Redistribution of Wealth

Published Saturday, December 04, 2010 11:06 AM
God commands for His people to establish an economy that redistributes wealth. God commands those who own land to open their fields for gleaning. God commands that a portion of the tithe be given directly to a worthy poor person/family to lift them out of poverty. God commands that the local Christian assembly use its stored resources to assist faithful covenant member families: if the extended family is unable or unwilling to help a covenant family, then the local Christian assembly is to use its stored resources to assist the needy covenant family. This is God's designed economic method to care for the poor. If obeyed, it will breed respect and appreciation between poor and rich, between the church and society. If not obeyed, then fallen man will adopt fallen methods to care for their poor, often implementing oppressive and inefficient systems and programs. Most dangerous is when the civil magistrate usurps the responsibility of the family and the church. The Bible forbids the civil magistrate from instituting any INCOME-BASED tax plan. Certainly, the Bible even more forcefully forbids a GRADUATED income tax. The head tax is the Biblical method for funding the civil government. Usurping civil magistrates violate God's Law. Those who condone a usurping civil magistrate and graduated income tax also break God's Law. Theft, taking someone else's property without Biblical warrant, is a violation of God's Law. Go and read the last question of the Communist Confession of Faith to understand the ultimate source of America's current putrid process of decomposition.
by Bahnsen8
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Comments

# WesleySonofCornelius said on Tuesday, December 07, 2010 6:24 PM

Well, hello, Bait ... (or is it Benign?)

"The Bible forbids the civil magistrate from instituting any INCOME-BASED tax plan."  Scripture reference, please.

"Certainly, the Bible even more forcefully forbids a GRADUATED income tax."  Please give Scripture reference for this one as well.

[And please don't give Scripture refs. that one must extrapolate out to your confident conclusion .. I need clear verses to understand your strong confidence in these teachings]

But while my hunch is that I'll disagree with your use of Scripture, I believe that we both can agree the writer of Hebrews was praising his readers by saying: "you JOYFULLY accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one." (Heb. 10:34)

# Bahnsen8 said on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 5:41 PM

Wesley, so good to hear from you again. I do hope you and yours are well these days, resting in His great and unshakeable comfort toward us in Christ our Savior and Lord. Thank you for your interest in this discussion, and as always, thank you for keeping us both focused upon Holy Scripture. I hope we can make some headway together in our Father's Word. Exodus 30: 11 - 16 is a very important Scripture in this discussion. God the King of Israel, ruled from His throne room in the tabernacle/temple. As I have studied this concept I have come to understand the tabernacle/temple as the center of both religious worship of God and civil homage to the King. Jehovah reigned from the tabernacle as both God and King. Hence, the atonement money must not be automatically interpreted only as an ecclesiastical tax. Verse 12 says this tax is taken in conjunction with the census, the counting of the males over age 20, which is an act of the civil magistrate, primarily for the purpose of military readiness. This tax was to be sent to Jerusalem, year after year. Again, remember, God is the King of Israel, the One Who leads them into battle, so they come to Him at His throne to be counted as ready. This is the temple tax referenced in the New Testament (Mt 17:24 - 26), but again, the name temple tax can be misleading. The temple was the seat of God's government in the earth, both ecclesiastical and civil. So, I see the temple tax as God's commanded tax upon all men age 20 and older, meant to be the primary means of funding the activities of the civil sphere. And, note that the tax is defined as half a shekel per man, a fixed amount in a fixed money system, hence the same amount per man per year, unchanging. And, just to emphasize what NOT to do, God says, "The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less." As far as I can tell (tell me if I missed something), there is no other Scriptural command regarding paying a tax to the civil magistrate (if you accept my argument that this is a civil tax). Hence my confidence in saying that God forbids the civil magistrate from instituting an income-based or graduated income-tax. Now, the tithe is income-based and it went to the local priests and Levites for the necessary ecclesiastical and social welfare functions of each locale. Now, in regards to your quote from Hebrews 10:34, if my possessions are wrongly confiscated because I stand up for Christ, like the people referenced in Hebrews 10:32-36, then yes indeed, I will rejoice in loss for Him, which is really always gain. But, I do not see Hebrews 10:34 as a verse to justify Christian silence when their civil magistrates disobey God's Law and implement a graduated income tax. Again, great to interact with you again. I sincerely hope you are well. Please pray for me to be more humble and Christ-like in all my ways. Here is a quote from a great Christian man from the 1500s, Pierre Viret, "If I did not have the conviction that it was God who was pressing it on, I would never enter a controversy with a single person." May you and I, siblings in Christ, move ahead with this spirit. Fondly, B8 (Lord willing, soon to be B10)

# WesleySonofCornelius said on Wednesday, December 15, 2010 10:24 PM

Haha ... so not Bait or Benign but Beaten!

I am doing well.  I find myself awfully busy these days.  But can't complain.

While I am in agreement of the position of God within His People, I have yet to be convinced that the rules and regulations (call it God's law) of God's Kingdom applies to earthly kingdoms.

# Bahnsen8 said on Thursday, December 16, 2010 5:27 PM

LOL, yeah, if I was starting at Steeplemedia today, I guess I might sign up as Viret9 or something like that. Things change quickly in life, yes? Busy is good, especially with the economy having left the tracks. Really, the taxation issue is just one important part of what happens when a civil magistrate strays outside of its God-given boundaries. What are your thoughts on the economy? How are things at Oak Ridge? The Savannah River Site is about to lay off 1400 people, if the rumors are correct. What are folks saying in the land of the Big Orange?

# WesleySonofCornelius said on Friday, December 17, 2010 11:57 PM

The economy is rough.  I think the economy has been rough for some time.  However, I believe we were force fed to think by the media and political jargon that our economy was as bad as the depression (or close to it).  Unfortunately, I think this thought then led some to justify in trying to 'fix the problem.'  But in trying to fix the problem they have just compounded it.

We are no longer in the day when liberal presidents who push and sign horrible legislation still have the respect of a Higher Power and pray (like Roosevelt).  All we do now is pass horrible legislation.

We learned today at Oak Ridge National Lab that Secretary Chu has put us federal contrators on a pay freeze to coincide with the civilian federal employee pay freezes.  No raises of any kind for the next 2 years.  It was a political stunt.  The DOE is going to save 2 million dollars with this pay freeze.  Compare this to the 3 DOE Energy Hubs that are still in force that run 25 million a year each for a planned 5 years.  We at ORNL have one of these 3 Hubs.

It is real sad that Savannah River is laying off that many people.  However, they would have had to lay those individuals off if they had not obtained some of the stimulus money last year.  Yes, the DOE labs won big off of the stimulus bill.

I believe the federal contrators has a place; however, we have grown way too large and redundant in many areas.

With my pay freeze, I am having to evaluate myself.  Do I really trust in the name of the LORD our God, or do I deep down cling to some level trust in chariots and in horses (man's ways)?!