Prof Tiger & Sardis "All Things Considered" Theology Hut

[The Gray Ghost]

George Will's atheistic conservative hide is not impressed.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions ... story.html

[Professor Tiger]

I'm a big fan of George Will, but I can see why his atheism means he doesn't really get the pope and the simple Christianity that the pope is proclaiming.

[Cletus]

No, but it certainly seems to be a kinder, gentler pope. But of course, it may be a Peter Sellers in "Being There" type of situation (sans the metaphysical stuff)...

He's better at PR but that's it. Nothing of substance has changed. It's the same criminal organization its always been.

[Professor Tiger]

Cletus channels Hitchens.

[Cletus]

You flatter me.

[Jungle Rat]

Kin Davis would object

[Professor Tiger]

Kin Davis would object

I'm not with Kim Davis on this one. We're supposed to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render unto God that which is God's. If she wants to receive a paycheck from Caesar as his employee, she needs to do what he says. If she doesn't then she should find a job elsewhere.

I'm in a similar situation. If the prison system ever tells me I have to perform gay weddings between inmates (and it is only a matter of time before that happens), I will eventually have to quit. If I don't accept Caesar's terms, I won't take Caesar's money.

[hedge]

I love it when christians try to cloak their venality as principle...

[Jungle Rat]

I'm craving a salad.

[hedge]

I'm sure Prof will be glad to let you toss his salad...

[Johnette's Daddy]

Kin Davis would object

I'm not with Kim Davis on this one. We're supposed to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's, and render unto God that which is God's. If she wants to receive a paycheck from Caesar as his employee, she needs to do what he says. If she doesn't then she should find a job elsewhere.

I'm in a similar situation. If the prison system ever tells me I have to perform gay weddings between inmates (and it is only a matter of time before that happens), I will eventually have to quit. If I don't accept Caesar's terms, I won't take Caesar's money.

Easily one of the most misunderstood and misapplied scriptures in the New Testament, if not the entire Bible.

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." - Psalm 24:1

"For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." - Psalm 50:10-12

"The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them." - Psalm 89:10

"Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is." - Deuteronomy 10:14


To the Jews of Jesus' day, NOTHING belonged to Caesar. EVERYTHING belonged to God. Caesar was a thief and a blasphemer and it was every Jew's duty remove Caesar's influence from the Promised Land, which is why the Jews rebelled against the Romans continually from 63 BC until 135 AD when the Romans basically kicked all the Jews out of Palestine.

The Romans ran the Temple in Jerusalem through a cadre of puppet High Priests and used the temple treasury to fund their wars in other parts of the world. With the exception of a small amount of collaborators who got rich off of supporting the Romans, NO Jew would ever consider voluntarily funding Caesar's armies by paying their taxes.

If Jesus had dared to suggest that the people give Caesar ANY KIND of cooperation, no one would've followed him and they may actually have assassinated him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicarii

"Sicarii (Latin plural of Sicarius "dagger-men", in Modern Hebrew rendered siqariqim סיקריקים) is a term applied, in the decades immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, to an extremist splinter group of the Jewish Zealots, who attempted to expel the Romans and their partisans from the Roman province of Judea. The Sicarii carried sicae, or small daggers, concealed in their cloaks, hence their name. At public gatherings, they pulled out these daggers to attack Romans or Roman sympathizers, blending into the crowd after the deed to escape detection. They were one of the earliest forms of an organized assassination society or cloak and daggers, predating the Middle Eastern assassins and Japanese ninjas by centuries."

[Professor Tiger]

By saying, "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's..." apparently Jesus didn't agree with the prevailing Jewish view that NOTHING belongs to Caesar. I'm sure you noticed, he was always saying things that the Pharisees didn't like.

[Professor Tiger]

Paul expands on the same thing:

1Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

2Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

3For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

4For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

5Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

6For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.

7Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

[Jungle Rat]

I'm just glad I don't have to go to church this weekend now.

[Professor Tiger]

Don't forget to put some money in the collection plate before you log off.

[hedge]

"Easily one of the most misunderstood and misapplied scriptures in the New Testament, if not the entire Bible."

Actually, there's a whole lot of competition for that distinction...

[hedge]

"The Romans ran the Temple in Jerusalem through a cadre of puppet High Priests and used the temple treasury to fund their wars in other parts of the world."

In the creation of the catholic church, the early christians were evidently very apt pupils of the romans in this regard...

[sardis]

Prof going old school with the KJV version in his scripture quotations. I am very pleased.

[sardis]

ALSO lending credence to the Pauline epistles. Very uncatholic of him.

[Professor Tiger]

I felt guilty not making Jesus's words red.

We Orthodox like Paul too.