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NASB | Jeremiah 27:6 "Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Jeremiah 27:6 "Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant and instrument, and I have also given the wild animals of the field to serve him. |
Subject: pay or not to pay |
Bible Note: Dear Dnewland, I'm not certain what you mean by "reinterpretation." Since you are so focused on Romans 13, in spite of the efforts to broaden your search, I guess I need to be more explicit. If I understand correctly, you worry that your tax dollar will be spent on abortion. During the time of Christ they called it "tribute." It was a way of honoring a specific person: the person of Caesar. A man who considered himself a god. A man who could take any life on a whim. A man who represented everything detestable about gentiles. The Jews' problem was more difficult than your own -- and a lot more serious -- not only was the government overtly anti-God and pro-paganism, but they could take what they wanted out of your hide without due process of law. Consequently, the legalistic Pharisees saw an opportunity to cause difficulties for Christ (Matthew 22:17-21). After all, He was talking about walking righteously, etc. So they decided to ask Him if it was Godly to pay the tribute. If He answered no, they'd turn him over to the local authorities as a rebel. If He answered yes, then they would start doing what you are doing to us: tacitly accusing us all of ungodliness by paying our taxes to a sinful government. His answer was clear, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." There are many, many more examples in Scripture. I'd encourage you to seek those out for yourself. I offered a number of hints that should assist you. In the end, you must bind your own conscience by the Word of God. If you ultimately deem that your very own specific tax dollar will go directly toward the purchase of an abortion, you have several choices: 1. Find a country that uses its tax dollar for more benevolent purposes, then go live there. (The choices are going to be limited, but its possible you could find somewhere, someplace, that doesn't use government revenue for ungodly practices. Of course, it will also need to be a place that will grant you the freedom of your religion.) 2. Refuse to pay your taxes, yielding yourself up to the government for the retribution they choose. (The rest of us on and off the forum will be rendering up our tax dollar to cover the governments costs in dealing with you. By the way, this is not without precedent. A rather famous heathen chose this form of "civil disobedience;" his name was Henry David Thoreau. I cannot think of any doctrinally sound Christian having done the same.) 3. Adjust your lifestyle and employment such that you earn so little money each year that you will not be charged taxes. (I have a friend that has taken this route. He's a very hard worker, so the question of the vice of laziness is rarely attributed to him. However, his kids attend public school and enjoy other benefits funded by the rest of us.) There are other choices, but they would involve sinful behavior. I'd posit that options #2 and #3 are fundamentally hypocritical. Option #1 seems to be your best choice. Of course, while you are still here, I trust that you avail yourself of every opportunity to vote in order to change the practices of this nation. After all, in a fundamental way, you are part of a "government by the people" until you become an expatriate. May the Lord assist you in your search for the ideal solution. In Him, Doc |