TAX REBELLION: Part Two
PART TWO: Again, I shall have to leave off the actual names of the parties. In some cases, I think it would be too harsh to name people, and in other cases, I figure that these scum might actually send the local version of their rebellion to attack me physically. The Militia is an oath bound society, and they play hard ball. Keep your powder dry if you take them on.
Case
History One: This is a sad one. The man in question was at one time a rather verbal tax rebel. He believed the doctrine of rebellion, and he refused to pay his taxes. Well, the IRS took him to court, and they had him convicted and locked up in the state prison. He served his term quietly. His extended family loved him, but they could not ever figure out how to deal with the idea that grandfather was in prison. When he was released, he did not give up his conservative views. He was and is very zealous for Bible based truth, and he has moved to a new church in order to stay on the narrow way. But, do you want to know something? He does not discuss tax rebellion with anyone. He simply had that knocked out of him. The big house is NOT a nice place to live. And it is clear that Caesar wins in the end if we refuse to give him his "due." Case
History Two: We talk about a gentleman who has been a real blessing to many people. He is a true tax rebel, but he gives away more cash to the saints in need than he would have paid in tax to Caesar. His motive is NOT simply to avoid taxes and have more money to play with.
Case History Three: I knew a pastor who followed a tax rebel pastor. The former pastor was "converted" to tax rebellion by two men in the church. They worked on him and one day he "stayed to pray," and from then on the former pastor preached tax rebellion and resistance to all Federal numbers and registrations of any kind. The former pastor and the two men in the church drove the other people mad with their nagging. Finally the former pastor took off for other parts, and my friend entered the remains of the church to see if he could salvage it. He persevered by God's help for some time, and a church school was implemented, but the aftermath of the tax rebellion era had taken its toll. Case
History Four: A pastor friend of mine was leading the Unregistered Churches of Michigan. He was the only leader of his kind in the USA, as far as I know, who 100% separated tax rebellion from unregistering a church. He also had a good number of churches which truly appreciated his stand, and all of these churches had good testimonies in the community because the individual saints paid their taxes. Case
History Five: Now here is a family not typical of most tax rebels. They are hard working and honorable. But they are true to the cause in principle. The head of the home claims he has never made an income. This is because he has redefined "income" as "gifts." Everyone knows that the IRS does not tax gifts, so the man has defined himself out of the loop. When he does a job for someone, he refuses pay and suggests the people give him a gift. This is subterfuge, and Caesar would not think it was clever-- It is criminal. Case History
Six: Let's call the man Dave. Dave was a typical tax rebel in many respects. He loved the Lord, knew he was born again, and was supportive of his pastor. He disagreed with his pastor on tax rebellion, for his pastor taught the correct biblical doctrine of submission to Caesar in the area of tax. Dave thought of this disagreement with his pastor as a small thing and not serious enough to cause any harm.
Proverbs 17:11 An evil man seeketh only rebellion: therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him. WARNING: Your tax rebellion friend, the one you kind of like to hang around with-- He is a rebel to God, and he is a criminal in society. Stand close enough to him for long enough, and you will be identified with him by Caesar's enforcers. Why would you want this trouble? How will it glorify God? What will your choices teach your children? Ever wonder why your kids are getting rebellious? Dhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu????? Again, I absolutely refuse to identify any of the above characters. There would be no point in exposing them. Their stories are true, and they are here as a caution to all of us to be careful from which spring we drink.
LETTER FROM A READER There seems to be a rather hot response to the above article, pro or con :-)
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 07:50:24 -0800 (PST) Thank you for the story on tax rebellion. My flesh would really like to stop paying taxes, but I know that God's Word (AV 1611) is true and it tells me to pay. I have found that most of the big-time tax rebels, militiamen, survivalists, and abortion clinic bombers are not looking for the imminent return of our Lord Jesus. Most of them are post-trib or post-millenialist. When you get away from such an important doctrine as the imminent return of Christ for his people, you'll start acting funny. If you don't think Jesus is coming back today, then you'll start applying scriptures to yourself that don't apply to you. Pretty soon you'll think that you need to take over the world and that New York is Babylon and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff! I thank and praise God that he has always provided for me and my family, even after paying my taxes! I started listening to some of the "patriotic" shortwave programs recently and I have felt kinda sympathetic to their cause but when you think about it, they are just a bunch of thugs. I think that they have more faith in men and firearms than in God. I sure am glad that I don't have to depend on my .30-'06 to get me to heaven! Thank God that all the bloodshed that I need to be free has already been done at Calvary! And I'm not looking for a revolution but a revelation! Praise God! My sins have been washed away and that blue-helmeted pilot of that black helicopter doesn't scare me - he can't stop me from an eternity with Jesus - he can only send me there sooner! I don't consider that a threat. As a precaution in case of economic (or Y2K) trouble ahead, I have been putting a few extra cans of food back. We are planning on growing a bigger garden next year (Lord willing). We have also placed an emphasis on getting out of debt. I see that as acting more like our thrifty grandparents' generation who actually saw some hard times instead of acting like our parents' generation who have everything but have it on credit. Any suggestions for the Christian that wants to prepare for some hard times, but plans on being gone on to glory when the antichrist comes to power? Maranatha, Patrick Owen
A REGULAR READER, CRAIG, HAS SOME HELPFUL THOUGHTS: Date:
Mon, 16 Nov 1998 23:07:48 -0800 Dear Steve, I read with interest your recent page regarding tax rebellion. Several years ago I began researching this issue. What I found while attending meetings amongst tax rebels is that many of them are NOT God fearing, Christ loving individuals, but Constitution loving as you have pointed out. As a believer in Christ, I struggled with my newfound knowledge of how corrupt our tax system is. I considered the arguments about how our tax money is used for ungodly pursuits. However, I could never bring myself to take the plunge of not filing my tax return. As much as my intellect wanted to rebel, deep down inside I knew it was wrong. Feelings of internal strife between my human nature and the Holy Spirit finally gave way to acceptance and peace. Thank you Lord Jesus. Much emphasis has been given to the fact that our government uses our tax dollars for sinful, godless pursuits. Although this may be true, it is an issue of responsibility. We are required by law to pay income tax regardless of how unconstitutional, unfair, or quasi-legal one may think it is. A fact that can be easily proved by challenging the government on this issue. Some may point out that a few have beaten the IRS in court; however, the vast majority of people lose most if not all of their worldly possessions and sometimes their freedom. Even if you do "win" against the IRS, at what cost? What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? The tremendous amount of life energy necessary to battle a tax rebellion case could be better spent promoting the gospel with a far greater reward. On the other hand, responsibility cuts two ways. While we are responsible for paying our taxes, the government and our leaders are responsible to God for using that money in a moral and honest way and not for perversion. Since we have met our obligation under the law, are we to be held to account for the sinful actions of others in government? Do they not bring damnation upon themselves? Some good has come from my venture into the income tax question, I long more than ever for Christ's return to establish true justice. Take care and God bless, Craig Editor-- Steve Van Nattan-- Craig's point is certainly called for. Let us suggest another scene. You go into the market and buy groceries. You pay at the check out counter, and go home. Ah, but that is not where your responsibility ends dear tax rebel. By YOUR logic, if the owner of the market buys crack with the cash you gave him, or if he visits an adult bookstore, YOU are at fault for financing his lusts. If you demand the right to make abortionists of all tax payers, then you are a dope pusher and a peep show financier. How do you like them apples, honey?
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