Dear Editor,

Re: Government, taxes and the church 

“As set out in my last piece on “Taxes, the Clergy and Government,” the institution of government is God ordained.”

What a whopper! God did not ordain, sanction or approve of human government, which is to say humans ruling humans by force, violence and coercion.

“But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”-- 1 Samuel 8:6-7

And you think God approves of rejecting him as lawgiver and turning to a human? Tsk, tsk.

God never ordained humans ruling humans. Such governments are the devil’s domain.

“The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”--Luke 4:5-8

Afamasaga M. F. Tole’afoa, you are distorting the word of God.

Ned Netterville