Candidate Charitable Giving
As a follower of Christ, I believe giving a tithe (10% of my income) to God's work is the minimum starting point God asks for. I know a lot of faithful people might disagree with that, but surely we can agree that giving and generosity are really good things and central to the Christian life.
That is why I found this interesting:
Now, I am not making any political statements here, but I have to say that all four of these surprised me -- three of them disappointingly.
What are your thoughts?
Does this tell us anything important about the candidates?
Weigh in, as long as you can keep it nice and not push your own candidate...
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Comments
I wonder how this computes John McCain's income. Most of his $ is in his wife's name, so he could tithe a large portion of his own income and still have mega-dollars left.
The estimates I've seen have his and his wife's net worth at about 30 million. Forgive me for being skeptical, but I find it hard to believe that he tithes 20% of his true income.
brad wright | Sat 04 Oct 2008
I agree Brad... most of his wealth is not income, so it is a bit skewed. Also, several times throughout his career he has voted against pay raises for the Senate and when they pass he pledges to donate them instead---a bit easier when your wife is worth $30 million, lol.
I will say I was most surprised by Palin and Obama... I would have guessed that both tithed.
Ben Dubow | Sat 04 Oct 2008
for years I never claimed my charity on my taxes as an attempt to practice not letting my right hand know what the left hand is doing and seeking my reward in heaven. only God knows how charitable his children are. so i consider these reports on professing Christians invalid in determining their actual charity. we only know how much they claimed on their taxes.
fwiw, i claim my donations now after hearing Chuck Smith say if God provides a means for the world to decrease the taxes i pay to it and its ungodly programs, why not claim the deduction.? God is good jpu
john umland | Sat 04 Oct 2008
Great point John... always a good reminder not to jump to conclusions...
Ben Dubow | Sat 04 Oct 2008
Reporting charitable giving to receive a tax break because you think the government unworthy of your tax dollars? Hmmmm.... This seems tres cynical and more ideologically motivated than reflective of a biblical view of money and government. If you want your reward for charity to come, ironically, from the IRS, then report away and enjoy the government's "well done." Do you think God rewards those who cynically use generosity as a means to strike back at "ungodly" government? Please don't associate that sort of game playing with biblically-informed citizenship. It would be far closer to conformity with the biblical mind simply to be brave and not pay the percentage of your taxes that would be spent on "ungodly programs," and then, without complaint, suffer the consequences.
And speaking of the biblical tithe, I believe a study of scripture RE the OT practice will show that the modern church's re-interpretation of it (10% to the local church and/or missional organizations) is so "creative" as to render the modern church's practice of it unbiblical. But that's another conversation.
Brad Davis | Sun 05 Oct 2008
I'm not defending anyone here, but, when I give, I try to do it without others knowing. To me, giving is a spiritual exercise. I don't give for recognition; I give as a spiritual discipline and to help those in need. I don't report most of my giving to the IRS, and I usually give in cash to keep my giving anonymous.
So, I wouldn't necessarily judge Palin or Obama by their reported giving. Who knows why their giving totals are smaller? They may choose not to have their giving reported in full for personal reasons.
Besides, I don't necessarily think this issue has much to do with their ability to lead. I am voting for a president, not a spiritual leader. This is an issue that I would consider in choosing a new pastor or another type of church leader. However, this questioning merely gives us statistics to judge the candidates' relationships with God, and that is a role I generally choose not to take.
Their spiritual commitment is between them and God. I don't think being a Christian makes someone a better president. I don't doubt Pres. Bush's faith, but I don't think he was a very good president.
Chris | Sun 05 Oct 2008
I'm not so much impressed by McCain's apparent generosity (as Brad pointed out, these numbers are likely inflated and misleading) as I am disappointed in the indisputable lack of generosity evidenced by the other candidates' giving. I'm not sure yet how this factors into my vote, but it's disconcerting, regardless.
Stephen | Mon 06 Oct 2008
You can tell a lot about the charcher of someone by the amount they give to their church and other Christian and non-Christian based organizations.
Dick Darby | Tue 14 Oct 2008
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