RE: Anarchism & Christianity (Part 3): The Question of Taxes
This is an interesting post, and I'll say I've had some of the same thoughts going through my head for the last few years. However, I don't know about some of your interpretations of scripture.
First, in Matthew 22, the incident with the taxes, I think the important question Jesus asks is, "Whose image and inscription is this?" I think that would have had the Jews thinking of this verse:
Exodus 20:4 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below.
I think He's pointing out the fact that they are breaking God's law in order to appease the civil authorities.
In Matthew 17, the tax there is the Temple tax. It's a tax to support the Jewish Temple, not paid to the Romans. (Exodus 30:13-16, 2 Kings 12:5-17, Neh 10:32-33) I take Jesus' response to be a claim to be the Son of God, here. Then, to prove His divine nature, he procures the tax money by performing a miracle.
I can see by your comments below that you're an atheist and think the bible has contradictions, so I can see how it would be easy for you to find the message you want in the verses you quoted. Frankly, I wish they supported anarchy, because philosophically I would like the world to be capable of it.
However, I think the real message of Jesus is that there is one kingdom, and Jesus is the King. It's not the same kind of kingdom as earthly kingdoms, and the way you become great is by serving others. That's why the king offered Himself as a ransom for the rest of us.
If you look at it that way, the New Testament seems pretty consistently to teach Christians to obey civil authorities as long as they don't have to disobey God in order to do so. Paul and Jesus both seem to be making the point that it's more beneficial to live as good citizens whenever possible so as to be more influential as a representative of the Kingdom of God. It's like living as an ex-patriot in a foreign country. You obey the speed limits, don't rob people, obey drug laws, etc., but you don't do anything seditious to your home country.
Well, for clarification, the post is actually a text that I wrote years ago, when I was still a believer. But also, I don't think Christians should put much weight in the Bible per se. I mean, the Bible supports a lot of garbage that no Christian would actually accept, so I don't think you should really look to the Bible as a source of morality.
http://www.anarchistsocialdemocracy.com/pdf%20Documents/The%20Bible,%20Patriarchy,%20and%20Homophobia.pdf
Well, thanks for the clarification. I'd have to take issue with the idea that the bible supports garbage no Christian would accept. True, there's garbage in there, but if you read carefully you will find the bible doesn't endorse everything the characters in it do.
If you take the New Testament seriously, and look to Jesus as the exact representation of God's character, there is no greater source for morality.