3 Quotes From...

No Place for Church in State of Bankruptcy
Judge orders debtors to pay bills in rejecting $100 a month for parish

"Bankruptcy lawyers around the nation are blasting a revised federal tax statute that pits civil law against the spiritual commitments of the financially strapped faithful."

"'Thou shalt have no gods before me ... except for MasterCard, Visa and American Express,' said Henry J. Sommer, president of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. 'For religious Americans who find themselves deeply in debt ... the reform legislation didn't just reword the federal bankruptcy code, it also effectively rewrote Exodus and Deuteronomy,' Sommer said."

"What the reform legislation says is, 'while the government can't interfere with your right to practice your religion, you can't use your religion to get out of your legal obligations.'"

PERSONAL NOTE: We should all pay our debts. Signing a contract with creditors to pay as required is the same as giving one's word, and if our word means nothing, our integrity is damaged, as is our testimony. Yet at the same time, one's obligation to God cannot be ignored by those who call Him LORD. The Constitution also was intended to protect religious freedom. It's understandable that a bankruptcy court would want to verify a pattern of tithing before allowing it within the framework of Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection, but I feel the law goes too far by disallowing all tithes regardless of a verifiable pattern of giving back to God.

This is not an overt attack of Christianity, it's merely an unforeseen consequence of a bill passed to protect the lender rather than the borrower-- especially since lending practices in this country are really nothing more than legalized slavery for the poor and weak. Just take a look at some of the interest rates credit card companies are allowed to charge. I have two cards with a 32% interest rate... Praise God they both have zero balances-- and never get used!. Also, 'Payday-Loan' companies get away with far more, some estimates I've seen put the interest rates at or near 300%! I've been paying mine off for the better part of 9 years and I'm finally within two-grand of paying everything off. The one thing I've discovered is the less you owe the easier it is to pay the principle down, because the lower one's minimum payment is, the more one can pay above that minimum... Lessens learned hard, I assure you.