Idknow,
It's because of the notification feature on this forum that I am drawn back here again. As time has passed since my posting back in February, I am more convinced than ever that Jesus was crucified by Rome because of his view on taxes. It makes the most sense.
Jesus may have been an interesting figure to the Pilate(surely he had heard of some miracles being done some Jew recently), but not a threat yet. When the Jewish leaders brought him before Pilate announcing and accusing Jesus of telling them to NOT pay taxes, THEN Pilate had to make a choice. If indeed Jesus was preaching that kind of sedition and Pilate ignored it, his ruling of the Jews would be questioned by not only the Jews, but also Rome.
He couldn't have that.
Even in the "Render unto Ceaser" story, starts with, "And the Pharasees brought with them some Herodians(loyal to Herod the King) in order to entrap Jesus in his words." or something like that. Hello? They KNEW what he was going to say(dont pay taxes). That is why they brought some statist witnesses. Duh. How do we miss that?
I see Ned's essay as a welcome addition to our understanding of the(I hate to say it)typical statist interpretations of the Bible!
Scottinalaska