Didn't Jesus say something along the lines of "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's"? Sounds to me like he was pro taxes.
this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
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Matthew 22:20,21: He said to them: “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said: “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them: “Pay back, therefore, Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.”
He probably didn't want to get crucified for encouraging tax evasion.
You are really crossing a line here with your comment!
I thought he kinda nailed it
He definitely spearheaded this comment thread.
At least they arent crossing a man.
Duh, because in the Bible he was crucified for blasphemy so if he ended up crucified for tax evasion the whole story would have fallen apart.
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Exactly what my dad said when I tried to teach him about pirating media lol
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The Bible actually says to shut up and pay your taxes without complaining lmao. Wonder who wrote that?
Yeah, you can bet your ass the Pope wanted everyone paying up.
There is very specifically tax fraud issues in the Bible. Mostly by tax collectors themselves. Lots of other places where it says to follow the laws of government.
The meme does encapsulate the views of a crap ton of fake Christians though.
It doesn't really discourage rape or slavery either, though. It's not a good manual for modern society.
You're mostly correct about slavery, but rapists got stoned to death. Deuteronomy 22.
AFAIK they had to pay 50 shekels and marry the woman they raped right?
Yeah, I suppose I shouldn't have left out that detail. Raping an unbetrothed virgin doesn't get the same treatment as raping another man's wife. I'd still say paying a fine and never being able to divorce counts as "discouraging" rape, but... damn.
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Wasn't JC kind of nice to slaves or sth?
Idunno, probably? Being nice to the downtrodden seemed to be more or less his thing when he wasn't telling people that he was his own imaginary sky daddy 🤷
Pretty sure he didn't actually FREE all the slaves or even told slavers to please do so, though. Spartacus is a much better role model than Jesus in that aspect.
Here, here! Jesus just did lame stuff like die on a cross. He could have saved a bunch of slaves sometime around 30 AD, specifically in the region of Roman occupied Israel. That would have been more important for the history of humanity.
I can't tell if you're being genuine or sarcastic. If it's the former, I completely agree.
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For the time, maybe. But the few times slavery is mentioned in the NT the focus is on treatment of slaves, not abolition. And even then, for slave owners who didn't follow Christian teachings, slaves were basically told to suck it up and get back to work (1Peter 2:18). Paul appears to free Onesimus in the book of Philemon (although I can't tell if his intended meaning is literal), and it's also worth noting that Christian nations were the first to abolish chattel slavery, but it'd be a stretch to say the Bible directly discourages slavery.
Actually, the first nation to abolish chattel slavery was Haiti, which was NOT a Christian nation at the time. The country as we know it today was literally founded through a successful slave revolt!
There is a verse in the Bible which specifically says you have to follow the law unless it conflicts with the Bible.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Render_unto_Caesar
The original message, coming in response to a question of whether it was lawful for Jews to pay taxes to Caesar, gives rise to multiple possible interpretations about the circumstances under which it is desirable for Christians to submit to earthly authority.
All three synoptic gospels state that hostile questioners tried to trap Jesus into taking an explicit and dangerous stand on whether Jews should or should not pay taxes to the Roman authorities. The accounts in Matthew 22:15–22 and Mark 12:13–17 say that the questioners were Pharisees and Herodians, while Luke 20:20–26 says only that they were "spies" sent by "teachers of the law and the chief priests".
The Tribute Money, by Peter Paul "Pee Wee" Rubens (1610–1615)
They anticipated that Jesus would oppose the tax, as their purpose was "to hand him over to the power and authority of the governor". The governor was Pilate, and he was the man responsible for the collecting of taxes in Roman Judea. Initially the questioners flattered Jesus by praising his integrity, impartiality, and devotion to truth. Then they asked him whether or not it is right for Jews to pay the taxes demanded by Caesar. In the Gospel of Mark[3] the additional, provocative question is asked, "Should we pay or shouldn't we?"
Jesus first called them hypocrites, and then asked one of them to produce a Roman coin that would be suitable for paying Caesar's tax. One of them showed him a Roman coin, and he asked them whose head and inscription were on it. They answered, "Caesar's," and he responded: "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's".
Render unto Cesar that which is Cesar's.
Lots of people are mentioning the Caesar thing, but nobody has mentioned that tithe is also a tax, and there is plenty said about that. Malachi 3:8, for example.
omw to look at the comments to see if it actually does
Stealing is a sin and tax fraud is stealing money from the country you live in
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