While enjoying my morning coffee this morning, I couldn't help but notice what seems to be an endless amount of legitimate criticism and Twitter bashing Mega Preacher Joel Osteen is receiving right now for giving the cold shoulder to Hurricane Harvey victims. Adding fuel to the debate of exempting Churches from paying taxes. With Lakewood's outreach nonexistant at this stage, should governments bypass tax revenue to benefit organizations that don't serve the community at large in emergency situations? Does Houston have a right to expect a public response from an organization that does not contribute to the public purse?
All I know is this. Religion misapplied kills spirituality. Most Christian churches are, by design, sponges on the community it claims to serve. And governments give favour to these organizations in order to help them keep the status quo. Centralized power for the benefit of the elite. As they weaken the masses to the point they are as harmless as sheep.
In this new age we find ourselves in, what is becoming more apparent is blind belief, in and of itself, simply doesn't cut it anymore. No matter where you are on this planet.
Matthew 23: 1 - 12 NIV
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Mosesʼ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other peopleʼs shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
You're wrong on multiple fronts. Christian churches do a lot of good in the community. They have 10 step programs. They help unwed mothers and refugees. They have counseling for people recovering from grief or sexual abuse. They provide money to the poor within the church. They collect money and food for the poor within the community. Some churches run food banks. Most support foreign missionaries.
And even if they contribute nothing to the public good they have a constitutional right to exist. They don't have to convince anyone of their right to exist and manage their own resources without being robbed by the government.
It's really unfair to single out churches as nonprofits who don't serve the community. Environmentalist organizations are notorious for doing nothing but filing lawsuits and hosting expensive parties for themselves and their wealthy donors.
A Supreme Court ruling early in America's history ruled that "the power to tax is the power to destroy" which is just one reason churches aren't taxed.
Equating every church as being like the one run by Joel Osteen is unfair too. I've never attended a church where the pastor and/or his wife had their own private jet. The average church in America has 100 members. Most pastors aren't well paid. Very few have adequate retirement savings for their pastors.
Governments at all levels waste incredible amounts of money. I see no reason whatsoever for them to get any more money than they already do.
I agree most churches don't remotely function like a mega church. As a result, some actually serve their communites well. In America, all places of worship have the right to exist as far as I understand. I agree the less money in government hands, the better. By how social media was used in this instance, it served as an effective counter balance to shame Osteen into assisting the very community he was willing to accept tithes and offerings from.