Pro-life strike (abortion boycott) mission: To purify our prayers and other pro-life efforts, and to make a concrete difference, we refuse to fund the abortion industry. We boycott corporate abortion funding, and hold back abortion taxes. We pray for life; we will not pay for death!
The fourth and most troubling level of injustice cited in the previous post comes down to this: when pro-life American Christians willingly sign their 1040 form, they become willing accomplices to tax-funded murder, and cannot blame anyone else.
As noted on the "Manifesto" page, and in at least two blog posts below [1][2], the Scriptural mandate to "render to Caesar..." (Mt.22:21) cannot credibly be used as an excuse to docilely cooperate in the tax-funded holocaust.
We sing patriotic songs about our liberty, and we honor the rule of law enshrined in our Constitution. We proudly wave the flag and we pity the poor oppressed in other parts of the world. We are Americans; we are free.
The very act of signing the 1040 is indeed an act of freedom, a voluntary decision. No one forcing the signature, no gun to the head. And therein lies the problem.
Do we truly believe all the talk about freedom? Our Constitution says that we the people are Caesar, and the bureaucrats must answer to us. Then why continue to act as if the opposite were the case, and defer to the usurpers? Is this not abdication?
Now, I realize that active tax resistance is highly problematic and may be inadvisable for many folks, especially for those with young dependent children. But surely there must be at least a small percentage of pro-life people who can do this. A small percentage of millions is a few thousand. That would make a huge impact.
The pagan Roman Empire had conquered the world and was ruling with an iron fist. Caesar was an arrogant autocrat who claimed divine authority. The Pharisees thought they had Jesus cornered with the question about paying the hateful Roman tax - a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" unanswerable conundrum. Jesus, recognizing their duplicity, told them to "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Matt. 22:15-22)
This passage has been invoked ad nauseum as an excuse to jettison all scruples over supporting human government, no matter how wicked and murderous. But is this a valid exegesis of the text? Ought this Gospel silence our conscience on the matter of tax funded abortion? Does Jesus really want us to docilely underwrite the abortion industry with our taxes?
I write as an American, and write now to fellow Americans. Who, precisely, is our 'Caesar'? What human authority do we live under in the United States? Is this not a Republic, established in lawful order by certain founding documents? Our Declaration of Independence, by which our founding Fathers created a new nation, contains these familiar words (emphasis added)...
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
This is the legally binding contract upon which our government is based. With no need to comment upon the Roman Empire or other governments past or present, the above clearly indicates that the government of the United States exists to secure basic human rights, the right to Life being primary. Moreover, the legitimate authority of this government derives "from the consent of the governed". This, my friends, is our 'Caesar'. This is the human authority to which we owe allegiance.
Notice also that government officials are themselves bound by the terms of this contract. To the extent that they abrogate those terms, they are breaking the law. When bureaucratic measures conflict with the proper ends, it becomes the vigilant citizens' right and duty to oppose them. That's what the contract demands.
Surely the tax funded slaughter of innocent humans is a breach of the contract. Can anyone honestly deny this?
Therefore, Americans must stop paying the abortion tax for two reasons: Out of fear of God and obedience to God's Law (render to God), and also out of a patriotic duty to our Republic (our 'Caesar'). We must indeed render to Caesar, and that means we must oppose tax despotism and insist upon a lawful form of governance, which secures basic human rights.
When confronting the idea of a pro-life tax strike, the initial reaction is usually to quote the Scriptural commands to "render to Caesar..." (Mt.22:21) and to pay "taxes to whom taxes are due" (Rom.13:7). Quite obviously, Christians are not to go about recklessly disregarding human authority, nor acting as if we were above civil law. But consider whether this means that human authority is absolute and whether our obedience must be unquestioning.
The previous post and the section in our manifesto entitled Obey the Law deal with this germane question, so I will not belabor the point. Let it suffice here to say that, if it comes to a choice between obeying God or obeying man, we must obey God. Let me just add a couple thoughts to that...
First off, one does not necessarily have to disobey man in order to obey God in the matter of tax-funded abortion. The conscientious individual or family may curtail tax liability without violating tax laws. Both the "Reduced income" and "Flee" strategies as discussed in the manifesto involve no breach of human law. The difficult choice is in this way avoided, the scruples become moot.
Ask yourself first whether the scruples are genuine. Be honest. Are you just fearful and timid about getting into trouble with the tax authorities? Or are you truly convinced that obeying tax laws is a vital part of your conscientious duty? If the latter, if you have genuine religious or moral reservations, then you ought to have scruples over obeying other basic commandments, too. How can a person be scrupulous over "render to Caesar..." and not be scrupulous over "Thou shalt not kill"? The "Reduced income" and "Flee" and other strategies allow you to keep both sets of scruples, to obey God without disobeying man.
The second point involves a closer look at what it really means to "render to Caesar", especially for American citizens. I will devote the next post to this consideration.
As noted on the "Manifesto" page, and in at least two blog posts below [1] [2], the Scriptural mandate to "render to Caesar..." (Mt.22:21) cannot credibly be used as an excuse to docilely cooperate in the tax-funded holocaust.
