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Old 12-23-2005, 01:11 AM
MMMMMM MMMMMM is offline
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Default Re: Is libertarianism at odds with Christianity?

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If we're going to talk about this issue, we should also talk about Jesus' teachings on taxation.

Jesus was emphatically NOT against taxation -- even paying taxes to the brutal Roman government that ultimately crucified him and persecuted his followers.

Think about that.

His central teaching was "render unto Ceaser that which is Ceaser's, and unto God that which is God's".

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The context here is key: the Pharisees sought to trick Jesus into publicly denying the authority of Rome. They knew Jesus put the authority of God first and foremost, and above the authority of Caesar. So, they sent a lawyer-type to inveigle Jesus into making a statement for which they could have him arrested and executed. Jesus, however, perceived the attempted trickery and answered wisely, segregating in his reply the things of God from the things of Caesar, so that he did not thereby deny the authority of Caesar. When the Sadducee asked Jesus if it was lawful for Jews to pay tax to Caesar (the Jews considered God, not Caesar, to be their Lord), Jesus asked the Sadducee to hold up a coin, and asked him, whose likeness is on that coin? The Sadducee answered, "Caesar's", whereupon Jesus replied, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's."

So Jesus' statement may be taken more as a declaration of the compartmentalization of two distinct realms, than as an outright endorsement of taxation or tribute.

For a much more detailed explanation of this, from a religious scholar and true believer's perspective, here is a link I found:

http://www.hiscovenantministries.org...e/romans_2.htm
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