Answer Kerry’s Biblical Query.
Seems like John Kerry, occasional Catholic, has laid down a bit of a challenge.
“I am sick and tired of (them saying) they somehow have a better understanding of Christianity, of the Judeo-Christian ethic, of values,” Kerry added. “We’re talking about values? You show me where in the New Testament Jesus ever talked about the value of having taxes and taking money from poor people to give to the rich people in this country.”
Wel, okay, Senator, if you insist.
Let’s start with Matthew 22:15-22:
Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men. Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money.” And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, “Whose is this image and superscription? ” They say unto him, Caesars. Then saith he unto them, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesars; and unto God the things that are Gods. ” When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
I believe this covers both of Kerry’s challenges and I’ll explain why.
At the time this happened, the Jews were taxed (fairly heavily, as it happens) and that tax – the tribute – went directly into the coffers of the Ruler of Rome. The Pharisees, who knew just how unpoular this tax was among the Jews, hoped to draw Jesus into taking a no-win stand. If he had denounced the tax, he would have gotten in a great deal of trouble with the Romans, with whom the Pharisees were politically in league. If he didn’t denounce the tax, the people would get angry with him.
So he answered in the best way possible, by saying, essentially, that you give Caesar what he is entitled and God what he is entitled. Although the tax, which in large part took from the poor and further enriched the very wealthy, was unfair, it was within Caesar’s power to demand. Jesus was saying that the believer ought to obey the laws that are in place by giving the government what it was entitled to have, but to give God what he was entitled also.
Was that a good enough answer for the Senator, or does he require more? How about a couple tacit endorsements of taxation from our Savior?
Let’s look at the story of Zacchaeus. We find his story told in the book of Luke, Chapter 19, Verses 1-10. Zacchaeus was described as ” the chief among the publicans, and he was rich”. He wanted very much to see Jesus who was passing through the city of Jericho, so he climbed up a sycamore tree he was quite short as well as rich). Jesus saw Zacchaeus, told him to climb down from the tree because he was going to spend the day at Zacchaeus’ house. That shocked the people because Zacchaeus was quite unpopular. In the first case, he was a publican – a tax collector – and in the second case, he had gotten quite rich from his job (because tax collectors weren’t the most honest people in the world). Jesus could well have denounced Zacchaeus for either his highly unpopular job or for his sins of corruption but he did neither. In the end, Zacchaeus sincerely pledged to give half of his possessions to the poor and to return fourfold anything he had taken falsely from anyone. The Bible also does not say that Jesus asked Zacchaeus to stop doing his job.
I trust the Senator has also heard of Matthew, one of Jesus’ disciples and the author of the New Testament book. He wrote briefly of his conversion in Matthew 9:9-10. Matthew was another one of those publicans and when the Lord found him, Matthew was actually at work, “sitting at the receipt of custom”. After that encounter, Jesus then sat down to dinner at a table with “publicans and sinners” (Mt 9:11). In fact, you can get an entire study of publicans and Jesus’ attitudes toward them by following this link.
I hope this finds its way to the Senator and that he acknowledges that, indeed, Jesus not only recognized the appropriate existence of taxation, but that he refused, given several opportunities, to denounce a system that took quite lavishly from the poor and gave to the rich.
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Aw, go easy on the poor guy. After all, he is a religious imbecile. To the best of my ability to discover he's never had any religious instruction whatever other than a few weeks of Sunday School in anticipation of his First Communion when he was seven.
Well, considering how much time he spent in various churches last year, you figure he might have picked up a little knowledge, right?
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I don't think Christ was advocating taxation. Maybe he was simply saying that the beleiver should obey the government. I think thats reading our 21c mindset back into the narrative to say that he was advocating taxation when he never directly said anything like that. HE simply said "obey the gov't and obey God." If the gov't wants taxes, pay them, if not then don't. And if by spending time with Zacchaeus and MAtthew, Christ was advocating taxation, then was he advocating prostituion when he hung out with prostitutes? Just because he spent time with them does it mean he advocated taxation? He spent time with a lot of different people without advocating thier values. Anyways just an opinion.
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The Bible tells us that the poor will always be with us; there's no sense in imagining that we can "solve" the problem of the poor. Also, The Bible also says that those who are first in this life will be last in the next. That doesn't address any specific group (taxcollectors, big business, limousine liberals etc.), but I think of it as remembering to put God first and above any material goal or possession because those latter things will not help you or give you status in the next life. The Bible also says it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. I see this again as God instructing us to be able to let go of our wealth and not let it be a stumbling block to getting to God. (If your eye/hand offends you, cut it out!) All of these things direct us to keep God number one. And not to LOVE our money and possessions. I think if you don't really love what you own or love your status on this earth, then when you're asked to share or give it up (whether by God or a person on earth), it won't be so difficult to do. That isn't to say people can't have wealth and comfort, but I think that everyone should acknowledge that their wealth and comfort doesn't come from their own hard work but from God who crated the person and who created the abilities to think and to perform tasks that will earn money. God makes it so each day we can wake up and get to work. So it's really all about Him. And all the weath and cars and fun things and toys and homes really don't belong to us at all. We just get to use them for a while because our real riches are stored up in Heaven. If John Kerry really cared so much about the plight of the poor, he wouldn't own 14 homes and live in the lap of luxury while he blasphemes the Bible by insisting that what he thinks comes before what God commands. John Kerry really isn't one to talk, since he IS the rich man taking from the poor.