Property and Taxation

Integrating a Biblical Worldview Final Exam

To whom does everything belong

God owns everything (Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:10-12, Deuteronomy 10:14, and Job 41:11)

What does God do with his creation?

He entrusts it to humanity as stewards (Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:15, Psalm 8:3-8)

How is corporate stewardship allocated?

to individual households (Genesis 2:24)

What creates a household?

marriage creates a household - the first social unit

If theft of private property wrong?

Yes, the implied delegation of creational stewardship seen in Genesis 2 is made explicit in Israel’s law

What percentage of the Ten Commandments deal with property?

20%

What was moving boundary markers considered?

theft of land (Deuteronomy 27:17)

What three laws in the Torah emphasize the sacredness of private property?

The laws of restitution (Exodus 22:1-5), the laws of inheritance (Numbers 27, 36), and the laws of Jubilee (Leviticus 25)

What kinds of government are contrary to a Christian worldview?

Certain kinds of socialism and communism

What is the greatest threat to private property in the U.S?

Unjust government taxation systems designed to seize private assets and redistribute them to others.

In both the Old Testament and New Testament, what has God ordained in regard to taxation?

he has ordained governments to carry out particular functions for the common food and to collect taxes to support these functions.

How was Ancient Israel functioned?

as a nation state and had compulsory giving laws that functioned as taxation

What are three forms of taxation?

head/flat tax, proportional tax, and progressive tax

What is head/flat tax

A flat amount per/person tax. Each person pays the same fixed amount regardless of income.

What is proportional tax?

Each person pays an equal percentage of income. Those who make more pay more money, but it is proportional to income. 10% of 50,000=5,000, 10% of 100,000=10,000. Recognize the higher responsibility of increasing wealth to support essential common needs while also protection private property from seizure.

What is progressive tax?

The percentage of income goes up as income rises. Those who make more pay a disproportionately higher percentage of their income. This type of system allows for unjust seizure of private property.