"With No Malice"©2012
A General Interest Opinion Column by an opinionated person.
Vic Topmiller Jr.
12/04/12(51)
Christmas
"The hour in which the Prince of Peace was born."
William Cullum Bryant.
In Those As These
"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria." Luke 2;1-2 NIV
Surely you didn't think taxes a new thing?
When Augustus Caesar, the current Roman ruler, most respected of all, sent out his decree for a census of all of the people under the dominion of Rome, which was pretty much everything around the Mediterranean Sea, it wasn't because he had a great curiosity about the plurality of his kingdom. It had to do with taxes and military service. Although the Jews were not required to serve in the Roman military, they were definitely required to pay taxes. Which they hated. Plus they had to use Roman coinage, which had a picture of Caesar on it. And of course taxes were determined for each person by a "Publicani," as we know as a "Publican" or just tax collector. The tax collector words became very hated in Israel for good reason – here's how it worked. The amount of tax needed to run the Roman Empire, a vast amount I'm sure, because Roman citizens were greatly subsidized with grain allotments and other gratuities, paid for from these taxes, was decided by the Roman Senate. As you may have guessed, the Roman citizens paid little or no taxes because most of the taxes were assessed to the provinces under Roman control, which Judea was one.
To add insult to injury, the taxes from these provinces were not voluntary but assessed by the aforementioned Publican. As previously stated, the total revenues needed to run Rome, which was somewhat legitimate and reasonable because the lion's share went to support the highly successful military, to build roads, (all roads lead to Rome) and other expenses related to an inflated government, were determined by the Roman Senate, but the determination of the amount each person in each province paid was determined by a contractor-a publican, a person or persons chosen within the province because he or they would be knowledgeable about the affairs of the area. In other words, "A Turncoat", who made sure that the needs of Rome were met, as well as his own.
As I write this I wonder – did they have an appeal board if you didn't agree?
That's My Opinion.
"The Real Meaning of Christmas."
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In Those As These
- Category: With No Malice
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