2020-05-29 – Considering the Bible

taxes-150x150 Where did the right for churches to avoid paying taxes come from? I mean, did this right to avoid paying taxes come out of Bible teaching?

Is this “right” that churches exercise grounded in the Bible?

Consider the first topic of discussion.

1. Christians are to avoid offence

Consider the following passages.

Matthew 17:24-27
When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”

He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?”

And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.

However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.”

When Peter was asked about the temple tax, Jesus sent him fishing and paid the taxes with a coin from the fishes mouth. It is interesting that the Lords motive for paying the taxes is to avoid offending.

The background is the temple tax that the Jewish religious aristocracy required for the maintenance of the temple. But note that Jesus likens this temple taxation to the more common taxation of the overlords within the land, that is, the Romans, who are referred to as the “kings of the earth”. Interesting comparison!

So who are the “strangers” in this text? Who did the Romans tax?

It is common knowledge that one of the responsibilities of conquered lands within the Roman empire was to bear the tax burden for the kingdom of Rome. When Jesus refers to the children is this passage, He is referring to those who were free-born children within the Roman nation, that is, those born to Roman citizens. Therefore the strangers are those who are the conquered. So the comparison that Jesus makes is to liken the temple tax responsibility to the strangers (the Jewish religious aristocracy?) and to state that those who follow Jesus were the true children.

If I am following the Lord’s logic, this means that true children of the kingdom are free of this responsibility – that is, to pay any (temple) tax.

But not free from the responsibility to love. We are not to offend our neighbor and in standing up for our rights (in not having to pay some tax), I am afraid we offend. (Golly, after I finally considered this topic, it offends me!).

TAXES & CHURCHES

Remember the atheist friend that was doing the surveys about the future taxation. He certainly saw an apparent contradiction between the churches words and works. And he certainly was able to use this experience to shore up his belief that the church was simply a business.

What think ye? Is there something I am missing?

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