501(c) That?

One of Wilson’s keys for the church to win is to get a republican in office. Sigh.

How is that postmill theology working out now?

We need the kind of theology that will enable organizations to continue to issue tax receipts after they are outlawed, and equip citizens to prepare their tax returns accordingly.

I won’t take a tax deduction unless it is allowed by the IRS

Is this article serious or tongue-in-cheek? Is he really advocating for civil disobedience over tax deductions? How is that possibly Biblical?

[GregH]

Is he really advocating for civil disobedience over tax deductions? How is that possibly Biblical?

It’s not and I am shocked he would suggest this!

Agreed. This was not one of Wilson’s better efforts. OTOH, his “A Sermon for Five” was outstanding.

Your level of shock depends upon your view of civil disobedience (or more!). Remember, a good bit of the Civil Rights movement was “illegal”. Martin Luther King Jr went to jail more than once… Also, I suppose your view of the American Revolution comes into play as well. I know from other articles that many here at SI think the Revolution was sinful. Well, that might be your view. If you think we, as members of a democracy and representative republic, have the right to petition government and resist them if they get it terribly wrong (since the power of our government comes from the consent of the governed), then it isn’t so shocking.

“Live Free or Die!”

That was the saying right?

“Live Free or Die!”

Is this a Christian forum or an american one?

I am both a Christian and an American.

If the IRS denied tax deductibility for your church donation, would you still claim it as a deduction on your federal taxes?

That is a good question Jim. Historically people took tax deductions (from when income tax was made around 1917 to 1955ish when 501c3 was created) for church donations before there was 501c3 status at all. Also, a church has an inherent tax deductibility for donations, as I understand it. So, in a sense, 501c3 for a CHURCH, and only a CHURCH, is redundant.

Now, what if the government specifically forbids tax donations for church giving? Well, no one can bring a lawsuit unless they have an interest by having the law hurt them. So, yes, I think in that case people should resist the tyranny of the government and follow through with a lawsuit. I think this is reasonable given our form of government, which is to be accountable to the people through COURTS as well as the legislative and executive branch.

Finally, I have never in my life beaten the standard deduction, so technically I have never taken a charitable deduction.

This is a great example of how people get America and Christianity a bit mixed up. Because for 100 years in the US, Christians have enjoyed tax deductions for charitable giving, it has somehow become a right. It will be seen as a form of persecution (Mark refers to it as tyranny) if it is taken away and a hill for Christians to die on.

The truth of course is that Christians do not have any right to tax free charitable giving either Biblically or as an American. Maybe Christians should appreciate that the government has given them that benefit for 100 years rather than deciding that the it is tyrannical for taking it away.

I will be sad if it is taken away because it has saved me a lot of money but it is not my right to have that benefit on any level.

at least by me. I NEVER said that the Bible gives me any right of a tax exemption. What I did say is AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN I have a right to petition my government to redress grievances. I also have the right of judicial review of legislation and policy. My argument is completely as a citizen of the US.

I will not surrender my rights given to me by God as a citizen of the United States of America. I say God gave me those rights because He lead the men to recognize those right in 1789, and He caused me to be born under them. So I will exercise them.

I will also preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is a separate matter.

Mark, why use the word tyranny then?

That is the government oppressing the people. Persecution (as you refer to it) is the government oppressing Christians for being Christian. I used tyranny to stay “secular” in my argument. The government oppressing churches and Christians by changing arbitrarily the tax law would be tyranny (and also persecution…). A proper response by American Christians to this tyranny would be as allowed by the Constitution. Make sense?

How is changing the tax law tyranny or persecution? If we moved to the flat tax or sales tax, would that be tyranny and persecution? After all, that would kill those deductions too.