Thanks

First thing: this blogger is so screwed up! I am having major problems posting, and the fonts are ridiculous.
----
If all these small tornadoes we are having around here ever decide to get together in one area, someone is going to be in deep doodoo. There were six more confirmed yesterday, but all did light or moderate damage.
----
I want to thank everyone for the comments I've received the past few days concerning this blog. Whether positive or negative, they are appreciated. I was boring myself, and I know you readers must have been gagging, so I was ready to shut down Loose Laces for good and delete it from the internet. The new controversy has me rejuvenated. Thank you.
----
"You have the right to remain silent ... "
On this date in 1966, the US Senate passed into law the Miranda Rights legislation that forces law officers to inform all suspects before they are questioned or charged that they have certain constitutionally guaranteed rights, and that they may have an attorney speak for them. The law has since been watered down to the point it is almost useless in some situations. Torture in the name of justice is an example.
----
I must be a glutton for punishment, but here goes anyway:
Matthew 22:21: Then saith he unto them, "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's". From the King James translation.

This verse is often quoted from the New Testament, especially in the US around April 15, federal tax deadline day.

By using Caesar's name first, was Jesus putting the emperor before God, saying that Caesar should receive tribute (taxes) before God receives the things he demands of his children? I know, it may be insignificant, but it is the bible we are talking about and not a paperback romance novel. I've never seen this particular peculiarity addressed, but it probably has been scrutinized by "experts". It seems if one believes the bible is the literal word of God and Jesus, the desires of government or of other authorities must come before God's needs, but God's commandments do have to be fulfilled.

I realize the passage is a metaphor, but the wording is rather peculiar. Why did He not say 'unto God the things that are God's; and unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's'? I have read several expert opinions about the circumstances of the time, that Jesus was verbally slapping the Pharisees whom he considered as being very wicked, and I wonder if His words are for them alone or for consumption by the general public? The fact still remains that he used Caesar's name before God's.

From my days of faith, and from the things I still hear and read, the words simply mean that God gets what is His, and Caesar gets what is his; and in that order. It isn't what it says.

What do you think?
----