>>If a person is truly religious and wants to go to heaven, then the giveaway is not voluntary - it's mandatory. I don't have a problem with the government helping out as long as they don't get too far outside reality.
>
>SET DISTRACTION ON
>
>Does this mean that God keeps score. So if I give away 50% of my money to the gov't so that they can do whatever it is they do with it, and my neighbor gives away nothing, I get a ticket to heaven and my neighbor doesn't?
>
>I think you must think in spiritual terms, not the physical, when discussing the Bible.
>
>SET DISTRACTION OFF

What do I know. Jesus told the rich man to give all his wealth to the poor if he wanted to go to heaven. Would it have mattered if he gave it directly, or if he allowed the 'government' of the time to do it for him, so long as it ended up in the hands of the poor? I know Jesus liked to speak in parables, but "give your wealth to the poor" seems pretty straightforward to me.