In the season of the First Advent, it is interesting to take note of some of the circumstances involved in the birth of Christ in that stable. The Gospel of Luke gives us a detailed account from someone who proclaimed in Luke 1:2-3 that he was an eyewitness from the beginning and had perfect understanding of all things from the very first; this, most likely, was from the beginning of Jesus earthly ministry. It would not be inconceivable to suggest that Jesus related to His Disciples the details of His birth and some of the more notable events of His youth; His circumcision, His presentation to the Lord in Jerusalem, the blessing from Simeon and Anna, and in Jerusalem with the doctors in the temple, all related in the Gospel of Luke.
The event that prompted the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem is a taxing of all the world (that was known to them of course) decreed by Caesar Augustus (63 BC to 14 AD, the first true emperor of Rome). Throughout history nobles, kings and dictatorial rulers have forced their subjects to pay taxes and tribute to fill their coffers. The common people and merchants had no voice in this matter; the military saw that it was done.
Following the Exodus from Egypt, the Israelites were instructed by the Levitical code to give 10% of their monetary wealth and livestock to support the priests in the temple. This, of course, was a matter of law handed down by God Almighty and not the demands of a king. Our Lord Jesus had somewhat to say on the matter of paying taxes: in Matthew 17:24-27, Jesus instructs Peter to retrieve the tribute money from the fishes mouth; and in Matthew 22:17-22, Jesus confounds the Herodians on the payment of taxes to Caesar by proclaiming that they should render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s. And we must not forget that Jesus chose to visit the house of Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke19:1-10).
After the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Catholicism, the emerging social structures of the Old World were primarily under the control of kings and self proclaimed dictators following the aforementioned traditions of taxation to fund their ambitions. In the ensuing centuries, England would develop into a parliamentary form of government while preserving the monarchy. There have been a number of civil uprisings throughout history perpetrated against unsympathetic tyrants because of unreasonable taxation. Notable among these are: the Jewish Zealots against the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD, the Peace and Truce of God (or Pax Dei and Treuga Dei) movement by the Catholic clergy against taxing church property in the Middle Ages, the Florentine tax resistance of 1289, the Norman tax resistance against Philip VI and John II from 1348 – 1351, the Amicable Grant revolt in England against unreasonable taxes and forced loans by Henry VIII in 1525, the English Civil War in 1627 in opposition to loans of Charles I without parliamentary sanction and ship money tariffs, and, not the least of which, the resistance to taxes such as the Stamp Act and Tea Tax levied against the American Colonists by the English Parliament in the 1760’s and 1770’s.
The American Colonists were used to high taxes; what was considered unreasonable, however, were the taxes levied against the American Colonists that were not collected from British subjects in England. The Colonists were not represented in the British Parliament and felt that their ideas and concerns about unreasonable taxation were not being heard; they considered themselves to be loyal British subjects with the same rights as their fellow British citizens in England. The Colonists were also forced to house and feed British soldiers without reasonable compensation.
Following the passage of the Stamp Act, it is generally accepted historically that Samuel Adams organized the covert group known as the Sons of Liberty in 1765. Samuel Adams and John Hancock could rightly be called the architects of the American Revolution. Their efforts were at the heart of the Boston Massacre (a protest that was met by force from British soldiers) and the Boston Tea Party. The motto of the Sons of Liberty was the cry heard throughout the New England colonies, “No taxation without representation”. These Sons of Liberty lifted high the political views of Montesquieu and Bacon which held that all men are created equal and that no person or governmental entity had the right to deprive any person of their God given inalienable rights to life, liberty, and free ownership of property. In 1775, the ‘shot heard round the world’ was fired at Lexington and Concord attesting to that call to liberty, while in Virginia Patrick Henry declared, “give me liberty or give me death”.
It would appear that we as citizens (those that have inherited from our forefathers the traditions of liberty and equality that were paid for with their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor) are again faced with a sociopolitical dilemma that threatens the very fabric of our society. Fewer than 600 elected officials and so-called representatives in Washington, DC are steering this ship of state toward a path of economic and social disaster.
Some 330 millions of people are being jerked around the current political and economic landscape of higher prices, rampant inflation, and higher taxes by our so called elected representatives. What’s worse is that there doesn’t seem to be any prospect of returning to our past glories of being the manufacturing giant of the world with one of the most vibrant economies among the industrialized nations. The irony is that we are supposed to be represented by those who are perpetrating this disaster; by those who have campaigned on a platform of doing the will of their constituents, the voters that put them in office. The ‘catch 22’ is that many of the voters that put them in office are totally ignorant of the ground from which this ‘tree of liberty’ sprang, and they will not learn of it from those who are in power.
In the light (or darkness) of this current sociopolitical environment, might we ask, are we really being represented in Washington? Is the will of all the people being heard in the halls of Congress, or, if heard, is it even being remotely considered? Is there a modern day Samuel Adams that could reorganize the Sons of Liberty anew? Might we again raise the cry, “No taxation without representation”? If the old ‘ship of state’ is foundering, could it be righted and refloated; or is rescuing as many of its passengers as possible the best we can do? You decide for yourself.
Newton's Notes 