Taxation

This position paper argues that taxation is fundamentally a religious issue because it rests on the question of sovereignty who is lord, God or the state. It rejects the common claim that churches are wealthy tax dodgers, showing instead that church-owned property historically provided extensive social services, while modern states hold vast tax-exempt lands yet increasingly burden the people through expropriative taxation. Scripture teaches that only God, as Creator and Lord, has ultimate authority to govern, legislate, and tax, with the tithe serving as a confession of Christ’s sovereignty, while the state is limited to a narrow ministry of justice. When the state claims sovereignty, defines religion, and treats tax exemption as a “subsidy,” it effectively declares itself god, a modern Baal, and undermines true freedom. The paper concludes that statism replaces theology with political doctrine, erodes liberty, and enslaves society, whereas genuine freedom and restoration come only through Christian self-government under God’s law, faithful tithing, and obedience that demonstrates living faith in action rather than words alone.

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