The Business Of Jesus

The other day I had a very interesting discussion with an atheist who thought it was a bad idea to tax churches. His reasoning was that with taxation comes representation, and that once churches are taxed then they would demand to be represented in government.

Represented? How much more represented can they be? Every President  has had to drag his religion behind him like some public cross in order to get elected. We have never had a Jewish President, nor in spite of the silly claims by the knuckledragging baggers, a Muslim President (sorry folks, but he's a Christian), nor a Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan, nor any other group professing any kind of belief in something "out there" that wasn't Christian, and we've certainly never had an atheist President.

We do have churches who spend more money outside their congregations buying politicians, trying to keep gays from getting married, and trying to influence what goes on in our bedrooms, what we watch on TV and the movies, what we read in books and what we learn in school, than they do on their own members. If we're going to tax churches, let's start by taxing money that is not spent on church members. That leaves most of what they rake in using god as their cover story.

And speaking of money outside the churches, how about taxing the profits from the business end of the churches? No organization that hides behind tax-free status should be allowed to accumulate untold wealth in what are strictly business investments. If they sell something, whether it's books, bumper stickers, real estate, bonds, stocks, anything that gives them a return that is not put back into the membership, then that is income and should be taxed. Especially if it's blatant crap like  THIS.  Jesus would slap your greedy asses to hell if he existed.

Basically if a church is not devoted to helping the poor, the homeless, the sick, the orphaned, then they have strayed from the path that led to tax-exempt status. And if they're spending millions to interfere in the rights of other people, then every dime of that should be taxed. If they're spending millions to subvert the civil and equal rights of any minority, then not only should they be taxed but they should also be fined. And if in return churches demand a seat at the government table, then do it openly and honestly and become a political party and let the people vote on exactly how much representation churches get at that table.

But most of all, if churches are going to demand everyone follow their ideology and agenda, then they have to prove they have the numbers to lead the way, and right now the only thing standing in their way is religion, or rather...lots of religions. Before any one religion can rule, they have to take out their own competition and that means they have to make war on each other, kind of like Romney-Mormon and Santorum-Catholic are doing now. I cant' see Romney worshipping the Pope anymore than I can see Santorum wearing magic underwear. And I haven't even included the absolutely mind fuck crazy Baptists in there who believe both of them belong to cults.

But when the dust settles and if there is a winner instead of a whole bunch of beat up losers, then tax the crap out of them until they keep their religion inside their churches and homes and out of our governments, schools, libraries, universities, laboratories, and bodies.

I Lion Christians by godless_heathen
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