State and Church in Georgia

IN GEORGIA, WHERE 36% OF THE POPULATION IS LIVING BELOW THE MINIMUM SUBSISTENCE LEVEL SHOULD THE STATE BE GIVING VALUABLE GIFTS TO THE CHURCH USING TAXPAYERS' MONEY? 2,170,290 GEL 1,700,000 GEL (2008, 2 days before the presidential elections) Mercedes S500 110,000 € A gift from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (2012, July) 10,401,087 GEL From the contingency (reserve) funds of the President (in the last 6 years) 700 TONS OF WINE - ---- A gift from Tbilisi City Hall (2007) 300 - Church services; 400 - Personal use 25,000,000 GEL 3 million increase in state funding (2013) SHOULD THE CHURCH BE GIVING VALUABLE GIFTS TO THE PRIME MINISTER, THE RICHEST MAN IN THE COUNTRY? Ulysse Nardin Watch 22,000 $ Patriarch's gift for the Prime Minister (2013, September) Jesus answered, "IF YOU WANT TO BE PERFECT, GO. SELL YOUR POSSESSIONS AND GIVE TO THE POOR, AND YOU WILL HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN, THEN COME, FOLLOW ME. (Matthew 19,21) Source: UNDP, 2012 Transparency International - Georgia, 2013 Tbilisi City Hall, 2007 Facebook, 2013 amazon.com, 2013 The Bible JumpStarte