For years I did not know what to call the tactic that the Pharisees used, but then Mark Steyn was sued by the Islamoronic sockpuppets. So what the Pharisees do here is set up a patsy — who is there to ask the talking points.
19When the scribes and chief priests realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people.
20So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor. 21So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. 22Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 23But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, 24“Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear?” They said, “The emperor’s.” 25He said to them, “Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent.
So Jesus takes it a bit further. The principle is pay your debts. Keep accounts. The older language used was to render to Caesar that which is Caesars… and to God that which is his.
Keep your obligations. Now, this does not mean that we should be a party to evil, or that we should allow things to fall over to meet evil regulations. One of the reasons accountants and lawyers exist is so that we can make a space where the oppression of Caesar is moderated by a little common sense.
And sometimes what we need to render to Caesar is passive or active noncompliance. We have to stick with the truth… and the ideology of this time makes even Caesar a sock puppet.
Feminism is the dominant ideology of our age, and learning that women are attracted to men who lead them is tantamount to crimethink. It doesn’t matter that it is true; entertaining thoughts which counter feminism is a terrifying prospect. This is perhaps more the case for those who don’t see themselves as feminist, and especially those who consider themselves anti-feminist because they oppose abortion, think men have a duty to man up and marry a woman once she has had sex with enough other men, and believe that men have a duty to act as a traditional protector and provider (but not head of household) so their wife can decide if she wants to have a career or stay at home.
The proof of our challenge with older men is not how many have ever heard of Roissy, but the hundreds of millions of Christians who have spent a lifetime avoiding and denying the parts of the Bible which offend feminism.
We need to render to our rulers their due, true. We should honour leaders. But Sockpuppets are socks. They are taken off and thrown in the wash. They deserve no honour — for the technique was deceitful and childish 2000 years ago, and it is much more so now.
We need to speak the truth. That includes looking at the text which we claim is from the word of God, not twisting it to fit our ideology. And challenging untruth.
Even when our rulers are blinded by the falsity of their ideology.
