Results 1 - 2 of 2
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Joseph's iron fist | Gen 47:19 | Just Read Mark | 135817 | ||
I agree that 20 percent is a very fair taxation rate. I am a Canadian so, hey, I acknowledge govenments can have a constructive role. In my first post, I mentioned that that might be a societal benefit worth the suffering they went through. The people were offering their freedom because they had already paid EVERYTHING they had. Can you imagine? Property, livestock, everything. Joseph could have said, "no, there's another way." I suggest that your desire to commend Joseph is preventing you from reading the harshness of the text.... There are more options than "the people starve or they forfeit all they own to the Empire." What about "the people receive the food they grew at an affordable rate, so that all Egyptians will benefit" ? If you were Joseph, and you saw people starving and bankrupt, wouldn't that idea occur to you? |
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2 | Joseph's iron fist | Gen 47:19 | JCrichton | 135821 | ||
Hi, JRM! Again, I understand your position... and though I do have an affinity for Joseph (being the envy of his brothers, being at the threshold of death, sold as a slave, wrongly imprisoned... and keeping his Faith through all!), my views differ because I tend to think in terms of Joseph's immediate historical era: the world was a much harsher place! People in power saw even their own offspring as a threat and they disposed of them readily! Sacrificing a person, a family or a township was nothing short of "good business sense" when conditions dictated so (not that such atrocities do not happen in our times--I hear about them happining much too often now-a-days!)... Could Joseph have engineered a different plan? Anything is possible! Would it have had benefited as much or would the Egyptian people have had to die when foreigners could outbid their purse? Would foreigners be as eager to send Pharoah a fith of their products in exchange for seeds? Would Egypt, as a nation, survive seven years of famine once people lost all hope after experiencing the first couple of years of famine? Could people exercise sound judgment during the famine years if they were provided for by the Pharoah's generosity? It is not just the unknowns that hinders our judgment, but also the fact that today's values did not exist back then... If the US (Canada) government made it voluntary, how many people do you think would send their contributions to the IRS, even those who claim to be "Christians?" How long would a nation last without the capital to bankroll an empire?... Remember reading Scripture that speak on kings purchasing their nation's freedom and autonomy or buying armies to fight for them? If Egypt's economy had lapsed, how long would they have survived the famine's devastation coupled with military assaults from the neighboring powers? God Bless! Angel |
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