Have We “Polluted” Christianity with Conservatism (3)
A few days ago I was involved in a conversation on Facebook which prompted the whole idea of this thread. A commenter said "we have polluted Christianity with Conservative Ideology".
Yesterday I asked the question: Is taking the position of low taxation an exclusively conservative position or is it a matter of faith?
Before I dive in allow me to say thank you for your comments. I am so thankful for all of you who keep me thinking correctly or thinking at all 
. Specifically Jordan; I can always count on you to make sure I am being clear and inclusive in my comments and Jim; thank you for interjecting the foundational truth of obedience to God and His delegated authority.
Now onto the point:
As Christians we have the answers for every problem on earth. God has given us the responsibility (Psalm 115:16) and the authority (Mathew 28:18-20) to steward the earth and has spoken to every aspect of life (2 Peter 1:3) through His specific revelation to His people. The Bible.
I chose taxation because there are opinions ranging all over the place and some Christians believe it is good to take from some for the benefit of others.
Same sex marriage would have been too easy. Having said that there is a very good reason for opposition to same sex marriage other than, "it’s a sin"; which is fine for Christians but the world won’t buy it.
Jim you brought up Mathew 22:21 render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. The Constitution, with guidance from the Bible, tells us what is lawful and Biblical related to taxation. Civil government needs, and has the right, to collect taxes for things like national defense, punishing evil, keeping the peace and very little else. Romans 13 is very clear on this point.
In "Americas Providential History" Mark A. Beliles & Stephen K. McDowell quote Gary DeMar:
"In the United Stated the Constitution is our "Caesar." We are bound to pay what it stipulates is our due. But neither citizens nor civil representatives must assume that Jesus gave rulers a blank check in the area of taxation…
Another word for tax is tribute. We are directed in scripture to give God a 10% tithe so any amount above that for civil government could be construed as idolatry.
Property taxes are expressly forbidden in 1 Sam 8:14, 1 Kings 21, and Ezk 46:18. With property taxes the property is in effect owned by the state and rented to citizens. If we fail to pay the rent (tax) we can be evicted. This is theft. God owns the land and gives it to us to steward. (Gen 1:28-30) The State has no part in this relationship.
Proverbs 13:22 says a good man leaves an inheritance to his children. Our estate tax system, though not expressly forbidden in scripture, makes it very difficult to leave an inheritance. Without burdensome estate and insurance planning up to 55% of our estate will be absorbed by the state at our death. this tax is sold as a tax on "the rich". It is more accurately a huge burden on family farms and small business. The rich don’t pay taxes.
There are so many more places I could go with this but it’s too long already.
Because conservatism, (not Republican party), most closely aligns itself with the Biblical clarity regarding the purpose and amount of taxation. I am a conservative. There is no Biblical, or constitutional, basis for "wealth redistribution".
Taxation for me is not a matter of politics but of faith. What part of this is "polluting" to Christianity?
Tags: Politics, Conservatism, Christianity, Private Property, Taxes, Estate Tax
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My Songs
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This could easily be a book, so I'll just toss out a few initial notes and links to folks I feel explain or address things better than I could. Let things progress as they will from there…
1) Does the following:
"In 2008, the defense budget was just over $481,000,000,000. This was a 60 percent increase over the 2001 budget "to ensure a high level of military readiness" for the war on terror. That number, by the way, not much under a half a trillion dollars, did not include an extra $150 billion to run the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the year. "
count as 'defense' in your argument? (cf. http://www.truthout.org/us-military-budget56418)
2) Regarding Caesar:
"There is no room for separate spheres of “religious” and “political” in Jesus’ reply. As William Cavanaugh likes to say, scripture says “The earth is the LORD’s, and all that is in it.” If the whole earth belongs to God, then what does that leave for Caesar? The only thing Caesar gets is his own image thrown back in his face, the symbol of his non-reality that cannot stand up to the truth of God’s reign and the coming kingdom."
http://www.jesusmanifesto.com/2008/09/give-what-t...
3) Regarding Romans 12:
http://www.jesusmanifesto.com/2008/07/americans-1...
4) Regarding Romans 13:
Or to make my point more biblically clear – to hell with Romans 13 read out of context of Romans 12, the rest of Paul’s letter to the Romans, the life of Jesus, and the whole prophetic testimony of the Hebrew prophets.
http://empireremixed.com/2008/02/14/to-hell-with-...
and
"Be clear, any of those human arkys [governmental authorities] are where they are only because God is allowing them to be there. They exist only at his sufferance. And if God is willing to put up with a stinker like the Roman Empire, you ought to be willing to put up with it, too. There is no indication God has called you to clear it out of the way or get it converted for him. You can't fight the Roman Empire without becoming like the Roman Empire; so you had better leave such matters in Gods' hands where they belong" (Verner Eller in Christian Anarchy, p.11).
Peace
On a more personal note, I support the government in everything *except* defense – I do not pay the % of taxes dedicated to murdering my brothers and sisters, and maintaining a culture of war. This is not to say that I agree with the remaining taxes, but it's just not a battle worth fighting at present.
http://www.warresisters.org/node/321
You might enjoy this 3-part interview, too with Eugene McCarraher
http://www.theotherjournal.com/article.php?id=927
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