Well, I checked first, and this is his one and only, ever comment on BB. Yeah, it’s hard to tell and that is scary.
… Perhaps the most evil intellectual choice a boing boing user has ever confronted me with. But thanks 
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Thank god the Freemasons saved us from being completely ruled by these loons. Although, given my choice, I think I’d take my chances with a Constitution written by Oddfellows.
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I wonder how many jars of her own urine she has in her fridge.
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She reminds me of the recent incident of the woman on the airplane who shouted for God’s mercy for something like 20 mins. I wonder if they are listening to the same preacher or talk radio show? or if they just the voice of the zeitgeist, as it were.
Considering Ms Palin’s recent antics, for example, I found myself wondering if she had not been used to create the 'geist and was now being used to tap it…by those same forces mentioned today by that LA Rep.
Here is the link: http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/gop-congressman-rips-tea-party-colleagues-i-m-not-sure-they-re-republicans-20131016
What was all this for? cui bono?
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It appears as if all the subconscious messages encrypted into the Ylvis videos are starting to really grab hold.
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Would that be better or worse than having jars of someone else’s urine in your fridge?
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Given the choice between the clandestine machinations of secret society, and the openly twisted values of the Christian right, I’ll take the Freemasons any day.
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Tarkovsky would have a field day with this scene!
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The full quote is, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
The implication that Jesus (or someone) was making was that everything is God’s and nothing is Caesar’s. “Mine is the silver and mine the gold”, from the book of Haggai, would have been as familiar to Jesus as it would have been to the rabbis that were trying to trap him.
The rabbis left him alone because to attempt to traduce what he was saying would imply that they were affirming the power of Caesar over faith in their god. They would have appeared as blasphemers next to the guy they were trying to trap into badmouthing Caesar.
Jesus was saying, “Caesar owns nothing and we only owe allegiance to our god.”
He’s still right after two thousand years.
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It would certainly make more sense to only answer to someone we created who isn’t there, than someone we chose who is. Oh wait, no it wouldn’t.
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Well yeah but so was Edward Snowden.
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Totally unfair to actual Freemasons (there still are actual Freemasons, I think) that your headline says it was a “Masonic outburst”. It was an anti-Masonic outburst, after all. I don’t know whether any organization or system of beliefs should get the blame for this poor woman’s psychotic episode, but least of all the victims of said episode should.
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In the context of the quote, allegiance to Caesar is compulsory whereas allegiance to even an imaginary god is an act of free will.
That depends. Are you having it on salad or toast?
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You need to resort to Haggai to twist Jesus’ words into their opposite? Jesus says exactly what he says there: to pay your taxes. The NT is full of stuff about obeying the law. Jesus’ teachings are radical in a lot of ways, but not here.
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I knew all along all stenographers are crazy, all they write down is gibberish!
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One of the charges leveled at him at his trial was opposition to paying taxes.
And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king.”
- Luke 23:2
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Part of the problem is that many modern Christians don’t understand that the Bible was written such that it uses the structure of the passages to provide context.
Each passage is shaped by the one that came before it, and in turn shapes the one that comes after it. When viewed as a whole, instead of in segments, each chapter takes on a certain meaning, following certain themes, often even retelling the same story in multiple ways to reinforce an important point.
More than just structure, though, the gospels also require some knowledge of the time period. You have to understand what the world was like at that time in Judea - a backwater territory controlled by the Roman Empire. You have to understand at least some of the politics of the time, who the major parties were, what they stood for, what their values were, and how they interacted.
The entire chapter of Mark 12 is predominantly concerned with one of the major themes of the gospels - the resistance of the Jewish authorities against Jesus’ radical (and in their eyes heretical) teachings. The Pharisees and the Zealots and the Herodians and all the Jewish priests and holy men aren’t just randomly mentioned - they’re a symbol of the extant Jewish theocracy in Judea, which is seeking to silence Jesus.
So why are they so upset with Jesus? Because they’re ruled over by Rome, and Rome doesn’t like hearing about religious uprisings and social revolutions in their client territories. Rome has a system in place for conquered provinces - as long as you pay your taxes and keep the peace, Rome leaves you alone. If you don’t pay your taxes, or you don’t keep the peace, Rome warns you - once. If you don’t shape up, they crack down - hard.
Thus, Jesus isn’t very popular with either the Jews or with Rome. He’s confident he can beat the Jewish leadership on spiritual grounds, but he has to tread carefully to avoid getting in trouble with Rome, because then the Legions show up and can put him and his followers to the sword.
Hence why Mark 12 makes such a big deal out of this whole Caesar thing. The Jewish leadership can’t combat Jesus’ teachings on religious grounds, so they try to trick him into saying something traitorous - such as “We don’t owe anything to Caesar, as we have only one Lord, our god!”. If they got Jesus to say that sort of thing, they would have legal grounds to jail him, kill him, and destroy him as a traitor to Rome - or to have Rome come in and do it for them.
But no, Jesus says “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s!”. He doesn’t want his followers pissing off Rome, because he knows they can’t possibly survive the full brunt of their fury. Just like he tells his followers “Turn the other cheek!”. Someone is using violence against you? Don’t resist! Suffer their cruelties! And most importantly, do not hate them for the sins they commit against you! It is not your place to resist! It is not your place to judge! That is God’s place alone! Be humble, be meek, and you shall inherit the earth!
That’s some deeply spiritual stuff there, and very wise (and later to be echoed by the likes of Gandhi and the Dalai Lama), but it’s also practical advice. The Early Christians were a fledging group. They had no power - no allies - no friends - no mercy to rely upon. They were alone in a world that did not understand them and was quite willing to kill them if they caused trouble.
Thus, instead of being defiant and standing for what they believed was the absolute ultimate truth, Jesus wanted his followers to be passive and humble and to bend to the wills of others while remaining spiritually dedicated and pure within.
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I’m pretty sure /u/pspinrad was being sarcastic.
Away put your weapon, he means you no harm.
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