IJ Review – by Joseph Perticone
Churches in a Maryland county are being offered tax breaks for incorporating environmentalism into their sermons.
In Prince George’s County, 30 pastors have started preaching ‘green’ ministries to avoid extra taxes, the Washington Post reports. The taxes depend on the acreage for all property owners, including churches, as part of Maryland’s “storm water remediation fee.”
Reverend Nathaniel B. Thomas of Forestville New Redeemer Baptist Church said he attempted to challenge the fee and said:
“Once Uncle Sam finds a way to take your money, he doesn’t stop.”
Thomas acknowledged the people of his congregation have higher priorities than the environment, such as employment and family-related issues:
“I know I’m not going to get a lot of ‘amens’ today,” adding, “The question is, are we taking care of what God has blessed us with?”
Thomas also voiced his support for environmental consciousness:
“What God made was good, but it’s us that made it bad.”
Church leaders were able to negotiate a deal with the county’s environmental director Adam Ortiz. The deal reduces fees on the condition that churches introduce programs to lessen their environmental impact such as planting trees and constructing gardens as well as attempts to prop-up environmentalism.
Ortiz told WBAL Radio that churches “don’t have to preach, per se,” and they could avoid the fees entirely if they:
“(P)rovide educational programs to teach [parishioners] about how to be more sustainable. And to help them engage in grant programs and other ways that they can control the runoff from their property.”
One law that places a financial burden on Maryland property owners, the Stormwater Management-Watershed and Restoration Program or “rain tax,” led to the downfall of Anthony Brown, the successor to Gov. Martin O’Malley. Brown was recently defeated by GOP challenger Larry Hogan.
Regardless of how one feels about environmentalism, it is stunningly hypocritical if the same people who argue stridently for a “separation of church and state” have no qualms whatsoever with the state meddling in the churches to push government propaganda. This is symptomatic of a broader issue: why the government has control over church messages through its determination of tax-exempt status to begin with.
More sell out churches, just what the government wants.
The church Whores will do ANYTHING for a buck. The founding fathers would first find the jackass that is blackmailing the churches and then beat the snot out of the weenies that went along with this BS. What a pile of disgusting turds. Buy more ammo. Liberty1775
Note: the gov turd has money coming from the Fed to push this BS. There are other turds that work with the filth who look for tits to suck off of and then tell them where to suck.
The government is like the Godfather, when you accept favors from him you are expected to do favors in return. This is the predicament the churches are in now.
It’s time the churches stood up to all of this. They have no excuses except greed, (in my most humble opinion).
All 501(c)(3) churches are corrupted.
Not many left that aren’t. All of the Calvary Chapels here that I know of aren’t.