Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) bashed former President Trump online and said Christians who support him “don’t understand” their religion.

“I’m going to go out on a NOT limb here: this man is not a Christian,” Kinzinger said on X, formerly known as Twitter, responding to Trump’s Christmas post. “If you are a Christian who supports him you don’t understand your own religion.”

Kinzinger, one of Trump’s fiercest critics in the GOP, said in his post that “Trump is weak, meager, smelly, victim-ey, belly-achey, but he ain’t a Christian and he’s not ‘God’s man.’”

  • btaf45@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    10 months ago

    His message was for individuals to choose to help the poor on their own, not to use the government to force everyone to help the poor.

    Nope. He never once said “don’t rely on government”. You made that part up. He said give Caesar his taxes, knowing that those taxes will go to pay for free food and entertainment for the public “bread and circuses”. The reason he didn’t talk more about government is because his country was under the equivalent of foreign military occupation and all the decisions were made in a distant capital of which he would have had zero influence. His message was for everyone to do everything they can to help the poor, and in particular for rich people to redistribute their wealth to the poor. And only if they did that would rich people be eligible for heaven. Jesus used Yahweh’s coercion in place of government coercion.

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      10 months ago

      No, he said give Caesar his taxes because that’s a moral and legal obligation. Here’s the NIV translation, which makes it clear (Mark 12:15-18):

      … Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

      But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

      “Caesar’s,” they replied.

      Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

      Nowhere in that exchange did he mention what it would be used for, just that it’s Caesar’s and he deserves it back. That’s it, that’s the only mention he made of the government, and he mentions the current leader, not the state itself (e.g. he could’ve said “Rome” instead of “Caesar” if he wanted to make commentary about the government).

      And later in that same chapter, he talks about the offering of the widow:

      Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

      Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

      He obviously cares far more about the gifts to God than the taxes paid to the government, so the whole point of the exchange was to highlight that gifts to God are more important than obligations to governments.

      You can also look at the rich man that came to Jesus asking what he lacked (the camel through the eye of the needle thing), and the advice was to give to the poor and follow Jesus, not to become a philanthropist and lift the poor out of poverty. The gift God cares most about is humility and meekness, so giving to the poor was never the point, the point was to eliminate worldly desires to serve God.

      That’s a constant theme throughout the New Testament, especially in the gospels. When Jesus healed people, he didn’t do it to ease their suffering, he did it to give them a chance to repent and serve God. Every time he did so, he admonished them to repent and sin no more. The focus is always on the next life and serving God, not on this life.

      And that’s why I’m disgusted with many modern Christians, they like to donate large amounts for recognition instead of quietly giving like Jesus did. They’re like those people in the temple giving large amounts, not the poor widow who gave the only pennies she had. Your gift to others should be live and compassion, trying to amass wealth to give more to the poor misses the point.

      • btaf45@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        10 months ago

        and he mentions the current leader, not the state itself (e.g. he could’ve said “Rome” instead of “Caesar” if he wanted to make commentary about the government).

        Nope. Julius Caesar was long dead by this time. Tiberius was the emperor when Jesus lived. After before him, Augustus.

        He obviously cares far more about the gifts to God than the taxes paid to the government

        These aren’t gifts because there is coercion involved that is far greater than government coercion. If you don’t redistribute your wealth to the poor, you are going to be tortured forever by the devil. Anything the government can do to you pales in comparison to Yahweh’s coercion.

        are more important than obligations to governments.

        You made this part up. Again. He didn’t say anything about obligations to governments, except that you should pay your taxes.

        • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          10 months ago

          Caesar

          Starting with Tiberius, Roman emperors gave their heirs the name “Caesar,” such that “Caesar” came to be known as the term used for the emperor or his heir (i.e. it’s the root of kaiser in German, tsar in Russia, “qaysar” in the Ottoman Empire). Tiberius wasn’t born with the name and adopted it later, and took the honorific “Augustus” when he took the throne. So “Caesar Augustus” was the emperor, and “Caesar” was either the emperor (shorthand) or the heir. It’s kind of like a mix between family name and title, so “Caesar” can refer to any of the line of dictators following Julius Caesar, or it can refer to the title of the emperor or his heir.

          So that’s why I understand “Caesar” in this context as whoever the ruling dictator is, not the government or society as a whole. This isn’t an admonition to act in the greater good, but to show obedience to those in charge, which is a theme I’ll get back to later.

          If you don’t redistribute your wealth to the poor, you are going to be tortured by the devil.

          Jesus never says this. The only thing that’s close is the “eye of a needle” allegory, and the intention seems to communicate that it’s incredibly difficult, though not impossible. He has been more explicit about hard requirements elsewhere:

          Matthew 5:20

          For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven

          John 3:3,16

          Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

          John 3:16

          For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

          So Jesus hasn’t hesitated to use direct language, so it doesn’t make sense to take this as “it’s impossible.” In fact, just before the “eye of a needle” allegory, he says it’s merely difficult.

          Mark 10:20-23

          And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

          And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

          Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

          And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”

          So it’s not the money itself that’s the problem, but the love of money. You’re not going to hell because you have a lot of money, you’re going to hell because you love it more than God, who has been explicit in what’s most important.

          Matthew 22:36-40

          "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

          Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

          This is the first and greatest commandment.

          And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

          All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

          A wealthy person should feel obligated to help their fellow man because that’s what God would do. But the actual law is to love God and your fellow man with all your heart, and that’s possible while having a lot of wealth, just incredibly unlikely because most with wealth get it by being selfish.

          In short, if you feel God wants you to give everything away, you should not hesitate to do it, and that hesitation is what damned the rich young man, despite being otherwise righteous.

          He didn’t say anything about obligations to governments

          His Apostles did, such as Paul:

          Romans 13:1-7

          Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

          Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

          For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

          For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5

          Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.

          For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.

          Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

          Jesus taught obedience consistently, and the Apostles taught what Jesus taught, so I see this as a retelling of what Jesus taught, not something new Paul came up with.

          So to me, the message is very clear, Jesus and God expect obedience, both to earthly rulers as well as heavenly ones. And here’s how Jesus expects leaders to rule:

          Matthew 20:25-28

          Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

          Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

          and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—

          just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

          So you must obey your leaders, and Jesus expects to leaders to serve those they lead. In that way everyone serves each other, but there’s also order.

          Edit: couldn’t get the spoiler block to behave, so I can’t hide all the noisy verses.

          • btaf45@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            10 months ago

            Why did you supply all those quotes that were irrelevant?

            Roman emperors gave their heirs the name “Caesar,” such that “Caesar” came to be known as the term used for the emperor or his heir

            The emperor was the “Augustus”. “Caesar” was the heir. Either way it makes my point. It was talking about the government, not a specific person.

            If you don’t redistribute your wealth to the poor, you are going to be tortured by the devil. Jesus never says this. The only thing that’s close is the “eye of a needle” allegory, and the intention seems to communicate that it’s incredibly difficult, though not impossible.

            It means that it is almost impossible for “rich” men to go to heaven. Like one in a million. George Bush? Hell. Carly Fiorina? Hell. Betsy Devos? Hell. None of those people have anywhere near the humility and meekness to be the one in a million rich people who don’t go to hell.

            • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              10 months ago

              Why did you supply all those quotes

              I couldn’t get the spoiler tag to work properly, and my intention was to establish cases where Jesus was explicit about requirements to establish how language is used.

              If Jesus meant being wealthy would disqualify you from heaven, he would’ve said so, but instead he said it’s “difficult.” That’s an important distinction and shows that the root of the problem isn’t the money itself (else why would Job have received so many riches after his trial?). The thing that disqualifies you is loving material things more than God, not having the material things.

              The emperor was “Augustus”. “Caesar” was the heir.

              No, “Caesar” was the family name of the ruling family, as in the dynasty name. After Tiberius, the ruler was usually named “Caesar Augustus,” with “Augustus” being an honorific, much like “the honorable.”

              So “Caesar” was likely commonly used to refer to the ruling family, much like we might say “the Bidens” in the US. So Jesus was simply saying, “give to the ruler that which is the ruler’s,” not “pay your taxes so you can help you fellow man.” Paying taxes was a moral obligation to promote social order, giving to God was a moral obligation to show obedience and love for God. If anything, the money given to the temple was used for more good than taxes.

              None of those people have anywhere near the humility or meekness

              Exactly (though it’s not your place to judge, that’s God’s job). It’s not the money that’s the issue here, the issue is prioritizing worldly things over God.

              If we use the gate example (again, that’s in question by experts), the idea is that to get through the gate, the camel needs to leave behind its baggage, because otherwise it’s too tall to fit. A wealthy person needs to be willing to leave all their wealth behind you be with God, and that’s less likely because of the way most people get their wealth. I’m not saying that’s what Jesus meant, but it does have a lot of merit and fits nicely with the rest of his message.

              If the young man said he’s willing to give up everything to follow Jesus, he would’ve compared him to Job or something as a good example of what one “should” do. Worldly wealth and status are irrelevant to God, and he should be the one we want to impress, and we do that by aligning our will with his (e.g. he wants to see suffering alleviated, sinners repent, etc).

              And that’s my entire point here. Nothing Jesus said indicates what form of government we should have, his message was for individuals to align their will with God’s and follow his example. That’s it.

              • btaf45@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                arrow-up
                1
                ·
                10 months ago

                but instead he said it’s “difficult.”

                He didn’t say it’s merely “difficult”. He essentually said it is almost impossible. That doesn’t mean only 1 in every 5 rich people can go to heaven. That means 1 in every 5000 or 1 in every 50000.

                No, “Caesar” was the family name of the ruling family, as in the dynasty name.

                Nope. Not a dynasty name. It was the name of the heir to the throne. But yes “Caesar” was symbolic of the government itself.

                • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
                  link
                  fedilink
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  10 months ago

                  almost impossible

                  No, he used the word difficult.

                  From what I understand, the wisdom at the time was that money was an indicator of favor from God, and Jesus went against that. However, I don’t think he meant that money was the issue, but merely a symptom of interests not aligned with God’s. Many wealthy people care more about their wealth and fame than God or those around them.

                  Not a dynasty name

                  If you just said “Augustus,” people would think of Octavian, not the current emperor, so “Caesar Augustus” would’ve been used to uniquely refer to the emperor. After Tiberius, emperors typically had both titles, and the heir apparent just had “a Caesar,” so it acted as a dynastic name, even if the heir wasn’t a blood relation (e.g. Tiberius himself was adopted). So both the emperor and heir held the title “Caesar” and only the emperor also held the title “Augustus.”

                  It seems odd for Jesus to be referring to the heir apparent here, he would be referring to the emperor. To add to it, Julius Caesar was deified, so “Caesar” here likely has a double meaning to show the difference between a self-proclaimed god and the true God. He’s not saying you should pay taxes to benefit others, he’s saying you should pay taxes because that’s your legal obligation.

                  And yes, “Caesar” was symbolic, but I’d assume most would refer to the government as “Rome,” not “Caesar.”

                  • btaf45@lemmy.world
                    link
                    fedilink
                    arrow-up
                    1
                    ·
                    10 months ago

                    No, he used the word difficult.

                    Initially. Then he realized he needed to be more blunt. So he gave a metaphor making it clear it was almost impossible, and even bluntly said “with man this is impossible”. The reaction of the disciples also prove it had nothing at all to do with any “gate”.

                    23Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.

                    24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

                    25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

                    26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”