Via Buzzfeed:
With Ted Cruz clinging to a narrow lead in the fast-approaching Iowa caucuses, an increasingly vocal chorus of evangelical leaders and campaign rivals is questioning the authenticity of the candidate’s vaunted Christian faith by pointing to his reportedly meager record of charitable giving.
In a series of interviews this week, political opponents and pastors alike suggested Cruz — an avowed Baptist who is aggressively courting evangelical voters — has flouted the Biblical commandment of tithing in his personal life. . . .
According to personal tax returns released during his 2012 Senate bid, Cruz contributed less than 1% of his income to charity between 2006 and 2010 — a far cry from the 10% most evangelical leaders believe the Bible demands.
A few thoughts:
First, the importance of generosity in the Christian life goes without saying — cf. “widow’s mite.” The notion of the “tithe” is interpreted somewhat differently among denominations, but, unless you’re Creflo Dollar, sacrificial giving is (or is supposed to be) part of the gig.
Second, in the context of Evangelical giving, Cruz’s 1 percent is probably low. A Barna study from 2013 found that Evangelicals tended to give more to charity than their peers, and Cruz’s giving is low even by the standards of his own congregation, Houston’s First Baptist Church, which begins its “generosity calculator” at 3 percent of one’s annual income. It’s worth recalling, too, that Joe Biden was pilloried in 2012 for giving only 1.5 percent of his considerable wealth to charity in 2011 (Mitt and Ann Romney, by contrast, gave 29.4 percent). Then again, that same Barna study found that only 12 percent of “born-again Christians,” a category that included both Evangelicals and non-Evangelicals, tithed in 2012.
Third, this argument may gain a bit of traction. Various Evangelical voters have questioned Cruz’s authenticity and the soundness of his stump-speech theology.
But, fourth — and here is the crucial point — the argument only goes so far. It’s lousy to insinuate that Cruz’s tax filings are somehow a solid indicator of the strength of his faith. Maybe Cruz has not put his money where his mouth is; but maybe there is an explanation. Or maybe there’s not, and he’s just one of millions of Bible-believing Christians who have fallen down on this particular element of a well-lived religious life. I don’t know. But neither does anyone else. Given that it’s entirely possible to be extravagant in one’s giving and still miserly in spirit (rich man, eye of a needle, &c.), drawing one-to-one correspondences between a man’s financial priorities and his spiritual ones seems likely to end up being a mostly uncharitable practice.
(P.S. If Cruz wants a more generous crowd when it comes to declining the offering plate, perhaps he should join a Mainline Protestant denomination. Among our types, his 1 percent would be downright munificent!)
Buzzfeed: Ted Cruz Doesn't Tithe -- Iowa Evangelicals Upset