The 501c3: Friend or Foe?

Editor,
Wisconsin Christian News:                                                            
   Is the 501c3 a friend or foe to Biblical Christianity?  Often, we only see the positive and miss the big picture.
   We know that there is nothing wrong with paying taxes. Jesus taught, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17). Since it is beneficial to escape any yoke of bondage, finding a way to no longer be required to pay taxes is expedient. However, was it really freedom that the 501c3 offered, or an exchange of yokes? 
   If you do some research, you will find that in 1954, when Lyndon B. Johnson was senator, he offered us the 501c3. Why? To silence the Church. If the pulpits were restrained solely to “religion” and would keep quiet about “politics,”  then his political goals would stand a greater chance at succeeding. His exchange was to release the government’s harness on the Church’s wallet and to place it on the mouth instead, and it worked. I wonder if King David could have succeeded in silencing Nathan in like manner. When Nathan told David “Thou art the man” (2 Samuel 12:7), could David have countered wit ...