Keep the Church, the Church
At the National Prayer Breakfast last week, the President made a statement to the gathered pastors that he wanted to "get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our
representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of
retribution." I'm sure that you're like many people, including me, that had no idea what the "Johnson amendment" was. To be honest, I knew that churches and pastors could not endorse political candidates but I didn't know the exact law that prevented it.
The Johnson Amendment (named after Senator Lyndon B. Johnson) is part of a 1954 bill that amended the US tax code. It states that "churches and other nonprofit organizations that are exempt from taxation are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office." What this means in real-life is that churches cannot support, verbally or financially, any particular political candidates.
Why does this matter? Well, for purposes of the IRS, it prevents churches from funnelling tax-exempt contributions from the people in the pews to politicians, and thereby becoming fundraising tools of the politicians. Furthermore, it further emphasizes the separation of church and state found in the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, which says that the government cannot establish an official religion or prohibit the free exercise of religion.
Regardless of political and tax ramifications of the Johnson amendment, it begs the question, "What is the purpose of the church? and "What is the purpose of the state?" The purpose of the Christian church is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and establish the reign of God on earth. The purpose of the state is to provide for the security and welfare of its citizens, regardless of their religion, or lack of religion. Often these differing worlds are characterized as the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Man.
Often, the church and state are working toward compatible goals, such as promoting education and literacy, establishing health clinics or services for the homeless. But there are also many times when our goals are incompatible, such as the death penalty, declarations of war and the interpretation of certain human and civil rights. By allowing or encouraging churches and pastors to align themselves with candidates, the line between the two kingdoms could get incredibly blurry. History is full of examples of attempted theocracies, a church-led state that tries to blend the two responsibilities. But they usually fail. In a multi-cultural, multi-religious world, theocracies, by their nature, trample on the rights of the minorities.
Now, just to be clear, the Johnson amendment does not prevent churches or pastors from speaking about or endorsing policies, especially when they deal with social justice issues or other areas in which the reign of God is particularly concerned. Nonpartisan voter education activities and church-organized voter registration drives are legal. Pastors are free to preach on social and political issues of concern and churches can publish "issue guides" for voters.
So, what is the Biblical support for the separation of church and state? It's a little murky. The most often used verse is Matthew 22: 15-22 (Mark 12: 13-17; Luke 20: 20-26), in which Jesus answers a question about paying taxes by saying, "Give to Caesar, the things that are Caesar's and give to God, the things that are God's." But even this verse is open to many interpretations. Most theologians agree that, at the very least, Jesus is not advocating a tax revolt. He sees the head of state on the coin and merely acknowledges that it belongs to the state.
But Jesus was very clear about the role of the church. He tells his disciples, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."(John 14: 12) And what did Jesus do? Healed the sick, gave hope to the poor, sight to the blind. He taught us to love one another and to love God. These are the things that the church is called to do. Things that the state can never do.
Oh, by the way, the President can't revoke the Johnson amendment - only Congress can do that. But just in case this ever comes up on the floor of Congress, the church needs to just be the church. Candidates are doing just fine without our money and endorsements. And we are doing just fine without them.
.
The Johnson Amendment (named after Senator Lyndon B. Johnson) is part of a 1954 bill that amended the US tax code. It states that "churches and other nonprofit organizations that are exempt from taxation are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office." What this means in real-life is that churches cannot support, verbally or financially, any particular political candidates.
Why does this matter? Well, for purposes of the IRS, it prevents churches from funnelling tax-exempt contributions from the people in the pews to politicians, and thereby becoming fundraising tools of the politicians. Furthermore, it further emphasizes the separation of church and state found in the Establishment Clause of the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, which says that the government cannot establish an official religion or prohibit the free exercise of religion.
Regardless of political and tax ramifications of the Johnson amendment, it begs the question, "What is the purpose of the church? and "What is the purpose of the state?" The purpose of the Christian church is to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and establish the reign of God on earth. The purpose of the state is to provide for the security and welfare of its citizens, regardless of their religion, or lack of religion. Often these differing worlds are characterized as the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Man.
Often, the church and state are working toward compatible goals, such as promoting education and literacy, establishing health clinics or services for the homeless. But there are also many times when our goals are incompatible, such as the death penalty, declarations of war and the interpretation of certain human and civil rights. By allowing or encouraging churches and pastors to align themselves with candidates, the line between the two kingdoms could get incredibly blurry. History is full of examples of attempted theocracies, a church-led state that tries to blend the two responsibilities. But they usually fail. In a multi-cultural, multi-religious world, theocracies, by their nature, trample on the rights of the minorities.
Now, just to be clear, the Johnson amendment does not prevent churches or pastors from speaking about or endorsing policies, especially when they deal with social justice issues or other areas in which the reign of God is particularly concerned. Nonpartisan voter education activities and church-organized voter registration drives are legal. Pastors are free to preach on social and political issues of concern and churches can publish "issue guides" for voters.
So, what is the Biblical support for the separation of church and state? It's a little murky. The most often used verse is Matthew 22: 15-22 (Mark 12: 13-17; Luke 20: 20-26), in which Jesus answers a question about paying taxes by saying, "Give to Caesar, the things that are Caesar's and give to God, the things that are God's." But even this verse is open to many interpretations. Most theologians agree that, at the very least, Jesus is not advocating a tax revolt. He sees the head of state on the coin and merely acknowledges that it belongs to the state.
But Jesus was very clear about the role of the church. He tells his disciples, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."(John 14: 12) And what did Jesus do? Healed the sick, gave hope to the poor, sight to the blind. He taught us to love one another and to love God. These are the things that the church is called to do. Things that the state can never do.
Oh, by the way, the President can't revoke the Johnson amendment - only Congress can do that. But just in case this ever comes up on the floor of Congress, the church needs to just be the church. Candidates are doing just fine without our money and endorsements. And we are doing just fine without them.
.
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