“The 4th citation is there to point out that Paul said rulers, the ones you accuse of theft, were “God’s ministers”. “
I don’t have any compunction about calling “God’s ministers” crooks when they behave crookedly. Many of God’s ministers are crooks, and it is right and proper to say so.
In as much as is possible, I endeavor to live peaceably with all men. For example, I pay my taxes for the sake of expediency even though they are not Caesar’s rightful property.
I was really hoping for a stronger argument for coercive wealth distribution by the state than an appeal to the divine right of kings.
What's important to realize, is that "We the People" are the rulers. We are the King. So all the things that God said to kings about how they are to govern, apply to us.
That said, there must be balance. For those able to work, a job is far better than a handout. There should always be incentives to work and get off of welfare. And equality of wealth and eliminating poverty is not the goal. Meeting the most basic needs of the poor is.
Some clearly are. But you've defined all taxes as theft and that can't be true or scripture wouldn't support paying taxes.
It's not the levying of the taxes, for those are done fairly under the law. It's the misuse of funds once the taxes are collected that is theft, not the collection of duly legislated taxes.
And we are going to disagree on what constitutes misuse. We'd probably agree Obama's croynism with green energy funds is theft. But we'll disagree on basic programs to help the poor and needy, because I see those as a duty directed by God on which our continued reign depends.
Doesn't mean we have to be stupid about how we help the poor. But neither does it mean we can throw up our hands and say they've been stupid in the past, so let's just not do it at all, and leave it to the individual because they have a mandate too.