Classical Values :: Who would Jesus tax?

Who would Jesus tax?

"Catholic social doctrine as I was taught it is, you take care of people who need the help the most."

Don't worry, I'm not going to play "Name that Christianist" again. The speaker was Senator Joe Biden, and he was explaining how his religious views define what he thinks ought to be government policies on taxation.

While there wasn't much media ink wasted on the statement (which was barely reported), imagine the uproar had Sarah Palin invoked the "social doctrine" of the Assemblies Of God.

Why? Because Sarah Palin is said to be a "Christianist" and a "theocrat," while Joe Biden never is.

What is a Christianist? Here's the definition, straight from the source:

I mean merely by the term Christianist the view that religious faith is so important that it must also have a precise political agenda. It is the belief that religion dictates politics and that politics should dictate the laws for everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike.

Precise political agenda about what?

Suppose that according to Catholic doctrine, abortion is a sin. If an anti-abortion politician were to cite Catholic doctrine in advocating abortion policy, why would that make him any more of a "theocrat" or "Christianist" than if he cited Catholic doctrine in advocating taxation policy.

What gives here? Why is abortion more Christianist than taxation? I mean, Jesus never mentioned abortion, yet the "render unto Caesar" line has been quoted to death. So if it is "Christianism" to have abortion policies dictated by Christianity, why isn't it even more "Christianist" to have our tax policies dictated by Christianity?

Hey, Jesus hung out with tax collectors, didn't he?

And while there is no biblical evidence that he hung out with either pro-abortion or anti-abortion people, he may well have, because it's beyond dispute that the Romans routinely practiced abortion, while Judaism generally frowned on the practice. (As to what the Talmudic scriptures teach about abortion, it's murky.)

So the question remains, why is advocacy of one Christian doctrine called "Christianism" and the other isn't?

Should start thinking of the IRS as a group of radical Christianists?

No, and the answer is simple. Opposition to abortion is right wing, which makes it automatically theocratic and Christianist. Support for tax hikes is left wing, which means it cannot be theocratic or Christianist, no matter how fervently religion is invoked.

Got that?

MORE: Damn! I didn't see it, but Glenn Reynolds beat me to calling Joe Biden a Christianist:

JOE BIDEN, CHRISTIANIST: "The political left likes to score Republicans for claiming that God is on their side, but here we have Mr. Biden claiming support from both God and Caesar. If Sarah Palin tried this, she'd send the boys at the Daily Kos into cardiac arrest. We won't get into a theological debate with Mr. Biden, except to say that Biblical tax rates tended to run around 10%, not the 39.6%-plus that Barack Obama's tax plan calls for."

No, I don't have time to examine the abortion rates from the Caesars' times. My point would be the same.

Comments

Senator Biden says ". . . you take care of people who need the help the most." and presents this as Roman Catholic doctrine. He's mistaken. It's "I care care of people who need the help the most." I'd love to have him explain that 'rendering unto Caesar' stuff.

Brooks · September 22, 2008 05:11 PM

Whatever church Senator Biden claims as inspiration for his theology, ain't one that I'd call christian. Jesus asks for a 10% tithe for the church, but never said that you must do so, or risk punishment. As I understand it, charity is to be done with a joyful heart, not at the grim bidding of the government. Jesus hung out with the tax collector not because he like what they do, but in spite of, since they were as despise then as they are now.

The left don't understand christian doctrine, but is willing to posture as one. Hey, they stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, they must know what they're doing.

Blademonkey · September 22, 2008 09:43 PM

That definition sounds like the classic definition of Islam to me:
...that religious faith is so important that it must also have a precise political agenda. It is the belief that religion dictates politics and that politics should dictate the laws for everyone...

cas · September 22, 2008 11:10 PM

I know Christians who are quite liberal in their politics, and I don't doubt the sincerity of their belief. However, there is a strong tendency among them to equate liberal politics with Christian doctrine. At the second worst - Jim Wallis, for example - they are unable to perceive a divide between the two. At the very worst, liberalism is their religion, covered by Christian phrases. Whenever there is a conflict between the two, the liberal side always emerges victorious.

Small wonder that they accuse conservatives of this (not without basis, but wildly exaggerated) confusion, as they are so enmeshed in it themselves.

CS Lewis wrote persuasively that the goal of Christian witness is to take Christian concepts and put them into modern words and context. Too often, the opposite happens: modern concepts are advocated with the sly use of Biblical language.

Assistant Village Idiot · September 23, 2008 09:19 AM