Can the Church handle it all?

[Elijah John]

I have heard more than a few Evangelical preachers express resentment that the Government takes some of their money and "redistributes" it to the poor.

They will protest that they are not against helping the poor, but that "it is the Church's job, not the Government's.

And the congregation enthusiastically applauds.

For debate,

-Can the Church really handle society's safety net? Social security, food stamps, health care assistance? Unemployment compensation, disability etc?

-If you were down and out, would you like to be dependent entirely on the whims of the Church till you were able to get back on your feet?

-How long would it take for Churches to go broke if there were no government programs to help the down and out?

-And what would happen to the fortunes of the televangelists who preach this kind of thing if they actually cared for the poor instead of accumulating personal wealth based on tithes, book sales etc?

-Isn't it enough that the Church is tax-exempt, do they want their personal fortunes to be tax exempt as well?