Congress Holds Hearings on Church Finances

I've been thinking about this for a while now. Last month, Senator Chuck Grassley of the Senate Finance Committee announced an investigation into the finances and spending habits of six large ministries.

Around that time, I published an op/ed by John W. Whitehead on the subject entitled "Are Televangelists Fleecing the Flock?" I also blogged on that column, agreeing with much of what Whitehead said. A lot of these high-powered TV preachers and such really turn me off with their extravagant lifestyle, and I KNOW they turn off unbelievers, driving them further from God's love and truth because of a Christian's unwise lifestyle.

But at the same time, since I first heard of this investigation, the idea of the United States Senate holding hearings on what churches was doing just hasn't sat well with me. Not at all. There are a couple of reasons.

First, the federal government has morphed in the last 60 years (since the time of FDR) from a central government that provided a cohesive organization to the 50 sovereign states that make up the United States, into an all-intrusive, omnipresent force.

Liberal politicians have contempt for our Constitution which was designed to keep central government in check, and protect states and individuals from the heavy hand of big government. These liberal politicians have ignored the lawful manner for changing our government, the Constitutional amendment process, and have, in conjunction with the complicit federal courts, awarded the federal government great powers that are simply and clearly not authorized by the Constitution.

Along with this all-intrusive and over weaning power, the federal government now believes it can do anything and investigate anything it wants, regardless of whether the Constitution grants it that authority.

I have no love for sports, but I have been disgusted at how the federal government holds hearings into baseball, football, and whatever catches it's despotic interest. Why in the world should the federal government of the United States be interested in baseball??? If there is any criminal wrongdoing going on in the sports industry, let law enforcement handle it. That's why law enforcement exists. We don't need the federal government to micro-manage every aspect of American life.

And the same goes for church and religious concerns--with a double-portion thereof. Why a double portion? Because unlike baseball, the United States Constitution specifically prohibits congress from passing laws respecting religion, or interfering in the free exercise thereof. The federal government, even before we allowed it to grow outside it's constitutional confines, has incredible power to build up or tear down. When it starts interfering with the moral conscience of our country, that is a fearful thing, indeed.

Apparently I'm not the only one with concerns.

From OneNewsNow:

Gary McCaleb, senior counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund -- which does not represent any of the ministries involved -- says the inquiry raises many constitutional questions. "For the government to step in and start looking at the internal operation of churches is very problematic," he points out. "Religious organizations that are not identified as churches, that are 501(c)3 non profits ... have fixed accountability standards. I personally find it very curious we have a senator investigating -- instead of the administrative agency, the IRS, that's charged with these things."

Apparently, according to NewsMax, there are two of these preachers that have now told Grassley to go pound sand. Frankly, despite my distaste for some of these extravagant and gaudy ministries, I kinda like that.

If there is criminal wrongdoing on the part of any of these churches, preachers or ministries, law enforcement is more than able to handle it. We don't need a bunch of self-important politicians in Washington meddling where they don't belong. None of them have a badge, and most of them wouldn't have a clue how to properly investigate a case.

And they tread on dangerous territory when they use the power of the central government to interfere with churches. They are not only tampering with the nation's conscience (as susceptible to flaws as IT may be), they are also recklessly monkeying around with the United States Constitution, the highest law of our nation.