The Early Church and the Foundations of Voluntaryism (Christian-Anarchism)

During the course of The Bad Roman project, I have become fascinated by the early church, and when I say early church, I’m talking about the first 300 to 400 years prior to Constantine. I am a full believer that we, as the church, should return to that old-time religion. When I say that, I don’t mean back in the 50’s and 60’s; I mean the true intent of the early church. So what I want to do with this article is show proof of the early church’s Anarchist actions. 

If you have followed our project for any amount of time, then you will be familiar with my stance, but this article isn’t for me, it’s for you to decide on your own. If we are to take the teachings of Christ seriously, then we should lean on the understanding of the folks who were a lot closer to the situation than we'll ever be. Yes, we have the Bible, which is a great resource in regards to following Christ, but what happened, and what was said beyond the Bible? Thankfully we have a wealth of information from those folks who were there. I will include a list of books I have read that helped me put this article together at the end so that you can check them out for yourself. We will look at several writings from those who witnessed  it first-hand and, in the case of Polycarp, endured persecution to the point of death.

We will start with Polycarp (69-156), who by all accounts, was taught directly by the Apostle John, giving him some significant credibility. Polycarp was a No King but Christ, Jesus-centric disciple. The torture of Polycarp by the state is pretty graphic in Arnold’s book, but it is necessary to understand just how devoted he was to Jesus; he knew without a doubt He is his King. Prior to his eventual arrest and torture, Polycarp immediately ordered food to be served to those arresting him, and they still took him to the proconsul.  Polycarp was “cut by scourges until the anatomy of [his] body was visible, even to the veins and arteries, [he] endured everything.” Here is where it gets more interesting. They tried like hell to get him to deny his faith, but he was stoic and did not comply.

I am not willing to do what you advise me.

They pushed him further,

Swear and I will release you! Curse Christ!

This is my favorite part….

Eighty-six years have I served him, and he has never done me any harm. How could I blaspheme my King and Savior?

This is a mic-drop moment for me! He clearly states who his King is, and it dang sure isn’t Caesar! They ended up trying to burn him to death, and when the fire didn’t consume him, they stabbed him to death.

Are you convinced of the Anarchist mentality of the early church yet? No? Let's continue.

Origen (185-254) is very interesting to me. Whenever we quote him on social media, the first pushback we get is “well, he was a universalist”, which is used as a pejorative and has absolutely nothing to do with his Jesus-centric understanding of the state. Origen was a student of Clement of Alexandria (150-215) and widely understood to be the most prolific writer of the pre-Nicene church, dictated around two thousand works. There is some controversy about Origen among modern scholars. They suggest that he did not oppose properly undertaken wars, but if you dig deeper into his writings that just doesn’t seem to be the case. One very important statement by Origen should put all of that to rest. He says, “if all the Romans become Christians, they will not war at all…. Christ forbade the killing of anyone.”

What I want to focus on with this article is the early Christian’s view of the State, and there are a couple of statements by Origen that should be heard loud and clear.

To those who ask us whence we have come or who we have for a leader, we say that we have come in accordance with the counsels of Jesus to cut down our warlike and arrogant swords of argument into ploughshares, and we convert into sickles the spears we formerly used in fighting. For we no longer take sword against a nation, nor do we learn any more to make war, having become sons of peace for the sake of Jesus, who is our leader, instead of following the ancestral customs in which were strangers to the covenants.

There is one key point in this quote that needs to be recognized, which is why I shared it. Origen made it clear who our leader is, and it is without a doubt Jesus. I absolutely love the No King but Christ in this message.

This next statement from Origen comes from his work titled Against Celsus. For context, Celsus was a 2nd century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. This statement is so much fun for me.  It really drives home the point of how the early Christians worked on the fringes of society, having no interest in engaging with political processes. 

The Christians form among themselves secret societies that exist outside the system of laws...an obscure and mysterious community founded on revolt and on the advantage that accrues from it.

Now that statement may raise some eyebrows because the word “revolt” is used, but think about what that means. It wasn’t a violent revolt like so many of us are accustomed to understanding; it was a peaceful revolt against the evils of the State. They just did not dirty their hands with these evils.

Now, let me tell you about my guy Tertullian (155-220). His writings have probably had the most influence on how I approach the Bad Roman project. When we started, we understood that we would be in your face about what we believe when it comes to #nokingbutchrist and love you along the way. So, if you want to understand why I approach this project the way I do, then read some Tertullian. No nonsense, and it really is what it is. His approach to the Roman Empire is absolutely fascinating to me and is seriously missing in the church today. 

Bercot’s description of Tertullian is spot on; he writes, “Fiery Christian writer in Carthage, North Africa” 

I love learning about these folks. The older I have gotten, the more interested in history I have become, and the history of the early Church is no exception. I feel like I was probably born in the wrong era, haha, but I’m thankful we have writings to lean on to get a sense of exactly what was going on back then. I said all of that to give a little background on Tertullian.

He was born into a pagan family in the city of Carthage, which was one of the four largest cities of the Roman Empire. He was very well educated in rhetoric, philosophy, law, and medicine. He worked for a time in Rome as a jurist and returned to Carthage. His conversion to Christianity is somewhat of a mystery but boom! He burst onto the scene with his writing Apology, from which the following texts are taken.

“We are charged with being irreligious people and, what is more, irreligious in respect to the emperors since we refuse to pay religious homage to their imperial majesties and to their genius and refuse to swear by them.

High treason is a crime of offense against the Roman religion. It is a crime of open irreligion, a raising of the hand to injure the deity… Christians are considered to be enemies of the State, enemies of the public well-being… In dealing with religious veneration of the second majesty, we Christians are accused of a second sacrilege because we do not celebrate the festivals of the Caesars among you.

We wage a battle when we are challenged to face the tribunals of law. There, in peril of life, we give testimony for the truth. Guards and informers bring up accusations against the Christians as sexual deviants and murderers, blasphemers and traitors, enemies of public life, desecrators of temples, and criminals against the religion of Rome. Look, you do not deal with us in accordance with the formalities of criminal cases even though you consider the Christian guilty of every crime and an enemy of the gods, emperors, laws, morals; yes, of the whole nature. “You do not,” so they tell us, “worship the gods, nor do you make sacrifices to the emperors.” Accordingly, we are charged with sacrilege and high treason. We are publicly accused of being atheists and criminals who are guilty of high treason.

Wow! Does this show you anything like what we see today? Don’t you wish people would call out the state worship that happens in churches today, just like this? Tertullian was well aware of the religion of the State, also known as statism.

In us, all ardor in the pursuit of glory and honor is dead. So we have no pressing inducement to take part in your public meetings. Nor is there anything more entirely foreign to us than affairs of state.

This quote is interesting to me because he makes it clear that the affairs of the state are entirely foreign to him and certainly should be for professing Christians. Let’s move on to more Tertullian…

All the powers and dignities of this world are only alien to, but are enemies of God. Through them, too, penalties prepared for the impious are ignored.

I’m not sure anything else can be said with regard to the state, but there is one more Tertullian quote I would like to share. This one may be my favorite…

I owe no duty to forum, campaign, or senate. I stay awake for no public function. I make no effort to occupy a platform. I am no office seeker. I have no desire to smell out political corruption. I shun the voters booth, the juryman’s bench. I break no laws and push no lawsuits; I will not serve as a magistrate or judge. I refuse to do military service. I desire to rule over no one- I have withdrawn from worldly politics! Now my only politics is spiritual- how that I might be anxious for nothing except to root out all worldly anxieties and care.

If these examples aren’t convincing you of how a Christian ought to relate to the State, then how about the very words of our King? Who outright rejected Satan’s temptation in Matt 4:1-11. Jesus had the biggest mic drop ever regarding this topic, and as Christians, isn’t He our ultimate example?

Were the early church Anarchists? From my understanding, I would conclude that the early church was indeed anarchist, but labels don’t matter much. What is certain, is that they knew exactly who their King is. In the end, that is the only thing that matters. Choose this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15). #nokingbutchrist 

There is so much more I could have put into this article. If you are interested in reading more about the early church and its beliefs, here are some book suggestions:

1. The Early Christians In Their Own Words by Eberhard Arnold

2. The Early Church on Killing by Ronald J. Sider

3. A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs by David W. Bercot

4. The Christians As The Romans Saw Them by Robert Louis Wilken

5. Liberty in the Things of God by Robert Louis Wilken

Love y’all,

Craig Harguess

A Message to Warriors

In peace there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility; but when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, disguise fair nature with hard-favor'd rage

Henry V, Shakespeare

No one has to teach us to defend our families. We are born with an instinct that seems to be an unstoppable force! Nothing is more dangerous than a parent whose young are in danger.

It is also natural to preserve and defend the things that we have worked hard to build or acquire. The warrior holds a highly regarded place in society because they stand between the enemy and everything that we love and value. They are ready to sacrifice themselves to protect the lives and property of their tribe or nation-state.

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:11

As part of the family of God, committed to living by the principles of the Gospel of Christ and by the law of the Kingdom of God, there is work for us warriors to do!

We are the line of defense that keeps our family safe from the enemy. Our family includes our spouses and children, and also a New Nation made up of every tribe, nation, language, and race all over the world. 

There is no longer division between races, genders, social classes- we are brothers and sisters with one Father in common, who loves everyone more than we love our own children!

In order to create this Family and to reconcile each one of us to Himself, Our Father has gone to great lengths to rescue us, to forgive us, to liberate us from our bondage to sin and death and hell and the curse.

His desire is to accomplish this purpose for all people -- to reconcile all things and all people to Himself. He is not willing that anyone should be destroyed, but that all should come to repentance.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Ephesians 1

The mystery of His will, His purpose, and His plan for the fullness of time is to unite ALL things in heaven and on earth, thereby healing everything and everyone. We understand that Jesus' incarnation, death, and resurrection were the ways in which God brought his plan into reality.

His plan to create a new family, a new nation, a new kingdom, and a redeemed people who belong to him was initiated through Christ. Nothing can separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus. Not even death.

In his resurrection, we can see the Reality of our own New Life.

If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

We are invited to join our Lord and Master in bringing His purpose to full fruition. We are invited to cooperate with His Spirit in bringing His family together- in uniting all things under His Lordship. Through our words and actions, other people should be able to clearly see that they are loved and that they are welcome.

Why is there so much division? Turmoil? Destruction? Falsehood? Suffering? If a loving and all-powerful Creator wants Unity and Harmony, Fellowship and Peace, why do we not see that Reality in our world? 

The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God". 

2 Corinthians 4:4

Hatred is the product of our enemy. 

Our enemy does not want humans to see the Truth revealed through Christ, that God loves them and has done everything he can to bring them into his family. 

Satan uses all the power at his disposal to keep people in delusion, believing falsehoods and maintaining division. If we are weak in our faith and do not maintain our spiritual armor, he will do the same to us. We will stop seeing the glory of God and his plan of redemption and start seeing other humans as our enemy.

Condemnation and hatred are products of our enemy. Another name for Satan is "the accuser." When we think of our enemies, opponents, or people different from us as being beneath us, deserving of damnation and punishment, or beyond hope, we place them in a category that Jesus does not place anyone in, even though he has every right to. 

We do not have the right to judge.

The standard of measurement we use against others is the standard that will be used against us. What we plant is what we harvest. That is why we pray, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." When we condemn others we serve the deceiver, the father of lies.

Jesus (the embodiment of the Revelation of God as Love) tells us, "I did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through me might be saved." He knew that the world was in deep trouble. He knew how deceived humanity had become, and His GOAL was, and is, to liberate humanity from bondage and curse.

Our goal is the same as his, our message the same, our passion the same, so our actions should be the same too, we should strive to be like Him. Yet, we are not capable of this without being empowered by the Holy Spirit.

The only way humans have ever handled a threat to survival is to be an even bigger threat. At this point, we could annihilate every living thing with the technology at our disposal, and the ever-escalating competition for who can be the biggest military and economic threat in order to maintain "peace and safety".

By contrast, consider the most powerful being in the universe becoming human, taking on the form of a servant, obedient even unto death by crucifixion. No one took his life from him, he laid it down of his own volition. One of his last words was to forgive the ones who brutally murdered him.

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

1 John 3:16

How should we prepare?

In the face of hardship, suffering, famine, economic depressions, and civil unrest amid vast political corruption, according to our master, we should be prepared to invite our oppressors to a massive barbeque, with all the fixins’.

If we are abused, forgive and bless, do not curse and take revenge, or treat those who want to kill us and take all our liberty as if they are not the beloved children of God…because they are!

If you are experiencing fear in regards to a perceived dangerous group, (be they racists, communists, fascists, or even terrorists) please know that it is a result of careful programming. I refer to this as a program for a reason. There are people who work, very successfully I might add, to keep everyone afraid of each other. 

The "us versus them" mentality has pushed us to the brink of disaster. We must be reprogrammed by the Holy Spirit, brainwashed (if you will) with the agenda of God's Kingdom, saturating ourselves in the Good News of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Reprogramming

All authority on Earth and in Heaven has been given to me.

Matthew 28:18

Please consider turning off all forms of media and entertainment and dedicating yourselves to prayer and fasting. The result might save our nation from destruction but more importantly, the people of God will have their hearts aligned with His and begin again to look, sound, think, and feel more like Christ.

Jesus wants to be king not only of our soul but of our bodies, of our minds, our families, and our neighborhoods.

If you are stockpiling weapons and ammunition in order to defend your property, food, or cash from marauders, you are preparing to disobey our true King, Jesus Christ. Murder begins in one’s heart.

If you are reading this as a warrior who has already taken human life, or done grave harm to an enemy on the battlefield, and your heart is hurting because of it, I have it on the word of the King that you can be forgiven. You can be healed and you can be made new. 

If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is no transgression so horrible that our loving Father will not forgive.

If you have never heard of the Way of the Spiritual Warrior, the Eternal Rule of Jehovah, or the commandment to surrender our lives to the One who judges rightly and it sounds like something you want to be a part of, pray this prayer out loud often:

I want to know Christ

and the power of his resurrection,

the fellowship of sharing in his suffering,

becoming like him in his death,

so somehow to attain to the resurrection of the dead

Hold the line

The King is soon returning to set the world right, to unify Heaven and Earth under one rule. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed. We will be like Him when we see Him as He is.

Do not fall into deception or give yourself to any dark falsehoods. Let us not engage in ill-fated and misguided attempts to solve the brokenness in the world by force, the power of humans, but through

Christ’s love. Set the captives free, bind up the wounds of the hurting, bring them into Our Family. We will never die, so do not fear those who kill the body, remember they cannot kill the soul.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven.

Jesus Christ, Matthew 5

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About the Author

Jonathan Cannone studied Constitutional Law and History before hitch-hiking around the American Southeast a while.

He settled down in the Allegheny Mountains, to the West of the Shenandoah Valley, where he is a husband, father of four, homesteader, and carpenter.

Fit To Be King

This morning I was reading Deuteronomy 17 and by the time I finished the chapter I realized Paul’s words to Timothy in 3: 10-17 had come true for me again. Paul explains to Timothy how Scripture is profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness. After multiple seminary degrees and six years in the pastorate, I still fall far short of the glory of God and stand corrected again by the Word of God. 

I have avoided voting for many years now because of 1 Sam 8 where Israel demands a king because Samuel’s sons are corrupt and Israel is weak, disorganized, and unified in their disbelief and non-reliance upon God. God tells Samuel not to be disheartened because it is not Samuel Israel is rejecting, but God himself.

To make it more clear, the conditions within Israel were a direct reflection of their lack of faith in God. This can be read much more explicitly in Deuteronomy 28 where Moses outlines the blessings and the curses for obedience and disobedience. I wish this chapter was stuck to every refrigerator in the world.

Israel demanded a king in 1 Sam 8 that would be like the surrounding kings; a king who would raise armies, provide central and consolidated leadership, and judge Israel. God’s response to this is to describe the kind of king they wanted.

This kind of king would take their sons for his army and put them to work for him. They would not be free.

The harvest? It is for the king.

The ore and wood gathered every year? Those would be for the king and his instruments of war.

Private property? That would become the king’s property, which he will give to his favored men.

The king would take his own tax, which would be separate from the Lord’s tithe, as the men, women, and servants become laborers and servants of the king and his ruling class.

The description of the king Israel demanded is terrible. Reading these words drove me from voting years ago because the words of God, for the unfit king, describe every ruler in the world today.

Why would any Christian throw their support behind men and women who clamor to do all the things God says kings should not do?

The rulers of today clamor to build armies and send them abroad. They claim the first fruits of everyone’s labor and have laid claim to all possessions, making the residents of each nation-state serfs who work for the political class on large plantations.

The modern king’s demand far more than 10%. The modern kings demand 50% and more for their coffers when you add up the mass of taxes being levied and it continues to be increased every year.

This is why I stopped voting. There were no viable Godly kings I could support. This is still the case, so I will continue not voting, however, this does not mean we should not have a king, which brings us back to Deuteronomy 17: 14-20. Here we find the qualifications of a Godly king with authority to lead.

In a literal and spiritual sense, this King is Jesus. Jesus is the only man fit to be king over all men and He sits on His throne right now and leads for all who believe in Him.

But, is there a “normal” kind of person fit to be king? How would we pick them if there was?

This is a decision that takes extreme caution and awareness, it cannot be decided based on who can generate the most financial support, win pseudo-debates, or make the grandest promises to the widest swath of people. 

The Godly king of Deuteronomy 17 is chosen by God. So we must spend time in prayer seeking God’s will to identify this man.

1. Israel had to select an Israelite for king; they could not select a foreigner to rule them.

2. This king could not multiply his forces, his wealth, or take multiple wives for himself.

3. This king must be a one-woman man without desires for empire, concubines, or wealth gathering.

4. There is one other necessary component for this king. When he takes the throne he must handwrite the Pentateuch and spend time every day committed to its study and the application of God’s law.

This is the kind of man I could support.

Frankly, I do not think it is possible in the modern welfare/warfare State to select a Godly king. I think good leader selection is impossible in the modern nation-state.

Our cultures are no longer uniform. We have become a hodgepodge of people with different thoughts and different beliefs and different desires. How can disorganized people seek the will of God when they do not have the same beliefs and cannot even communicate these beliefs due to political and religious hatreds? It simply cannot happen.

In the current circumstances, only the worst selections can rise to the top and this has been proven with every election cycle. Only the worst win.

The options for leadership today are shrewd, empire-seeking, and wealth-gathering people who cannot be trusted. They lie with every breath, seek empire and power, and want to use their power to stand on the necks of their enemies while enriching their friends.

The politician is not a Godly king and they are unfit to rule. Christians should not support them because we should know better! The single issue we have for unity in elections is Scripture and God’s description of what it takes to be King. There is only one man fit for this crown. I vote for Jesus and will accept no other.

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About the Author

Ian Minielly is a full-time vocational pastor. He considers himself an “oddball” in ministry for his peaceful understanding of the Kingdom of God and how limited of a role Christians should have with the State.

Regarding how he came to this stance, he says:

God spared me and showed great mercy in opening my eyes to love, and against war and the State. To see the great work God did in me, previously I spent more than seven years as an intelligence analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency, focused on Counter-Proliferation of WMD material and systems.

Prior to that, I spent more than nine years in the infantry and Special Forces (I was a Green Beret). Once I became a believer, I found the biblical expectations of God were in opposition to my profession in the military and my nationalism. God slowly peeled this understanding back and I left the army and nationalism.

Ian has published three books, Emily's Tears, Revoked Consent, and The Genetic God, which are available on Amazon.

He also has a YouTube channel if you would like to see him in action!

More from Ian:

Podcasts:

Taxation is Slavery: A Biblical Case

Over the past centuries, many have looked to the Bible in an attempt to provide justification for the so-called divine right of kings. As far back as Constantine, theologians have tried earnestly to mount a biblical defense for the existence of human empires and rulers. Unfortunately for them these efforts have often been in vain. It turns out that the Bible has very few good things to say about empires, and its authors spend considerable time condemning the actions of kings. One of the most potent indictments of human kingship is recorded in 1 Samuel 8:

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”… And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them….Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots…He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants….He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

1 Samuel 8:1

Christians who advocate for human rulers today tend to assume that God is only opposed to unjust rulers. But notably, the possibility of injustice is not the reason God gives for rejecting the Israelite’s request. Rather, God warns them about actions that are common to all kings, such as taxation. Most strikingly, God says they will become the king’s slaves. God is not saying that they might become his slaves if he is unjust. God is saying that slavery is inherent whenever there is a king. To be ruled and taxed is to be a slave.

This idea seems shocking to us in our modern context, but it is generally taken for granted by the biblical authors. To understand this, we need to keep in mind that kings in those days used taxes primarily to enrich themselves and the nobility, rather than as a means of redistributing wealth. Over the centuries, rulers began to distribute some of their riches to the peasantry as a way of legitimizing the practice, until eventually, we arrived at the systems we have today. Yet while it’s true that God instructed his people to take care of the poor, he never intended to use socialized services and governments to that end. It was man’s initiative in 1 Samuel 8 to set up a ruling class, “to be like the other nations”, even though they were called to be set apart. Like every other empire throughout history, the Israelites established a system of coercion used to fund wars and exalt humans. Thus, despite its modern structure, our system now is not so different from theirs. While we may have good intentions for helping the poor, the fact is that a significant amount of our taxes are used in opposition to God’s will. The words of Samuel apply to all empires and rulers no matter their policies.

Some examples from the Bible will help to illustrate this paradigm regarding slavery and government.

To begin, foreign nations would often become slaves when they were conquered, and this was demonstrated by the fact that they would send tribute to the conquering king (2 Samuel 8.2, 2 Samuel 8.6, 2 Kings 17.3). Being forced to send tribute was an act of enslavement because they were no longer working for themselves.

Even within the nation of Israel, it was understood that taxpayers were under a form of slavery. In the story of David and Goliath, the men of Israel speak of the rewards that will be given to the one who slays Goliath.

And the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.

1 Samuel 17.25

The “father’s house” is a cultural reference to their extended family unit. What is intriguing about this verse is the Hebrew word translated as “free”, which is “chophshiy”. In most of its other occurrences, this word is used to denote being freed from slavery (Exodus 21.2, Jeremiah 34.9). In this verse, however, many translators rightly render it as “exempt from taxes”. Thus, the usage of this word in this context shows us that there is an understood equivalence between being set free from slavery and being exempt from taxes. And if we were paying attention in 1 Samuel 8, this understanding should not come as a surprise. The king will take your possessions by force, and thus you will be his slaves.

This paradigm is further revealed in 1 Kings 12, where we read about the tax revolt that divided the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. After the death of King Solomon, Rehoboam his son was made king, and he was immediately presented with a request from the people.

Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.

1 Kings 12.4

The image of a yoke is a common biblical picture for slavery (Lev.26.13, Ez.34.27), but it is also used to refer to tribute exacted by kings (1 Kings 12.4, Jer.30.8). In this case, it was completely natural for the people to talk about high taxes as a heavy yoke, because the idea of taxes being a burden was common knowledge. In light of this observation, we should carefully consider the implications of these words from Isaiah.

Is not this the fast that I choose. To loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

Isaiah 58.6

It’s easy for us to assume that this exhortation is only related to slavery. But is it possible that “every yoke” includes the yoke related to taxes? And what do we mean by “slavery” anyways?

Here a brief discussion of the text Hebrew is necessary. In English, we have the words “servant” and “slave”, and these have vastly different connotations. In Hebrew, however, there is only one word for this concept, which is the word “avad”. The best English translation I can think of is “subservience”. As a result of this difficulty in translation, it is easy to accidentally equivocate on the terms. The important thing to understand is that in the Hebrew mind there is no distinction between a servant and a slave. In that culture there were not two categories of subservience, one being voluntary employment and the other being involuntary servitude. The word “avad” is used to discuss slavery in Egypt (Ex.1.14), vassal empires paying tribute to conquer other empires (1 Kings 4.21), and voluntary arrangements (Gen.29.18). Notably, this same word is used in 1 Kings 12, when the people say to the king “we will serve you”. This is analogous to the verse in 1 Samuel 8, “you will be his slaves”.

Thus, although it is impossible to conclude with certainty whether the word “avad” by itself denotes voluntary or involuntary subservience, the context often provides a reasonable basis for establishing the correct interpretation. Suffice it to say, there are many clear biblical examples of involuntary subservience to governments by means of taxation or forced labor (which is referred to as a yoke) such as the slavery in Egypt (Lev.26.13) and exile to Babylon (Jer.27.12). Thus, to the extent that taxation is involuntary (space does not allow a full discussion of social contract theory), there is a strong biblical precedent for calling it an act of enslavement.

The New Testament also discusses the issue of taxation in the context of slavery. For example, consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 17.

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.”

Matthew 17.24

The Greek word translated as “free” is “eleutheros”. This word is almost exclusively used in contrast with being enslaved (John 8.33, Galatians 3.28). In fact, the most straightforward definition of this word is literally “not a slave”. However, unlike all the other contexts where this word is used to mean freedom from slavery, here Jesus uses it to mean being free from taxation. The implication is unmistakable. According to Jesus, those who don’t pay taxes are not slaves, and those who do pay taxes are not free.

Nehemiah also commented on the oppressive taxation of Israel under the rule of foreign kings.

And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.”

Nehemiah 5.4

The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.

Nehemiah 5.15

Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.

Nehemiah 5.18

The people of Israel had been stripped of their independence and forced to pay heavy taxes, so much so that Nehemiah refused to receive his benefits as a governor. In his mind, it was not right to receive a share of what was taken from his people. A few chapters later, the connection between taxation and slavery is made explicitly.

Behold, we are slaves this day; in the land that you gave to our fathers to enjoy its fruit and its good gifts, behold, we are slaves. And its rich yield goes to the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins. They rule over our bodies and over our livestock as they please, and we are in great distress

Nehemiah 9.36

Presumably, one could make the argument that this was only slavery because they were being ruled by foreign kings and that it would not be slavery if they could rule themselves. However, this argument has a few difficulties. First, the line between neighbors and foreigners is quite arbitrary. Many empires are so large that almost all of their subjects are ruled by people living far away. More importantly, as Christians, we are supposed to view ourselves as being foreigners and exiles of all worldly nations (1 Peter 2.11). We are “citizens” (Phil.3.20) of the kingdom of heaven and “ambassadors” (2 Cor.5.20) for Christ because we have a foreign allegiance (Rom 10.9, Acts 17.7). Thus, we understand that we always live under alien powers that are opposed to the kingdom of God (Luke 4.6, Psalm 2.2, 1 Corinthians 15.24). When they tax us we have every reason to identify with the Israelites in Nehemiah.

After reminding us of the reality that we are living in exile, Peter goes on to talk about what that should look like. Let’s look at this passage in more depth.

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

1 Peter 2.13

Peter begins by admonishing us to be subject to human institutions. Immediately, he is pointing out that these institutions were established by man and not by God. The examples he gives are government and slavery, which are purposefully mentioned sequentially to highlight how we have the same response of submission for both.

Some may be eager to point out that the governors are “sent by God”. But that does not mean God approves of their actions. Remember, the emperors at the time this was written were actively persecuting Christians, as referenced in other parts of the same letter (1 Peter 4.16). So it would be improper to read this as an endorsement of government action. Rather, God is using fallible humans to carry out his purposes and enforce justice. This is drawing on a significant theme from the prophets where God often uses wicked empires to punish those who do evil (Romans 13.4, Isaiah 10.5, Jeremiah 25.9, Isaiah 45.1)

In the context of submitting to human governments, Peter now encourages us to “live as people who are free”. That word “free” is the same Greek word that Jesus used in Matthew 17, which means “not a slave”. But here, like Jesus, Peter uses the word in the context of obedience to governments and rulers. He understands that kings seek to make slaves of their subjects. But as Christians, we know that we are actually “slaves” (similar to the Hebrew “avad”, the Greek word here can mean slaves or servants) of God, who is our only rightful ruler. Thus, we submit to human rulers, we pay taxes, out of obedience to God, because that is what he commands.

Peter continues,

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

1 Peter 2.18:

Peter now addresses slaves with the same command he issued regarding government: be subject to the human institution. He even uses the example of Christ to show how slaves should suffer under unjust masters. But was Christ a slave? No, and yes. Though he had no direct master, Christ was subject to the governing authorities, and Peter saw this as being a close enough equivalent to slavery that he could use Christ’s submission as an example for slaves to emulate.

The point is, our response to human institutions is always to submit to unjust authority, whether that is by serving a master, walking an extra mile, turning the other cheek, or paying taxes. None of these commands is an endorsement of the authority’s actions. Rather, they are a profound acknowledgment that all man-made authorities belong in the same category, whether they are masters, rulers, or governments. All such institutions are illegitimate in God’s eyes (Judges 8.23, 1 Samuel 8.7).

The rulers of this age use taxes to fund wars, imprison the innocent and oppress the poor. They make slaves of their people. But Christ has come to set us free (Isaiah 58.6, Isaiah 61.1). Free from slavery, free from oppression, free from government. He did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20.25). He did not come to coercively exact tribute, but to give.

So if Christ is our model and our king, why do we continue to make slaves of our neighbors? Why do we advocate for a foreign ruler to take a fraction of their income? Why do we continue to support a human institution that God consistently condemns? Maybe it’s time to rethink our unquestioned approval of the “divine right” of politicians.

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About the Author

Patrick Carroll has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is an Editorial Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education.

You can follow him on Twitter @PatrickC1995 or on his Facebook page The Prudent Navigator.