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Following Jesus in nonviolent struggle for justice and peace, we love our neighbors and enemies as God loves us all, becoming a peace church to share in Gods work to save the world.

Render Unto Caesar

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RENDER UNTO CAESAR

   How long will the American people continue to pay for the imperial wars (the so-called war on terrorism) of America? More pointedly, how long will Christians continue to pay for what, I fervently hope and want to believe, millions of them would not do personally and directly?

   With Tax Day, April 15, approaching, we would do well to ask what, by a duty instructed by Jesus, we "owe" the putative government of the United States.

   If we ask what Jesus would do about citizens deployed and hundreds of billions of dollars spent to kill human brothers and sisters in foreign lands, many Christians would respond with Jesus' words, "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's." And they would think this means that we have a duty to pay all of the taxes which the government imposes for its military adventures.

   But there is a little slippage here. By what kind of calculation and interpretation are God and Caesar presumed to have some kind of balanced, equal, or parity of claim on us and what we are and have? Think of who God was to Jesus and his people. Think of who Caesar was to them. Wait...linger...I mean really think about that. By what stretch of imagination can anyone suppose that Jesus uttered "God and Caesar" in one sentence and thereby implied some kind of equality between them?

   We will be helped in out thinking about this if we look for some names in our time similar in meaning to Caesar's name in Jesus' time. Hitler and Saddam come to mind.

   Render to each and all their due.

John K. Stoner   jstoner@ecapc.org

Comments

Intriguing questions as we approach the day we buy child killing bombs (April 15). I remember reading that it was against Jewish law to hold coins with a graven image on them. The Jews of Jesus' time were not honoring a golden calf but they were honoring Caesar. So, When Jesus asked them to inspect their coins it was a way of saying in effect- you seek to catch me breaking Jewish law but YOU are breaking Jewish law by carrying and serving the graven image of Caesar you hold in your hand. "Give unto Caesar that which is Creasers and give unto God that which is Gods." Don't we all know in our hearts that everything is God’s. So, as usual we can’t go to a checklist of right and wrong but must examine our hearts.

Posted by: karen cobb

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