Earlier today, I read an article by Todd Starnes that really stuck to me. I was scrolling through Twitter and came across a post by CBN that had the title Democrats and Militant LGBT Activists Want to Shut Down American Churches. As a Republican Christian, this certainly got my attention.

Now, the title to this article was a little bit of clickbait; the Democratic party doesn’t want to shut down churches, but they do want to take over the messages we preach and deny us funding or rights to tax cuts if we don’t get in line with their agenda.

So, what is the Democratic and LGBT Activist agenda?

According to Robert O’Rourke, one of the Presidential candidates for the Democratic party, revoking the tax-exempt status of any church or Christian college or charity that opposes same-sex marriage is one of the first things he’d like to do as President—should he be elected, of course.

Unsurprisingly, this sort of intolerant agenda was met with high praise by the onlooking crowd when O’Rourke delivered this announcement last week. What does this say about our Democratic candidates? More importantly, what does it say about the crowd cheering for such intolerance?

Additionally, O’Rourke stated that a nationwide crackdown on churches was one of his administration’s top priorities. I think it’s a sad day in America when the top priority of a presidential administration is to crackdown on religious beliefs. If O’Rourke, and the democrats and liberals supporting him, gets their way, thousands of churches and Christian organizations, including schools, universities, and even charities like the Salvation Army will lose their funding and lose their rights to tax-exempt status. If any of these Christian groups wants to keep their funding and tax-exempt status, they will likely be forced to publicly denounce any beliefs that oppose the LGBT Community and show public support for that community as well.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but that sounds like the government is trying to control the message of the church and, in effect, control what American citizens are allowed to believe in. Where are all the activists from the Americans United For Separation of Church and State now? Is this not a clear example of why the Church and the State should not intermingle? Not for the purposes of keeping the State from being controlled by the Church, but to protect the Church from being controlled by an intolerant State.

Many Christian churches and organizations are in an uproar about O’Rourke’s goals and his blatant intolerance of religious ideals, convictions, and beliefs that are different from his own. Considering O’Rourke’s, and much of the Democratic party’s, view on this matter it isn’t farfetched to say religious freedom in America is truly threatened. Actually, if we’re going to be blunt, you could go ahead and say what everyone is thinking…

Christianity in America is under attack.

All things considered, what should we, as Christians, do about this news?

We have three options;

1.      Pray

This should go without saying, but I’ll include it anyway. The government can threaten whatever they want, they can go ahead and take our funding and our tax cuts—but they cannot control what we choose to believe, and they cannot stop me from running to my Father. I serve a God who is bigger than tax cuts, I serve a God who can keep my church afloat without any tax breaks or handouts from the government. Take this issue to God and watch Him work it out for you.

2.      Vote

Even though O’Rourke’s intolerant agenda was met with praise and support, remember that this will only happen if he is elected. If we’re being honest, President Trump will win the 2020 election by a landslide—considering all his support and efforts to maintain religious freedom in America these last three years, I doubt any church funding is in real danger during the next presidential term.

3.      Pay Your Tithes and Offering. Support Your Local Church.

Even though O’Rourke will not be elected president in 2020, his intolerant attitude is far too common within the democratic party. We may not be threatened by O’Rourke himself, but we are in the midst of a very real war between the church and the state. Intolerance for Christianity is rising in this country. I think its time the Church becomes proactive instead of reactive. We should not be so dependent on the state for funding or tax breaks because this is exactly how we open ourselves to be controlled. Imagine, if no church or Christian organization, business, school, or charity received funding or tax breaks from the state, Democrats and Liberals would have no threats to deliver and no crackdown to put in place.

But how do you fund a church of 10,000 members without government grants and tax cuts? The Church was never meant to be funded by the state—it is meant to depend on God, our provider. If every church attendee paid their tithes and offering and freely gave to their local church, government funding wouldn’t be in the equation. This notion is coming from a woman who has attended a church that does not receive any government funding or tax breaks at all. So, I’m not just throwing hot air at you, tithes and offering is crucial to funding and sustaining a church. I’ll go further into that topic in my next article but please know, you don’t need anything from the government to run your church, it’s called being funded by faith. You should try it.

This article is purely my opinion but as the owner of The Rebel Christian, it is the opinion of this entire organization. If you enjoyed the information you read, find the subscribe button below and click it! Keep an eye out for my next article, Funding A Christian Church—now available!