Category: Politics

I used to vote. I used to give money to politicians, plant signs in my yard, and hand out flyers at the polling places. A few years ago my intellectual journey took me to the point where I could no longer participate in electoral politics in good conscience. The most common argument I’ve seen against voting is the one laid out by Dubner and Levitt in Freakonomics. They made the rational, utilitarian argument against voting. Essentially, your single vote will not impact the election, so why waste the time and effort? That isn’t a good enough reason for me. Some things are worth doing despite the inconvenience. Voting is not one of them. Here is why. Continue reading Why I Am a Principled Non-Voter

The “Render unto Caesar” passage is frequently cited as a Biblical command to faithfully pay your taxes. I believe this is an incorrect interpretation when the verse is taken in its proper context. The Pharisees were obviously trying to ask questions that would entrap Jesus.  Matt 22:15, Mark 12:13, Luke 20:20  They were trying to figure out a way to hand Him over to the authorities, but it was not yet time for Him to be captured.
Luke 20:20 – Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.

That begs the question, how does the question about taxes lay a trap?  The fact that it was a trick question and that Jesus recognized it as a trick question,  (Luke 20:23) shows that there was not a simple “yes or no” answer.  For if Jesus could have given a simple answer there would have been no way to trap Him.  So, here is the question:
Luke 20:22 – Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

The Pharisees were hoping to catch Jesus and hand Him over to the governor.  What answer to this question would have led to His capture?  If He had said “No, it is not right to pay taxes to Caesar.”  The Pharisees obviously thought He would answer it this way, or else why the hope that they might be able to trap Him?  Also, note that the question is coming from the Pharisees, so the “us” in this question refers to the Jewish people who were being subjugated by the Roman authorities.  The historical context provides more insight into why this question was a tricky one to answer.  The Roman government was persecuting the Jews and was in league with the Jewish leaders.  They were even using the temple tax to pay for public works projects which benefited Rome.  So, He couldn’t just say “Yes, it is right to pay taxes to Caesar”, because clearly the Roman regime was corrupt to the core. He also couldn’t say, “No, it is not right to pay taxes to Caesar”, because He would have been arrested on the spot.

The genius in the answer Jesus did give is that the different groups would interpret it in different ways. When He said “Give Caesar what is his, and give God what is His”, the Romans and Pharisees would not be able to find fault with that statement. Jesus’ followers however, could interpret His statement in a number of different ways. Maybe theywould understand that the coin doesn’t belong to Caesar just because his picture is on it. After all, in Psalms it says that everything belongs to God.  I’ve also read that there were competing currencies in use in the area at that time, and by singling out the relatively unpopular Roman currency Jesus gave His followers a loophole. There could be any number of ways His words could be interpreted, but the bottom line is that He didn’t explicitly command the paying of immoral taxes. Otherwise, why were the Pharisees stunned by His response? They saw that Jesus was incredibly smart and that he had eluded their trap.
Luke 20:26 – They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

Not convinced? Find an alternate interpretation to mine, which explains the following questions:
– Why was the question difficult and a possible trap?
– Why didn’t Jesus answer directly with a “yes” or “no”?
– Why were the Pharisees stunned and amazed at Jesus’ answer?

I watched some of the Senate debate on the Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage yesterday.  I was struck by the arrogance of both sides of the argument.  While the Democrats at least argued for states’ rights and individual freedom, they still assumed that government has the authority to define marriage.  However, the truth is that they only have that authority as long as we give it to them.  Let me explain. Continue reading The Government’s Definition of Marriage

When we got back from the First Annual Porcupine Festival, I was constantly asked why I had gone up to New Hampshire of all places.  I would go into a brief explanation of the Free State Project and why I think it’s a good idea.  What I realized though was that most people weren’t getting it. Continue reading Why I Support the Free State Project