"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say,
Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing;
but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!"
by:
Jesus of Nazareth
(c. 4 BC – c. AD 30/33)
Source:
The Holy Bible, Matthew 23:16
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Reader comments about this quote:
 -- Mike, Norwalk      
Great to see.
 -- Scott, Brownwood Texas     
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    Where's Waffler and Archer and everyone? Vacation? I would have loved to see your comments on this one in particular! Jesus said it straight up, no side stepping. Maybe if our society went back to using the Bible as our country's main book and source of guidance, we would get back on the right track. I know we would, no maybe.
     -- M. Brown, Florida     
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    Time to kick over the tables of the money-changers!
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    Please read my comments on the first quote on this page M Brown. I don't know if I understand the drift of Jesus' words here. In the first quote he is berating the Jews for not being as good in personal qualities as they are in paying their tithes or taxes, the required 10%. He does not say for them to stop paying the 10% dutifully but to start doing the other things just as dutifully. In this our country I think the 20% or son of persons who cheat the Treasury out of 200 to 300 billion a year in taxes need to read and heed Jesus' lecture concerning these duties. Mike of Norwalk who always berates the idea of abiding by the law (like in riding on the "correct" side of the street or stopping at stop signs) would have a wonderful conversation or disputation with Jesus in regards to these matters. Maybe we can all observe it one day in heaven. Sorry Archer will not be able to attedn.
     -- Waffler, Smith     
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    The Temple was no place for these activities.
     -- M. Brown, Florida     
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    The body is the temple of the soul while the gold of the temple is the wealth that the man acquires during his lifetime. When you are breathing your last breath exactly how important is your wealth and wouldn't you wish you'd paid a little more respect to the temple than to the trappings? Likewise, the house is less important than the inhabitant. How important is a well built temple if the soul inside is dead?
     -- Ken, Allyn, WA     
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    As it was in Jesus' day...so it is today. The next verse says, which is greater? Someone once said to me that they didn't care about a politician's morals as long as they could get more money in the old paycheck. So which is greater?
     -- Lea H., Waxahachie, TX     
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    I don't play the temple game. I don't play the Jesus or the bible game. I don't play the game. The only winning move is not to play the game.


     -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown     
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    You do understand that tithes are voluntary and taxes aren't, right? That is the duty in the Bible, but taxes are condemned. The revolution also saw taxes in a bad light. "Taxes are the Popery of the Masses."~ Thomas Paine Rights of Man. 
     -- Don Lee, Hercules     
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    Sillik, lololol / hahahaha  you play the game of lies in promoting socialism  you lose
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown None of what you say causes any skin to come off of anyone else's nose .... as long as you (or anyone else) doesn't attempt to dictate what others can and cannot believe in.

     -- Mary, MI     
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     -- Mary, MI      

         Waffler, thank you for the honorable mention. But if you ever see this, can you give the exact site where Jesus said people should pay tithes and taxes in the same sentence. Waffler, you being a ranking tax collector - enslaving by the 2nd plank of the communist manifesto, you are exactly replicating the Pharisees and Herodians position in Mark 12:13-17; “And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why atempt ye me? bring me a denarius, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cæsar’s. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.”

         Waffler, the question to catch Jesus in His words was: “Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?” Understanding the terms gives clarity to Jesus’ response. First, “lawful”, references the common law of Israel where it was/is only lawful to give unto YHWH (Jesus being YHWH incarnate). The term “legal” may be governmentally applied even when it is unlawful (slight of words / trick question). Second, “Caesar”, as a title to position, carried every designation that would apply to YHWH (god, savior, redeemer, etc., plus conqueror, slave master, owner). Caesar was not Jesus’s god or owner ! ! ! Thus it was not lawful to pay such tribute to Caesar but rather legal under Roman sword. Plus, under Roman law at the time, ministers / Rabbis / Pharisees / Herodians, etc. were exempt from paying taxes. Third, “tribute” was NOT a simple tax - while also, there were many types of taxes. Tribute was a designation that the owned property, the lower than slave was to offer (as a religious sacrament) to his god and master part of his being (money, wife, child, etc.) Jesus ask for a denarius on purpose, as it was the normal pay for a laborer’s full day. Jesus’s answer mystified the tricksters, If Caesar be your god and master, render tribute unto him; if the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel be your god, pay unto Him what you will. Waffler, you dis-information and misdirection did NOT serve the cause of truth.


     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Fred, you play games redefining words, appropriating the exact opposite meaning in order to prop up an unsustainable argument for "The World According to the (one and only) Socialist, Fred Sillik." A legend in his own mind...
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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