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(Posted by Kirsten) 

What the Bible says on the payment of taxes:

Matthew 22...The Pharisees made plans to trap him with words. They said, "We know you are a man of integrity and you teach the way of God. Tell us then, 'is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?' " Jesus told them to show Him the coin, and when they did, he asked whose picture was on it, and whose name was inscribed. They stated that it was Caesar's. To that, Jesus said to "Give to

Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what it God's".  

Romans 13...Let every person be subject to the governing authorities...For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad, for they are ministers of God. Because of this you also pay taxes. Pay to all what you owe them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, and honor to whom honor is due.

The Historical Aspect of Taxes during the Revolution:

Thomas Fleming (author, historian) stated that, "Due to the French and Indian War that had taken place, records show that England's resources were drained and the nation was 150,000,000 pounds in debt." England was nearly bankrupt because they spent almost all their money protecting the colonists from the French and the Indians.

Since they were so in debt, England thought the colonies should chip in as well. They thought it was fair that the colonists should pay for 1/3 of the troops, while the English would pay for the other 2/3. Because of this agreement, Englishmen's taxes were 25X higher than the American colonists.

The tea tax was rigged in such a way that even with tax it would still be cheper to buy tea from the English company than it would be from the smuggled tea from everywhere else. Since the price of the English tea was lower than the smuggler's, the British expected no difficulty from the colonists. They got what they wanted: cheaper tea. For that reason it was quite a shock when the colonists commited the crimes associated with the Boston Tea party.

Regardless of whether the taxes were too high, the colonists still did not have a right to start a violent revolution against their king.

(Posted by Kirsten)

What the Bible says about submission to authority:

Romans 13 states that: Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. he authorities that exist have been established by God. He who rebels against the authority is rebelling gainst that which God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves...Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes. If revenue, pay revenue. If honor, give honor. 

1 Peter 3:13-17...Be submissive to every human institution and authority for the sake of the Lord, whether to the emperor (King, or Caesar), or to the governors. For it is God's will and intention that by doing right, you would silence the ignorant charges and critisisms of foolish people. Live as free people, without employing your freedom as a pretext for wickedness. Live at all times as servants of God. Show respect for all men. Revere God. Honor the emperor.

Galatians 5:19-21. The works of the flesh are clear, which are these: fornication, witchcraft, hatred, murder, heresies, etc., etc., etc., and sedition [see previous post for definition]. I, Paul, warn you that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q-The colonists exhausted all peaceable means, so they had no choice but to go to war.

A- From the very start, the colonists were not peaceable; quite the opposite, in fact. But that's not the point I want to make. Regardless of whether or not the colonists exhausted all reasonable or peaceful means of negotiation, if England was still unwilling to give them independence, according to Romans 13 and 1 Peter 3, they were still under obligation not to rebel, but to submit to their government.

Q-Didn't the colonists have the right to be free?

A- The American colonists enjoyed freedoms and living standards that were almost unequaled anywhere else on earth. Some historians have even argued that the colonists were freer than the Englishmen, since their taxes were much lower.

Q-The colonists were unfairly un-represented in Parliament.

A- Actually, some of the rebel leaders told Benjamin Franklin to "Under no circumatances agree to representation in parliament. Because if they agree and give us representation, everything we suggest in parliament will be voted down because we're in the minority."  Those, of course, were not the actual words, but that was the idea and resoning they gave for their instructions.

The situation could have been handled more tactfully. But in spite of this, the colonists did not have a Biblical release to violently rebel against their government.

Q-King George was acting outside his rights as King and was unfairly taxing the colonists.

A. Even if King George was acting outside his authority or rights as king, the colonists still would not have justification for their rebellion. If we are to take seriously what the Bible says about submission to authority, it is clear that the colonies did not have a right to violently rebel.

Q-What would have given the colonists justification for rebelling?

A-Scripturally, there is no justification for rebeling. There is, however, justification for disobeying. But we're only allowed to disobey when what we're being told to do is against the Word of God. But in disobeying, we have to readily accept the consequences, even if it means being killed for it.

The things the English government wanted the colonists to do were not against the word of God. The colonists disobeyed the government, and when the English government reprimanded the colonies, they violently rebelled. Both of these things go against what the Bible says about submission to authority.

(posted by Kirsten)

I will be writing a series of posts focusing on the un-Christian nature of the Revolutionary War. Part 1 will focus on the historical context of the Revolutionary War. Part 2 will be on the "submission to authority" aspect. Part 3 will focus on the "justification/payment of taxes". And part 4 will be about the "use of force or violence against enemies." 

To start off, this is a list of definitions I will be using:

Rebellion--an organized attempt to overthrow a governing authority with the use of violence.

Taxes--an amount of money levied by the government to run a country, state or colony.

Submit/obey--to agree to follow or behave in accordance with laws or instructions.

Seditionist--one whose actions or words are intented to provoke or incite rebellion against a government authority.