I’m unfortunately surrounded by these people, and want to strengthen our side, so I’ll give a steel man of their response:
Jesus was talking at a privately hosted banquet about what the hosts should freely do. He wasn’t suggesting that they should be forced by law to do so. I support giving to charity as Jesus taught, just don’t force me to via taxation.
The response to this is, “So, when was the last time you invited the poor to your house for dinner?”
These people believe that so long as they tithe, they absolve themselves from having to personally do it. They’ll say something like, “I give to the church and they do it for me.”
There are Christians that actually are kind and do what they can for their fellow man. But they are greatly outnumbered by the assholes who use religion to justify their shitty behavior.
But that’s bullshit because then they make being homeless illegal. We know they aren’t giving any donations out.
Another fun response is to ask about the things the do support taxes paying for, like the death penalty, and bringing up the way Jesus talked about those things.
