sojourner4Christ said:
“The government” forces its subjects i.e. it forces YOU -- not me, as I am not one of its subjects.
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You are one of it's subjects. You live on the same earth. You're under what God has put you under, and he gave you a government. Jesus obeyed Roman law!!! Jesus obeyed Jewish law!!!
sojourner4Christ said:
You’ve judged in blind ignorance. Rather, the issue is, what thing(s) of Caesar’s are YOU partaking of that would require such a rendering? For me, I have no things of Caesar’s, therefore I owe Caesar NADA. Thank you, Lord!
Umm, no. Jesus used money. Caesar's money. And he paid taxes. Why do you love your money so much?
sojourner4Christ said:
There’s that heretical doctrine again, spewed by mainstream evangelical Christianity that tells all to “obey the government, including the evil therein.” IT IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR PROBLEM, THE VERY NEXUS OF YOUR PREDICAMENT, AND THE REASON FOR YOUR 'I AM OF THE WORLD' OP.
God gives people the rulers they deserve. You will indeed receive what you deserve.
There are two spiritual kingdoms. I hail from the City of God rather than the city of man. However, there is also a physical kingdom which we share. As a member of the City of God, I live in this physical kingdom honoring those in authority above me, including my secondary rulers (mom, dad, government, etc).
sojourner4Christ said:
Yep, it was your choice. And now, as a citizen of the country/world you live in, you will indeed render unto the god of that world i.e. Caesar...
Yes, I will, because God has placed authority over me. You, too, have authority over you that you are obviously proud to not honor. Repent.
sojourner4Christ said:
I understand your problem (while not excusing your acts of frustration); being of the world, you cannot but label me a “Christian.” Conversely, among the brethren, I am known as a born again follower of Jesus Christ.
Do not question my faith. You do not know my heart. You are being irrational, and I'm showing you why. Don't be angry because I correct you. If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't bother. Your phrases are nothing more than hot air. This branch of wisdom is called "semiotics". The phrase "Christian" and "born again follower of Jesus Christ" mean the same thing. Also, "the faithful" and "follower of the Way" mean the same thing as the other two also. It's just language, and it's very useful. You seem to be denying large bits of it. Don't. It is a gift of God.
sojourner4Christ said:
The phrase "born again" is found in the Holy Bible.
The phrase "computer" or "internet" or "english" or even "Holy Bible" is not found in the Holy Bible. You seem to be borderline idolatry with worshiping the book. The bible is not God. The bible is an infalible tool to bring people to salvation, yes, but even Paul remains relatable to people when he preaches, such as in Acts 17:16-34. Paul opened with philosophy, knew the Greek poets, etc.
sojourner4Christ said:
Just because you're miserable, don't expect others to join you in your rot.
I'm not miserable, I'm in the Lord. If I were truly lost and you truly right, God would criticize you for not being able to communicate with me and be a means of the Spirit. However, I am not lost, and I am simply have trouble communicating with a man who rejects specific phrases as if they were necessary rituals to acheive salvation.
This Vale Of Tears said:
I'm sure you're not trying to sound like a Nazi, it just comes naturally to you because you think you have the right to control other people and redeploy their possessions as you see fit. It's an evil sentiment that certainly doesn't come from the Lord. And claiming the world is "not charitable enough" is nothing more than the smug assumption of the statist and despot who uses heart strings to serve a sinister agenda. Control is what you people want, not charity, and using your own evaluation of how charitable people are as a standard by which to justify tyranny betrays the impious and ugly nature you have to fabricate any argument to support absolute government control.
I don't know what you are, but thank God Christians aren't like that at all.
Stop questioning my faith. You should not act that way. Is this how you treat a fellow believer?
I do not have that right to control other people and redeploy their possessions as I see fit. However, the government does because that's the authority the Lord gives governments. It's called taxes. All taxes are forms of taking control of other people's possessions and spending them how the government sees fit. Also, only in the last 250 years has there been any public say in where the money goes. Also, I may sound like a Nazi, but you sound like a racist when you say "Control is what
you people want". I am subhuman?
I do not want control, I want charity. Do not call me a liar. Take my words. However, because it takes money to make money, I support more taxes those with higher income brackets. Because those with wealth do not give enough (althogh I'm sure some do), I support more taxes to the wealthy. Do you not understand the inequality of a flat tax? The rich become richer and the poor stay poor. There would be less opportunity in the nation many call "the nation of opportunity".
This Vale Of Tears said:
So forced redistribution of wealth is what makes these nations superior? Maybe our literacy, education, and standard of living averages have been BROUGHT DOWN BY ALL THE ILLEGAL ALIENS YOU PEOPLE WANT TO LET INTO THIS COUNTRY SO THEY CAN VOTE DEMOCRAT!
So until we have the same immigration policies as these enlightened European nations, and enforce our borders like they do, I don't even want to hear any comparisons.
Wow, you need to get over your prejudices. Europe doesn't have immigrants like we do because they don't have a Mexico stretching thousands of miles at their border. Minorities do statistically vote democrat, but again I'm not a democrat. Also, I don't support the welfare state. I'm a socialist, which is different. But, at the same time, I don't think I can just sit around while Mexico is run by murderous cartels and not allow refugees. I have compassion for them. I think America's responsibility is to the citizens of America, but it's not as if we're supposed to ignore the rest of the world.
This Vale Of Tears said:
Leftists resort to hyper emotionalism and pulling the race card when their claims are proven illogical proving their arguments cannot withstand scrutiny.
The unchecked tide of illegal immigrants drives down the averages for the standard of living, literacy, income level, any many other factors. This is a fact that can't be waived away by your stupid race card. But more to the point, it defeats your argument that America can be compared to European nations on an even playing field because it can't. They enforce their borders and their immigration laws, therefore they have higher literacy and a higher standard of living because their averages aren't affected by millions of illegal immigrants.
"That's racist!" is just childish and makes you sound like a silly little girl.
I have not once had any sort of emotionalism here nor pulled the race card. Do not be like a racist and lump all "leftists" together. It's just childish and makes you sound like a silly little girl.
And if America is only 5th, what do I care? I got to help a bunch of poor, illiterate people. I really, really don't think politics is to "win first place", especially if you can't love you neighbor.