change our rights. Or would that be un-Christian?
posted by Sam Schoolsky | 8:13 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home