So, the Roman Catholic Chuch in the United States wants a special exemption in regulations governing health insurance, so that they don't have to "pay for" contraception. Of course, as I pointed out in my previous post, it's not their insurance, it's their employees', and they aren't paying for it. It's part of their compensation package.
I'm getting tired of phony religious nuts constantly trying to push their way into the political arena and make us accept their absurd superstitions. I'm not talking about truly religious individuals; those who truly believe what they claim tend to act in a way that makes you want to be like them. I'm talking about the fakes; the people who lack humility, and usually push political positions that actually go against their stated belief systems.
It's funny that the Catholic Church is suddenly finding fault in our health insurance system. Where were they before. In what New Testament does Jesus Christ favor support for a system whereby health insurance companies make obscene profits for NOT providing health care to the sick and injured? I've been combing the New Testament, and I simply cannot find the part where Jesus forbids a public health insurance option to make sure everyone gets health care. Yet, the Catholic Church only NOW has a problem with the health insurance system.
Where was the Catholic Church while Republicans were pushing spending cuts directed at those who can least afford them? Do they really think Jesus would approve of handing over the money of hard working people to oil companies who don't need it? Would Jesus really think it was a good idea to tax the average family so heavily, while giving GE a few billion of their hard-earned money?
Guess what, folks; Jesus never mentioned birth control. The only time God mentioned it, he told Adam and Eve to "be fruitful and multiply." I think we've succeeded in that; it's time to put on the brakes, don't you think?
This isn't just about Catholics, to be honest; it's about a large number of religious groups and individuals. Look at all the false witness that's being borne by so many self-dofescribed religious people. Most of the people who've compared Obama to Hitler, and those propagating all of those lies about what's in the health reform bills profess "family values" and claim kinship with Jesus? There is a strong likelihood that the teabaggers who appeared in public with a huge picture of President Obama with a bone in his nose went to a church that week and professed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God apparently deserves a lot of blame here, too. After all, according to many of these so-called "Christians," it was God Himself who supposedly told George Bush to invade Iraq and kill tens of thousands of Iraqis. When he invaded Afghanistan, he called it a "crusade," until someone with a brain told him that wasn't a good idea. Presumably, the Lord also told him to hand out hundreds of billions of dollars in contract to his biggest supporters and call them "faith-based." Apparently, based on what these people tell us, God sees fit to make sure his followers have plenty of money and resources, by taking it out of the mouths of the poor. How else can you explain all these supposedly "God fearing" people who keep taking funds away from the poor and handing it to those with plenty?
Perhaps it's because the rich don't have much to look forward to. After all, according to Jesus, it's easier for a camel to walk through the eye of a needle than for them to get to heaven. Yeah, that has to be it, huh? The rich are screwed in the afterlife, so they should be coddled now, right? Doesn't that make sense?
Look; based on the First Amendment, everyone has the right to believe in any religious crap they wish to believe, and the government can do nothing about it, as long as it doesn't affect public safety and security (virgin sacrifices are out, for example). But that's only part of the deal. While many religious folks refuse to acknowledge it, religious groups also promise to keep your personal religion out of the public debate. In return for keeping church and state separate, churches get to enjoy tax-free status for all religious activities.
Yes, the separation of church and state is a two-way street. If religion wants the government to stay out of its affairs (e.g. taxation), it absolutely must agree to stay out of the government's affairs. Get it? If individuals who happen to be religious choose to become involved in politics, fine. But the wall of separation between church and state must stay in place, or it will endanger both.
Tax-free status for churches is not a right; it's a privilege. If it was a right, then everyone who becomes a reverend over the Internet could call his home a church and avoid taxes, and we all know that only large corporations can be allowed to avoid taxes. Instead, there are several specific criteria that must be met in order to enjoy tax-exempt status based on religion. One of those requirements is that they stay out of politics.
I think we all know what happened to the separation of church and state during the neocon era. Religions have more influence than ever in the political arena. Not only that, but Christian religions have more influence than all other religions, which is a direct violation of the Constitution that ALL politicians swore an oath to uphold before taking office. Ironically, most of them swore that oath on the Bibe, which means they swore an oath to God that they would keep church and state separate.
Could someone at the churches that support laws that take civil rights away from gay people, as the LDS and Catholic Churches, and James Dobson's sham church have done repeatedly, please explain how providing tens of millions of dollars in donations from church members to such campaigns has anything at all to do with religious practice? Even if you believe homosexuality is a sin, Jesus Christ Himself -- perhaps you've heard of Him? -- instructed followers to separate the sin from the sinner. Therefore, not only is no religious purpose being served, but you're actually acting against your own stated religious beliefs.
You see folks, laws like Proposition 8 and DOMA have NOTHING to do with homosexuality. If you believe that homosexuality is a sin, under our system of laws, you have one choice; don't have sex with someone of the same gender. But you have no right to deny same sex couples the right to marry under civil law, because the First Amendment says you can't impose your religious will on anyone. The denial of civil rights to anyone is a political position.
So,how do we solve this problem? There are two possible solutions.
If religious organizations are intent on wiping the church state dividing line away, anyway, and act more like political organizations, then they should be forced to give up their tax exemption, and start paying up.
The laws are already laws on the books; churches have a choice; they can either teach religion or involve themselves in the political arena, but not both. If individual congregants want to send a check to an anti-gay marriage group, more power to them; they're tax-paying citizens, and they're entitled to be as bigoted and narrow minded as they'd like. But religious groups and churches cannot be allowed to hide behind a tax exempt status at te same time they engage in full-fledged political discourse.
Of course, there's actually an easier solution to this whole issue, and that is to stop the pretense altogether.
Why do religious groups and churches get a tax exemption at all? There's nothing in the Constitution forbidding us from taxing religious organizations the same as everyone else. To send them a tax bill for their revenues would hardly be a violation of the separation of church and state. We've been exempting them from taxation as a courtesy. And what has the courtesy gotten us? It's gotten us a national discourse in which false prophets increasingly use religious imagery to shut down debate on issues that affect everyone, and a government that, ironically, increasingly favors the rich and screws the poor.
If we're going to continue to perpetuate this pretense, and give religious organizations a pass on taxes, we have to make them follow the rules they agreed to, and start holding hearings and stripping tax-exempt status from any church or religious group that insists on engaging in the political arena. It's absolutely immoral for churches, who agree to stay out of politics and government in return for a tax break, to violate those rules and still enjoy the tax break.
If churches insist on inserting themselves into political debates, the least they can do it pay for the privilege. Make them pay taxes.
