This house believes churches should not involve themselves in political campaigns.

1. Politics should be based on rational principles 1.1 That which is rational is that which is in-line with reality. 1.2 For one to advocate something which is not in-line with reality, one must advocate something which cannot be, making the advocacy useless and self-contradictory. 1.21 If something was useful, it would be useful in reality, making it in-line with reality and therefore not irrational. 1.3 Being involved in politics implies that one finds politics to be something worthwhile. 1.31 If it were not worthwhile, there would be no reason to be involved in it (or to even care about it in the least), thus making any political interest itself irrational (making discussing its issues worthless to begin with, which is contrary to the premiss of debate (by debating, we ourselves are asserting the importance and therefore rational value of politics)), 1.4 Any political theory, therefore, is predicated on the assumption that politics should be based on reason so that it could then be useful - the original proposition is therefore an irrefutable given. 2. Churches, insofar as they are churches, are contrary to reason, and their being involved in politics would resolve in political systems not being based on rational principles to the degree to which they are involved. 2.1 Churches, insofar as they are churches, are necessarily based, at least in part, on religion. Whether or not a particular church has other attributes (such as a focus on community or goodwill) is totally irrelevant to the qualities that give it its status as a church - this is clear by considering the fact that one would never call a nonreligious organization a church, even if such an organization, say, frequently and altruistically supported charity work. Therefore, a church exists qua church if and only if religion plays a part in it at some level. This is significant because it shows that, in any case where a church is involved in politics, if it is able to be identified as a church it must be acting with an emphasis on religion. If such an emphasis is not present, it is not acting in the capacity of a church - it would be reduced to nothing more than a collection of individuals bound by certain political views, and, if such a collection can be called a church, any political party must also be called a church (for, like the non-church in the example given, political parties do not require religion to be what they are, and still share every other quality - they would be indistinguishable). Since such a notion is absurd, it is plain to see that any church (which is identified as such) participating in the political system is participating through a religious lens. 2.2 Religion is inherently based on faith 2.21 Religion requires belief in things that are admitted to transcend reality, and, therefore, human comprehension and reason. 2.211 God in particular is said to be infinite, and, since nothing which is infinite can be comprehended in its entirety, and since you cannot break a whole into smaller parts while still preserving the essence of the whole, God cannot be comprehended in whole. 2.212 If something cannot be comprehended or be subjected to reason at all, it necessarily is outside of the realm of rational thought or discussion in rational terms (“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”) 2.22 For one to believe in something that cannot be justified via reason, one must have some measure of faith. 2.221 Faith is belief without justification or warrant. 2.3 Faith and reason are opposed forces 2.31 Faith requires the absence of reason, and therefore insofar as one has faith one rejects reason and vice-versa. 2.4 Since churches take part in religion, and religion is predicated on faith, and faith is the rejection of reason, churches are in the business of rejecting reason. 2.5 The actions of an entity that does not follow reason will be irrational, meaning that churches will advocate irrational political systems insofar as they are irrational (i.e. insofar as they are religious (i.e. insofar as they are churches)). 3. If political systems should be based on reason, and if churches, insofar as they act as churches, will make it so that political systems are based on the negation of reason if they are involved in politics, then churches should not be involved in politics. Q.E.D.**Sorry, I couldn't help myself. The format was already so pretentious that I couldn't resist one final flourish.