How Will Believers Defend Themselves Against the Coming IRS Onslaught?
There are several parts of the ‘Inflation Reduction Act’ that have raised concern among conservatives and economic strategists alike. According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, it will likely not impact inflation; green and renewable energy sources are having billions of dollars poured into them while gas prices are almost twice as high as when President Biden took office, but perhaps most unnerving is the large investment into the IRS.
While Forbes lists the amount as $80 billion over 10 years, the Senate Democrats government website lists the amount the IRS is receiving as an estimated $124 billion (a Congressional Budget Office estimate).
As the IRS moves forward with renewed funding and looking to add 80,000 new agents and auditors, conservatives and Christians are leery about what the future will hold for them.
It seems like a lifetime ago that the Republican-led House was beginning proceedings to investigate Lois Lerner and her IRS that was accused of targeting conservative groups like the Tea Party. This later turned out to be true not only for the Tea Party, but several other conservative linked groups, and up to 300 groups applying for tax-exempt status were put into “buckets” for additional scrutiny.
Even after the IRS apologized for the role it played in singling out these groups, the news media still went to great lengths to shield the Obama administration by saying progressive groups were audited too, just not nearly as much as conservative groups were.
Many things have changed since then, especially during the Trump administration years, such as legacy media’s complete disregard for objectivity and pushing the Democratic party’s narrative. Also, the Democratically controlled congress’ shift to silencing dissent among differing social, economic, political and religious points of view.
This fear was made manifest as churches across the world struggled to reopen during the pandemic, while other non-religious institutions were re-opened with less stringent requirements. It was so bad that a case for a church alleging it was discriminated against for its status as a Christian organization made its way to the Supreme Court. That church would win its case against the state of California and reveal to the world what we already knew: The current Democratic party is hostile to anyone who differs from their ideological standpoint.
So, what does this church have to do with an underfunded and overworked IRS? Simple, it is the same target, Christians and conservatives, with a new weapon.
As the administration he served under from 2008-2016 did, President Biden has made clear that he supports the LGBTQ agenda, and has made good on that statement by appointing many from within that community to his administration. Recently, the administration has threatened school funding for public and private schools, unless they adapt their teaching to be supportive of the pro-LGBTQ and critical race theory teachings that are being taught across the country. While this has already been taken to court and is waiting to be heard, it raises the question: How much more will a revitalized IRS go after organizations that do not subscribe to the left’s belief system?
The IRS thought it could get away with targeting conservatives in 2013 but was caught. Now, they have the power and support to start threatening the tax-exempt status of not only conservative outlets, but churches that do not support the LGBTQ agenda.
Even disagreeing with this agenda yet preaching love for the person may get you branded a “-phobe” or an “-ist” of some kind. It is also common for Big Tech to label any similar preaching as “hate speech.” So, what do we when the IRS’ argument is that a church can lose tax-exempt status because of “hate speech” against a marginalized group?
Mainstream media and the left will say something like this will not happen, even as they openly speak against reporting on Republicans fairly or consistently compared to Democrats because the media have decided Republicans are a “threat to democracy.” It can happen because it already has, just on a smaller scale.
The evidence is already there regarding the hostility toward Christian institutions, the question is how will they defend themselves against the coming onslaught? {eoa}
James Lasher is a copy editor for Charisma Media.