render unto Caesar
Give government due
To render unto Caesar is to give legitimate authorities what they're owed—taxes, compliance, formal respect.
The phrase comes from Jesus's response when asked whether Jews should pay Roman taxes: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's." It's invoked to distinguish secular obligations from spiritual ones, or to justify cooperating with worldly powers without endorsing them: I'll render unto Caesar and pay my taxes, but I don't have to like it.
- denariusRoman silver currency unit
- titheTenth for clergy
- taxMandatory public revenue charge
- poll taxPer-person voting charge
- tributeOffering of respect
Pharisees · New Testament · publicans · tax collectors · church and state · separation of powers · secularism · dual loyalty · Roman Empire · coin · money changers · morality · Jesus · sovereignty · scripture · gospel · conscience · authority
- Jesus' teachingsSermon on the Mount, beatitudes, Beatitudes, love your enemies, Lord's Prayer
- Scripture PhrasesJohn 3:16, Lord's Prayer, Our Father, Ten Commandments, Beatitudes
render unto Caesarcivil disobedience
Peaceful refusal to obey
rebellion · tax resistance · conscientious objection · insurrection · sedition
render unto Caesarmartyrdom
Suffering for conviction
principled stand · absolutism · uncompromising · ideological purity · all or nothing
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