Subnostr

I did a quick search on the word "taxes" in the New Testament and it's interesting to see that tax collectors are always grouped with sinners, adulterers, the greedy, the unrighteous, Gentiles...😄

I did see that in Luke 3:11-12 it appears that the tax collectors were authorized, i.e., had the authority, to collect taxes from the people, according to John the Baptist:

"Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”"

I do agree that when governments exceed what they have been authorized by God to do, that is, punish evildoers and praise those who do good (1 Peter 2:14), then they are acting illegitimately and can be morally resisted.

sms 1y ago

No human is authorised by God to coerce anything from others.

If they were, there would be 11 or 12 Commandments:

“Thou shalt do whatever the biggest, local armed gang of men commands you to do.”

“Thou shall give the biggest, local armed gang of men as much of your property as they wish.”

If anything like that were authorised by God, then any genuine charity group is authorised by God to coerce as much as they wish, from all they encounter.

Within the context of Jesus’ teaching, any such charity certainly does at least as much and likely much more good than any armed gang.

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