An itinerant preacher in Calgary has been informed by Revenue Canada that the tax-exempt status of his church has been revoked. Apparently, this fellow's group (and he individually) provides help to many needy people and spiritual assistance to anyone who asks. He also stands in public places and expresses his views of today's society and shares the Gospel's message.
So, why is CRA upset? Has he invested the money illegally? Has he engaged in clandestine activities? No, but he has consistently denounced Canadian laws that allow abortion, same-sex unions etc. and CRA bosses don't like that. In other words, this fellow does not agree with the ethical positions of CRA bosses. Sure, you can dress it up by saying that these are POLITICAL positions and that tax-exempt organizations are not supposed to get involved in political activities, but that is a very convenient screen behind which to hide anything they don't like.
These issues are moral issues before they are legal and political ones and pretending otherwise only fools the fools. The reality is that these people are using their position at CRA to further their ethical and political agendas. Talk about bully pulpit!
Having said all this, I think that we should stop relying on state sanctions such as tax-exempt status. I am not saying that we should give them up easily, but that we should start getting organized as if they were not there, since probably they will not be there soon. If we value the Gospel's message, are we prepared to do our work for it without Caesar's assistance? Can we sacrifice our financial wealth for it? Or will we be done once CRA pulls the plug?
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