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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Rendering unto Caesar
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© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
I've been pilloried by Christians for the last week for opposing the federal
seizure of a church in Indianapolis.
Most of the criticism boils down to two scriptural references, which, these
folks apparently believe, mean Christians should never resist evil
perpetrated by government. The first reference is one found in the Gospel
accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke in which Jesus said "Render unto Caesar
the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's."
The second reference cited by readers is Romans 13, in which the Apostle Paul
advocates submission to earthly rulers.
A great many Christians -- including many pastors -- wrote to me explaining
that it is the duty of good citizens and churches to "render unto Caesar."
I hardly know where to begin in addressing such a fundamental issue. But let
me start by asking all Americans who subscribe to this principle as an
absolute how our founding fathers, many of them devout Christians, justified
breaking the bonds with their rulers in Great Britain? Were they not under a
scriptural obligation to render unto King George? Have you read the
Declaration of Independence?
I strongly suggest that my dear misguided Christian friends spend a little
time reading the great debates that precipitated the War for Independence --
all of which took place among men far more learned in the Scriptures than the
average modern Christian.
It's important to consider the circumstances and the audience behind Jesus'
instructions to "render unto Caesar." The Sadducees were attempting to trap
Jesus into advocating open contempt for Caesar. He recognized their wicked
and hypocritical little game and answered them with a totally truthful
response that astonished everyone.
But think about it. There are two components to Jesus' words. We are to
"render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," but we are also to "render
unto God the things that are God's." Well, everything ultimately belongs to
God. But, most of all, this injunction by Jesus instructs us that government
laws cannot trump God's laws -- ever.
If government commands you to do evil, as a Christian you must resist. There
is no alternative. Citing the "render unto Caesar" line is an excuse for
accountability to God -- nothing more, nothing less.
Furthermore, it needs to be pointed out to my critics that in America we
don't have a Caesar. Never have, never will. You see, our system of
government is called a free republic and it is based on the concept of
constitutional self-government. We have no "rulers" in America -- except
ourselves and our God. We believe in the rule of law, not the rule of men.
This is an important distinction, not a semantic one.
Nowhere in the Bible does it teach us to obey evil rulers. Nowhere. Quite the
contrary. In fact, the Bible has inspired more non-violent civil disobedience
movements than any other religious document. The example of Jesus and the
apostles was to submit to arrest, submit to being jailed, even submit to
execution. But, in no way, can one derive from biblical example that we are
to do evil because we are told to do so by government.
I believe it is evil -- pure and simple -- for the Internal Revenue Service
to force a church to serve as its unpaid tax collection agency. That is the
issue in Indianapolis. Armed federal agents seized the Indianapolis Baptist
Church because it refused to collect withholding taxes from employees.
This is an act of conscience that demands respect -- not only for churches
but for independent, privately held, tax-paying businesses as well. The IRS
cannot at once pretend the income tax is voluntary and at the same time
demand that employers collect it from employees before they ever see it.
It is stealing. And stealing is forbidden in the Ten Commandments. Christians
are not to countenance stealing, because stealing is evil. Christians are to
resist evil -- even at a cost of life itself.
I for one am not accountable to any Caesar, thank God. I am accountable to my
Creator. My rights and responsibilities as a free man descend not from
government, but from God Almighty.
I would love to ask my Christian critics how they feel about those heroes who
risked death in Nazi Germany because they refused to render Jews unto Hitler?
The greatest acts of moral courage in the last 2,000 years have been the
countless examples of individuals standing up to tyrants against all odds.
Sadly, it seems many modern American Christians are content to sit on their
duffs and condone evil because of their own scriptural illiteracy and moral
blindness.
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Joseph Farah is editor and chief executive officer of WorldNetDaily.com and
writes a daily column
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