It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection.
 | On Ron Paul Hackers, Iowa Christians, and Taxes |
The story begins with the exclusion of candidate Ron Paul from a Republican presidential debate coming up in Iowa a little over a week from now. The debate was sponsored by two right wing organizations, the Iowa Christian Alliance and Iowans for Tax Relief.
The head of Iowans for Tax Relief said that Ron Paul was not invited because Paul is not “credible”. The same organization is now alleging that Ron Paul’s supporters have responded to the failure to include Paul by attempting to hack the web site of Iowans for Tax Relief.
As for myself, I don’t believe that claim. I think it’s just a sneaky way for the Iowans for Tax Relief to spread the word that they have a web site. Oh, darn it. I’ve been suckered in to their backhanded little PR campaign.
Hacking and debating aside, what struck me in this story is the weird political alliance between a Christian organization and an anti-tax organization.
I seem to remember that Jesus is said to have once advised his followers, when asked about whether to pay taxes, to “render unto to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Oh, look, there it is, right in the Christian Bible, Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 22, Verse 21. Jesus is saying that his followers just ought to pay the taxes that the government asks them to pay, and stop whining about it.
So, why is it that so many right wing Christians don’t follow this teaching of Jesus? Why do they team up with anti-tax organizations? Why do they, as the Iowans for Tax Relief do, ask for “relief” for an obligation that Jesus tells them to fulfill? Maybe they ought to change their organization’s name to Iowans for Jesus Evasion.
Jesus was also purported to have gone around flipping over the tables of money changers in the Temple. So, what I want to know is this: Are these Iowa Republicans Christians, or are they money changers?
Contact Us
in jesus’s time ceasar was king. this is called rex lex, or the king’s word is law.
when our country was founded it is now lex rex, or the law (in our case the constitution)
is king. in the spirit of what you say, in our constitutional republic, it is a christians responsibility to adhere to the constitution-the law of our land, in the same way those in jesus’s time were told to adhere to ceasars tax edicts.
in any areas where taxes conflict with the constitution, we as christians should oppose them. there are plenty of constitutional taxes, such as tarrifs and excise taxes which
are not opposed. taxes such as income taxes are opposed on their unconstitutional status.
herein the can of worms is opened.
Comment by rich — 6/30/2007 @ 9:25 pm
Rich, your can is full of so many worms that they’re thinking of holding the vermiculture convention there next year.
The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:
“The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.”
Call me nutters, but that appears to authorize the Congress to lay and collect taxes on incomes.
Comment by Jim — 7/1/2007 @ 12:03 am
I didn’t pick up on the Iowans for Tax Relief being a right-wing organization. Their mission statements seem fairly terse and non-partisan.
On the other hand, the Iowa Christian Alliance does not appear to be either Christian or an alliance. They claim to be able to determine what is “the” correct Christian view of any number of issues, from abortion to homosexuality (in their little world it is possible to become un-homosexualized!)to Focus on Family (shudder)but their views are certainly at odds with the published positions of my own denomination, and by my reading with the bulk of the gospel as well.
And yes, Christians can pay income taxes. As a side note, the Bible does not say that Christians must follow the consititution, it says render under Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. That means you might have to oppose Caesar if Caesar expects something he is not entitled to, in which case, you can expect to be crucified.
Comment by Iroquois — 7/1/2007 @ 1:31 am