by serein 7 Replies latest jw friends
can anyone tell me what this means,
does it mean like a religiouse group does it measn like i have to do what the gb says cos god aloud em to be here and what ever tell me what u think, does iit just mean goverments of this world or does it mean religiose ones. im confused.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Do you pay taxes to religious organizations?
It means government authorities.
The WTS has flip-flopped on this many times, sometimes says it's government authorities, at other times saying it's Jehovah and Jesus.
You get to decide what (if any) meaning this has. Freedom.
on another web site there anser was not wether it ment goverments of the world but wether i should sumit to goverments of men on the earth who are put here to teach us and they said yes,now i said so i should listen to the gb of jws then,
and they said yes in afect cos they here cos god alows them to be here and we need teachers cos we cant teach ourselfs from the bible, so now im all confused cos i dont want to follow man i want to do it myself and acording to them i cant cos god gave us teachers and we should be listening to em.now im scared iv left the holy people of god to be in satans world and that iv fell of the path. so iv sent em another replay saying how do i know who to listen to if all religions claim to have the truth and be gods holy peole.
Every time you start to think the WTS is the truth, read a chapter or two of Crisis of Conscience by Ray Franz and you'll see how little the WTS really knows.
Another case of the flip-flops for Jehovah's Witnesses...
Superior Authorities (Romans 13:1)...
-1886 = Worldly Governments or Authorities
[Studies in the Scriptures Series I - The Divine Plan of the Ages (1886 edition) page 250]
-1916 = Worldly Governments or Authorities
[Studies in the Scriptures Series I - The Divine Plan of the Ages (1916 edition) page 266]
-1929 = Jehovah God and Jesus Christ
[Watchtower June 1 and June 15, 1929]
-1950 = Jehovah God and Jesus Christ
[This Means Everlasting Life (1950) page 197]
-1962 = Worldly Governments or Authorities
[Babylon the Great Has Fallen! God's Kingdom Rules! (1962) page 548]
-1990 = Worldly Governments or Authorities[Watchtower November 1, 1990, page 11]
In this passage, Paul is answering the question of whether a Christian should, basically, do what they are told bu the governing authorithis, in this case The Roman Empire.
Paul said Yes, you must do what they tell you and he makes note about taxes ( probably because THAT was the main issue of the question he is answering).
Paul KNEW that rebillion is NOT a good thing for the emerging Christianity, so he nipped it in the bud, as he did with the slave issue.
To openly rebel against Rome was lead to persecutions and death, which is what ended up happening a few times over for various reasons, one imagines what would have happened of you add rebellion and inciting slaves to rebel to the list.
Paul knew that that best way to freedom was the famous "free your mind and the rest will follow", he knew that by "behaving" and doing what they were told ( in terms of following secular Law) that the christians would not only surive but expand and be allowed to preach.
Of course persecuations happened anyways.
