This morning Dr. Susan Pace Hamill preached at Grace United Methodist Church, the congregation where I’m doing field study this year.

Dr. Hamill’s thesis paper while working on her Masters of Theological Studies was titled “An Argument for Tax Reform Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics.” Alabama’s republican governor, Bob Riley, read Dr. Hamill’s paper and in response proposed sweeping reforms in the state’s tax system. Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners Magazine, wrote last year that Governor Riley proposed a :

…tax-reform package that included higher property taxes, higher income taxes on the wealthy, and no income taxes on the poorest people. The plan raises the threshold to pay income tax for families of four to $17,000—paying for it in part by raising corporate taxes on the timber industry. "I have spent most of my life fighting higher taxes," the governor explained, "...but I believe we have no other choice."

Why the governor's change of heart? It turns out that he is deeply Christian, and he realized that his faith had something to say about the budget and tax situation. "According to our Christian ethic, we're supposed to love God, love each other, and help take care of our poor," he was recently quoted by CBS News. "And this is a step in the right direction." Here is a conservative Republican governor who has been reading his Bible and decided to put his Christian faith first.

The plan was defeated by the voters after a campaign waged by Dick Armey (the former Republican House leader who just helped defeat Oregon’s Measure 30) and the Christian Coalition. The plan was, however, supported by many Christian leaders including Methodists, Presbyterians, Southern Baptists, Episcopalians, and Catholics, along with Jewish leaders, according to Wallis.

Dr. Hamill turned her thesis into a book, The Least of These: Fair Taxes and the Moral Duty of Christians, which is worth a read. I picked up a copy and plan to use some of the material for one of the papers I have to write this semester.