There's a very simple reason comedians should rarely, if ever, talk about politics or religion. Put simply, they never seem to have a reasonable grasp on either. Take, for example, Bill Maher, who came up with this gem:
"New rule: If churches don't have to pay taxes, they also can't call the fire department when they catch fire. Sorry reverend, that's one of those services that goes along with paying in. I'll use the fire department I pay for. You can pray for rain."
Let's break this down.
"New rule:"
If there's one meme I'm getting tired of seeing, it's these "new rule" memes. In my experience, it is used almost exclusively by those who cannot survive under the actual rules. Imagine if this happened in sport. "New rule: I play downhill." "New rule: You have to play with one arm tied behind your back." "New rule: Every time you score a goal, I release a bear onto the pitch". How about this "new" rule: If you can't play fair, take your ball and go home.
"If churches don't have to pay taxes..."
In America, religious organisations are tax exempt, and for good reason. What you can tax, you can financially strangle. Of course, Maher believes religion is evil, so he doesn't care if the Church lives or dies. He just wants to profit from them while they're around.
It is also ironic that atheists cry "separation of Church and State!" when they want to stop the Church objecting to obscene, dangerous, and immoral legislation, yet when it comes to taxing or regulating the Church, suddenly the principle goes out the window. Separation, my friends, means separation. If the Church must stay out of the State, the State must stay out of the Church.
"...they also can't call the fire department when they catch fire. Sorry reverend, that's one of those services that goes along with paying in. I'll use the fire department I pay for."
Notice the extreme hypocrisy and hubris here. "I'll use the fire department I pay for". Ok, Bill, question: Does the Reverend pay taxes? Do the members of his congregation pay taxes? Do the possible neighbours around the church building, who of course may be directly affected by the fire, pay taxes? The answer to all of these is yes. Christians don't get any kind of tax exemptions just by being connected to a church. So make your mind up, Bill. You are an individual. A church is an organisation. By the logic "I'll use the fire department I pay for", the Reverend, or Pastor, or Priest, or any other church office a man may hold, can also use the fire department he pays for in the same way you do.
But let's be honest: Bill isn't interested in the church's tax money going to the fire department. Bill Maher is, in fact, a supporter of tax funded organisations, such as Planned Parenthood. Should a Reverend be expected to fund such atrocities? You may as well ask a Jew to fund a gas chamber. "Sorry Isaac, you wanna use the fire department, you gotta pay tribute to Hitler". I'm thinking no, Bill, churches should not be forced to pay for your cherished murder mills. Pay for the fire department, let the Reverend do the same, and go back to making people laugh. Preferably with you, not at you.
"You can pray for rain."
I've decided not to go too deep into the atheistic view of prayer and how it is about as realistic as claiming Evolution is identical to the metamorphosis of a frog, but since he decided to throw that in as a final sarcastic jab, I'll simply point out that God is not like a genie without a wish limit. Christians don't rub a magic lamp and say "God, please make it rain", and boom, it rains. Rather, in prayer, God is the master.
Here we see the reason for the old saying "if you get your philosophy from comedians, don't be surprised if it's a joke". Bill Maher doesn't get paid to make well thought out statements. He gets paid to make an audience laugh. I can assure you, Christians are just as capable of making silly statements like the one we've analysed today. We can make stupid statements that sound smart and snappy while making a select audience laugh. I just gave an interesting example in the comedian line. Short, snappy, funny, yet not entirely intelligent. It implies all comedians are idiots, when actually, they can be extremely intelligent individuals. The problems arise when they try to be funnier than thoughtful.
Regardless of the moral implications of taxing churches, the question you need to ask is should you join them? See, there is one fire department everyone will one day need, but Bill Maher certainly can't afford to pay for it. Only Jesus can pay our entry fee to Heaven, and thank God, He isn't especially picky about who uses this service. Anyone and everyone, including Bill Maher, can repent of sin and turn to Christ. Then, and only then, will they escape the fires of Hell.
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An attempted response from an atheist
When this article was originally published as a post on the God Squad Apologetics Facebook page, an atheist attempted to respond with the following:
"Churches are businesses. (...) They sell you a product you can't use 'til after you die for the low price of a tithe. That's a business."
By any sensible definition, the Church is absolutely not a business. A reasonable definition of a business is an organisation that provides goods and services in exchange for financial gain. While this could be applied to prosperity churches, such as those of charlatans like Joel Osteen, a church faithful to God does not seek financial gain.
As for "selling you a product you can't use 'til after you die for the low price of a tithe", frankly, that statement is embarrassing. I'm surprised this atheist kept returning to the ministry after making it. It demonstrates extreme ignorance for which there is no excuse.
For one thing, the Gospel isn't a product, nor is it even within the control of the Church. Nor is it sold by the Church. Indeed, the early Church, particularly the Apostles, spent more on spreading the Gospel than they could have hoped to earn. Paul wouldn't even touch anyone else's food while he stayed with them. He worked hard to serve the people he was saving.
As for the tithing thing, this is a serious misapplication of Scripture. Aside from the fact tithing is nowhere mentioned in the New Testament (giving is supposed to be of one's own free will, without compulsion, as seen in 2 Corinthians 9:7), but even when it does get mentioned in the Old Testament, it has nothing to do with giving 10% of your income to the Church. Rather, it was an Israeli national tax in order to provide for the Levites. The equivalent in New Testament Christianity is found in Romans 13:1-7: "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor."
It is therefore absurd beyond reason to claim the Church is a business, and should be taxed like one. The Church is the living body of believers. Even local fellowships are just that: Local fellowships. The government has neither right nor need to tax local fellowships because they have already taxed both the individuals who donate, and the businesses for which they work. How big can your greedy little eyes get?