Recurrent and recent debates about Medicaid, USAID, and PEPFAR have brought up a perennial question about Christian political theology: is it right to spend taxpayer dollars on works we might consider charitable? There are many admonitions throughout the Bible to be charitable to the poor, but only a few where we are told to pay taxes. It is not hard to find people who are not themselves Christian throwing around Bible verses about “the least of these” as they apply to government policy—a legacy, no doubt, of Christianity’s incredible influence in shaping the ethical landscape of Western civilization. Yet it is unfair, unwise, and unbiblical to assume that the government ought to be the mediator, guarantor, or vehicle of Christian charity or works of mercy.
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Matthew Loftus
Matthew grew up in a family of 15 children and completed his medical training in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2015, he and his family have lived in East Africa, where he currently teaches and practices Family Medicine at a mission hospital. His work has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Atlantis, and Mere Orthodoxy and his first book is forthcoming from InterVarsity Press. You can learn more about his work and writing at www.matthewandmaggie.org and preorder his forthcoming book here: https://www.ivpress.com/resisting-therapy-culture
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