Message to my Pastor
The United Methodist Church maintains that war is incompatible with Christ's message and teachings. Therefore, the Church rejects war as an instrument of national foreign policy,.....
Pastor M,
If I'm to take my life as a Christian seriously and my duty as a member of the United Methodist Church solemnly, as if it means a thing to me, shouldn't I wonder why our church remains painfully silent on our current wars?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsrMzfhdmkU (I apologize for the crude and vulgar nature of this video, but it's the reality we must confront)
As far as I'm concerned, this video captures the essence of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and soon to be Iran. It is extremely painful to watch and moved me to tears. Do we just remain silent, believing government knows best?
I'm afraid I'm reaching a point where I am unable to do that.
This country has been waging war against the people of the middle east for decades. We've occupied Iraq for six years and now our leaders are arguing over troop levels and mission statements, they don't even know why we are there! As far as I'm concerned our government is an assorted gaggle of incompetent criminals.
They can tax me until I have nothing left. They can strip me of every freedom and liberty God has given me by birthright but I will no longer sit by and let this government slaughter innocent people in the name of God.
Am I supposed to decry my government's attempts to remove God from our society; argue about the placement of the ten commandments, the removal of "In God We Trust" from our money, enter into a debate on abortion and the rights of gays, only to turn around and grant license to kill indiscriminately because "they know best"?
Somehow I don't see that as the message of my savior, Jesus Christ. Am I alone?
Is there any movement within the United Methodist Church to confront this issue?
If we aren't capable of standing up and testifying on behalf of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ....then who will?
God's Peace
Ron V.
They are 501-C3 tax-exempt corporations.
Their corporate charter forbids speaking out against public policies, or they risk losing their tax-exempt status, and if that happens then none of the donations will be able to be written-off the taxes of the churchgoers, and then the churchgoers won't go to that church.
It's all wrapped around the money trap.
However, if a church decides not to be a 501-C3 corporation, and their attendees are happy to donate money that isn't going to be written off their personal tax returns, then the church can take any political position they want, without repercussions of corporate regs.
So, the trend today is that "real churches" are not 501-C3 corporations, and attract people who really want to attend, and not just attending for a tax write-off.
This is a big issue in churches today.
that's a whole new topic there
Thanks BigT
I'll be checking into this corporate charter at my church, I may soon be checking out of my church. Don't see much point in worshiping God under the duress of government sanction. In fact, that sounds quite repulsive to me and goes a long way towards explaining the silence.
What good does it do to form a church with principles you can't follow...sounds like many other things I've awakened too these days
Thanks Again
Miamisburg, Montgomery County, Ohio