The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. What do 6 th century Benedictine monks, the 19 th century inventor Cyrus McCormick, and the Apostle Paul, have in common? They were each driven to be productive and hard-working, by what is often called the Christian or Biblical “work ethic.” The Benedictine monks believed Paul’s admonition that “ if anyone would not work, neither should he eat” and that “idleness is the enemy of the soul.” So they were hard-working and diligent, and applied their God-given reason and creativity to invent technology that would make their work more productive and efficient. Similarly, Cyrus McCormick was saddened by the drudgery and purposelessness of seeing slaves harvesting grain by a sickle. He held strong beliefs that God had given dignity to mankind, and that work should be purposeful, and so he invented a mechanical harvester that revolutionized farming. These and many other Christians throughout history were positivel...

1. Intro: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Famous saying of Jesus, response to those who were trying to trap Him in His words about taxation. Paying taxes was never very popular. Often used to prove that Jesus supported the legal authority of governments to tax the citizens, and the citizens’ duty to pay their taxes (Minor point). Major point= render to God the things that are God’s. 2. Render means to pay, or to give back. What you owe, what is due. The reason Jesus gave for the government’s right to tax, was the inscription and likeness of Caesar, the emperor, on the coin. They had minted the coin. To ‘mint’ a coin is to stamp or press an image onto a piece of metal. The coin then has the “likeness” or picture of whatever person was used. Abraham Lincoln on a penny, George Washington on a quarter. On the back, it has the inscription of the United States of America. Image shows ownership. 3. On to the major point! Jesus “caught” Hi...