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May 2, 2005

Tax Office Uses Bible to Shame Christians

by Red Wolf

Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone has a reasonably small population and an even smaller number of Christians; weighing in at around the 10% mark. So from the newspaper ads the local tax office published, I can only assume that those Christians within the country are both more affluent than their fellow countrymen and less likely to pay their taxes.

Tax officials in Sierra Leone have infuriated Christians by publishing newspaper adverts saying Jesus Christ supported the paying of taxes.

The half-page advertisements said that when Jesus was asked if he was against a law requiring the payment of taxes to the Roman emperor he replied: Pay the emperor what belongs to the emperor and pay to God what belongs to God, quoting from the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 22, verses 17-21).

It continued: All Christians should follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ. This week: pay your taxes.

The article states that Christians make up 30% of the population, but unless they've been breeding like rabbits or indulging in the LDS habit of posthumously baptising non-Christians into the flock, my research indicates that figure is closer to 10%.

Rather than actually admit to a problem with their brethren's non-payment of taxes, church officials had their noses put out of joint and whinged accordingly.

Anglican priest Thomas Carew said he could not believe his eyes.

Methodist pastor Cyril William described it as a blasphemy and called on the tax department to drop the advert.

A tax department spokesman said the initiative was to encourage people to pay their taxes as soon as possible.

FOLLOW JESUS, TAX MAN URGES - SBS, 27th April 2005.

Posted in Rare Common Sense at 09:33. Last modified on September 28 2006 at 23:43.
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