It’s pretty easy to find examples of how Christian pseudo-historian David Barton doesn’t understand history. Or math. Or the Constitution. Or how to earn a Ph.D.
He doesn’t understand separation of church and state, either, because he claimed on his “WallBuilders Live” radio show on Friday that the concept ought to mean Christians shouldn’t have to pay taxes.
“If [supporters of church/state separation] really believe that, why do they take tax money from people who go to church?” Barton asked. “People who go to church shouldn’t have to be required to put tax money into the state if there is a separation of church and state. Religion is funding the state, so how come they don’t argue that?”
“They are saying I can’t take my kids and take them out of state education because that is religious,” he added. “If they think I’m religious, why would they take my tax dollars and put it into the state?”
How the hell is Barton the Christian Right’s “smart” guy…?
You don’t get to avoid taxes just because you believe in bullshit. Christians use the same roads, cops, fire departments, schools, and snow plows as everyone else. That’s why we all pay taxes for those things. The churches themselves, like all non-profits, generously provide a service for the community (in theory, anyway), and that’s why they’re exempt from paying taxes.
This isn’t complicated… unless your job is finding new ways to sell the lie that Christians have been screwed over throughout our nation’s history.
Barton later said he’d consider filing a lawsuit over this. I hope he does. The transcript of that court hearing would be so worth it.
(via Right Wing Watch)