AnthonyFlood.com
Philosophy against Misosophy
Jesus Is an Anarchist
James Redford
3. Jesus Does Not Respect the Person of Men
According to the Bible, every person is equally subject to the commands of God, and one does not become exempt from God's law simply because one has managed to receive some sort of title of nobility. We are instructed to treat everyone by the same law.
Yet this automatically rules out the possibility that governments could ever be legitimate, as they can only exist do to a privilege of monopoly on the ultimate control over the law which they enforce while excluding all competitors. As well, they collect taxes, which they call "theft" and "extortion" if anyone else engages in the same behavior against them or others.
As it is recorded in the Gospels, it seems that the people that knew of Jesus in His day were aware that He did not regard the person of men (i.e., titles of nobility, etc.):
Matthew 22:16: And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men." (See also Mark 12:14.)
Yet this would have been merely conforming to people's expectation that Jesus would have been following the Old Testament commands not to regard the person of men (Lev 19:15; Deu. 1:17; 16:19; Job 32:21; 34:19; Prov. 28:21.). But that this is indeed the case was confirmed in the apostles' writings:
Galatians 2:6: But from those who seemed to be something – whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man – for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me.
And:
James 2:8,9: If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (See also 1 Peter 1:16.)
Yet consider what James's above admonition means as it concerns Jesus's ultimate ethical command of the Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12; Luke 6:31). If we as Christians were to take Jesus's command seriously and apply it to everyone without partiality, then it would necessarily require that we demand the abolition of all governments wherever they may exist, as they can only exist by a continuous violation of the Golden Rule (see above).
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4. Jesus on Taxes: Nothing is (Rightly) Caesar's!