Support First Things by turning your adblocker off or by making a  donation. Thanks!

Recently, there have been a number of well-meaning, though misguided, conservatives who are advocating filling in the Census with false information. Justin Taylor explains why that shouldn’t be an option for Christians :

Some conservatives—for example, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, a professing evangelical—are suggesting that people not fill out the Census coming in the mail, or at least not to answer certain questions (e.g., on your race). Others are suggesting that some answers be falsified (e.g., checking “Native American” because you were born in America).

The reason is that the government will use racial information for purposes of reapportioning congressional seats as a result (which is true).

But even if you don’t like how this information will be used, Christians in particular should remember that it’s a violation of federal law to leave answers blank or to provide false answers. Even if you think the law is crummy, it does not require you to break any Scriptural laws, and therefore it would be a violation of Scripture to break this law.


Read more . . .


Comments are visible to subscribers only. Log in or subscribe to join the conversation.

Tags

Loading...

Filter First Thoughts Posts

Related Articles