<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<HTML><BODY BGCOLOR="white" STYLE="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; FONT: 10pt verdana; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BACKGROUND-COLOR: white">
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV dir=ltr>Ms. Opyr: "Now, as for the government compelling people to
believe and live by the teachings of Jesus, of course I would
object."</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>But Ms. Opyr, this is precisely what you are advocating. Christ
tells His people to care for the poor. They, for the most part, have refused, so
the US government <EM>compels</EM> them to through taxation and
redistribution.</DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV dir=ltr>Ms. Opyr: "I am not, myself, a Christian, but I'm nonetheless
familiar with (and a frequent admirer of) his
work..."</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>Why? Did you admire the work of David Koresh? If Jesus Christ is
not God as He claimed to be, then He was as wacko as the one from
Waco.<BR></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
</DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> vision2020-bounces@moscow.com
on behalf of Joan Opyr<BR><B>Sent:</B> Fri 12/24/2004 1:47 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
Vision2020 Moscow<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Vision2020] Melynda a Marxist? I'm
shocked<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>Ron Smith opines:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Thanks so much for quoting the words of Christ at length. I certainly
enjoyed reading them. The part at the end troubled me, though. You know very
little about me and yet you presume to call me a goat simply because I do not
think that passage you quoted in any way refers to state sanctioned
redistribution of wealth. Christ certainly calls <EM>His people</EM> to care for
the poor and I will be the first to admit that they do not do it enough. As
well, I doubt you are willing to argue that the state should <EM>compel</EM>
each citizen to believe and live by the teachings of Christ. As for
your comparison of US taxation to that of France, Germany, and Canada, I
can only say that robbery is robbery and no kudos are due to the one who robs
<EM>less.</EM></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Merry Christmas"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Dear Ron:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I called you Billy the Goat for my own amusement. It was a cheap
shot, but who ever said shooting fish in a barrel wasn't fun? My goodness,
it's better than Whack-A-Mole! And easier, too.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Now, as for the government compelling people to believe and live by the
teachings of Jesus, of course I would object. I am not, myself, a
Christian, but I'm nonetheless familiar with (and a frequent admirer of) his
work, particularly the Sermon on the Mount. But what does that have to do
with taxation in the US of A? How and why, exactly, do you equate taxation
(for which, thanks to the American Revolution, you have representation)
with robbery? While I agree with Woody Guthrie that some men will rob you
with a gun and others with a fountain pen, I fail to understand how this applies
to the IRS, which simply determines, based on your annual income, what you
must pay to the elected government of this fine nation to
cover your fair share of the cost of our national defense, port security,
the interstate highway system, food safety, drug safety, the
federal prison and judicial system, agricultural subsidies, and the
federally-insured deposit of that aforementioned annual income
in U.S. bank? These things don't pay for themselves, Matey, and it
puzzles me what Libertarians imagine would happen if we were to abolish the
income tax. Call it a failure of imagination on my part, but I'm
picturing pot-holes, ad hoc militias, and some really suspect hamburger on sale
at the Piggly Wiggly</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>BTW, anyone who can read Matthew 25 and not think Jesus was in favor of the
radical redistribution of wealth via the then-government of Jerusalem, i.e., the
Sanhedrin, *is* a goat. <EM>My Pet Goat</EM>, to be
exact. A kindergartner (or the President of the United States) should be
able to read and understand this particular Biblical text without the aid of a
fat preacher and the Merriam-Webster. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Merry Christmas right back at ya and a happy belated Hanukah,</DIV>
<DIV>Joan Opyr/Auntie
Establishment </DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML><br clear=all><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : <a href='http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>