Meme & Quote Thread

41862045_10215300750844779_8354532824690196480_n.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jaw
sturg33 said:
But the private sector actually helps the poor a lot more than the government
Click to expand...

Lots of places in the New Testament say to give to the poor. I can't recall any that say to take from others to give to the poor. I guess that doesn't fit nicely on a meme though.
 
nsacpi said:
render unto Caesar
Click to expand...

Yeah, but that verse is meant to show how inconsequential government should be. Pay respect to Caesar with the coins he minted, and respect to God with everything, since He provided everything.

Not that I am saying we shouldn't pay taxes. Just that it shouldn't be presented as a Christian quality to take from others to give to others. The Christian should be more concerned with what more they can give.
 
Jaw said:
Yeah, but that verse is meant to show how inconsequential government should be. Pay respect to Caesar with the coins he minted, and respect to God with everything, since He provided everything.

Not that I am saying we shouldn't pay taxes. Just that it shouldn't be presented as a Christian quality to take from others to give to others. The Christian should be more concerned with what more they can give.
Click to expand...

I believe the question posed to Jesus was whether it was right for Jews to pay taxes to Roman authorities.

And his answer was yes.

I don't claim that paying taxes is a Christian quality. It is a civic quality that is part of good citizenship.
 
Okay, winners write the history books. If they lost they would be known as criminals who were hanged for treason. Most people didnt want to rebel and the British were not tyrants. Britain racked up 130 million in debt in the seven year war securing the colonies from the French and actively provided protection against foreign invasion. God forbid the British asked the colonies to kick in a few pennies to help pay for that ****. There was never any legitimate reason to rebel. Far more reason today in my opinion.
 
cajunrevenge said:
Okay, winners write the history books. If they lost they would be known as criminals who were hanged for treason. Most people didnt want to rebel and the British were not tyrants. Britain racked up 130 million in debt in the seven year war securing the colonies from the French and actively provided protection against foreign invasion. God forbid the British asked the colonies to kick in a few pennies to help pay for that ****. There was never any legitimate reason to rebel. Far more reason today in my opinion.
Click to expand...

hmmm...i've done some recent reading on British history...i recommend in particular a book by the Cambridge historian Robert Tombs, titled The English and their History

i would not describe Tombs as a partisan of the colonies...but one of the really interesting things I learned from his book is that there was a very strong part of public opinion in England at the time that agreed with the positions being taken by the colonials...so just as public opinion was divided in the colonies there were also sharp divisions of opinion on many of the same issues in the home country

and history does get to be written by the losers...although again I don't think Tombs regards himself as a loser or winner in any of the matters he writes about...the book is about English history and the part about the American colonies is a small part of it

to digress slightly...see "lost cause" historians for an example where historians from the losing side wrote their version of history to great propagandistic effect
 
Last edited:
nsacpi said:
I believe the question posed to Jesus was whether it was right for Jews to pay taxes to Roman authorities.

And his answer was yes.

I don't claim that paying taxes is a Christian quality. It is a civic quality that is part of good citizenship.
Click to expand...

Ahhh. His answer in Matthew was
Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.

in Luke, the answer was
Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.

To me and the clergy I have discussed this with, the response was a way of showing the triviality of human authority compared to that of God. It also humbled the Pharisees who asked the question, because they hoped he would be arrested for speaking against the payment of taxes.

I was surprised that anyone would have your take on this so I went looking for other interpretations. There are many.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Render_unto_Caesar

I particularly enjoyed Henry David Thoreau's version, simply because it is so Thoreau:
Christ answered the Herodians according to their condition. "Show me the tribute-money," said he; – and one took a penny out of his pocket; – If you use money which has the image of Caesar on it, and which he has made current and valuable, that is, if you are men of the State, and gladly enjoy the advantages of Caesar's government, then pay him back some of his own when he demands it; "Render therefore to Caesar that which is Caesar's and to God those things which are God's" – leaving them no wiser than before as to which was which; for they did not wish to know.

I think I fall more in the Tertullian camp - Tertullian, in De Idololatria, interprets Jesus as saying to render "the image of Caesar, which is on the coin, to Caesar, and the image of God, which is on man, to God; so as to render to Caesar indeed money, to God yourself. Otherwise, what will be God's, if all things are Caesar's?"
 
I wonder if Bedell would come back to answer if we had a thread dedicated to biblical questions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top