(no subject)

[theweaselking]

"Dr" Kent Hovind gets 10 years in prison.

“If it’s just money the IRS wants, there are thousands of people out there who will help pay the money they want so I can go back out there and preach,” Hovind said, adding "duh, I eat poop!"

(The comments on the story are amusing, too. Who knew tax evasion was a religious calling?)

Comments

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Who knew tax evasion was a religious calling?

Virtually every religion, I think.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I see your general point, but "not paying taxes" isn't the same as "tax evasion"

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Not quite, but it's a sizable component. You can't have tax evasion without not paying taxes.

[sivi-volk.livejournal.com]

Am I misinterpreting the whole "render unto Caesar" thing?

[paoconnell.livejournal.com]

No, you're not. JC effectively said "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar" (taxes), and that there was no conflict between paying those taxes and having a religious belief. Hovind was pulling a scam, and paid the price.

[catlin.livejournal.com]

There have been groups delibratly misinterpreting that line for many many years. Render unto Ceasar what is Ceasars, and render unto god what is god's... I keep hearing fanatics say that everything is gods, which means there is nothing to give Ceasar. Usually by flakes like this guy who could not bother to file as a 501 c so he could Legally not pay taxes.

I am curious though what his employees think about having paid payroll taxes, but him not paying them to the government. They have to pay uncle sam still, and won't get their tax refunds etc.

[toku666.livejournal.com]

The answer given in the Bible is intentionally ambiguous. The Pharisees have tried to trap Jesus Christ in what they think is an unanswerable question, for if he answers that taxes should be paid, they would say he is lying to his followers, and if he says that taxes should not be paid, then they would report him to Roman authorities as inciting rebellion against the state.

So the writer came up with the "render unto Caesar/God" line to give JC one of his signature "clever answer" loopholes. If the Pharisees called him on it, then they would be the ones trapped in the catch-22. This also encapsules the main political gist of the Gospel, which is that Jewish lawmakers were corrupt, hypocritical, and spiritually blind. I guess not much has changed.

It's not particularly "fanatic" for Christians to believe that "everything is God's," but all responsible Christians believe that they should follow the laws of their particular state as long as they do not directly contradict "God's law."

[torrain.livejournal.com]

Ah, thank you for the flashback to The Scream, one of the fine novels of the splatterpunk genre.

There's this beautiful scene where a wannabe-big televangelist is holding up a silver dollar for the cameras. Points out that it says "In God We Trust". And launches into a tirade about rendering unto God what is God's, and did he mention that the Liberty Christian Village needs a Million Dollar Miracle or they will lose the fight?