The Lancaster Patriot recently reported the Senate’s 49-49 deadlock, failing to overturn President Trump’s 10% baseline tariffs, a decision that risks economic disruption. As a theonomist, I view this as more than a policy misstep—it is a failure to align with biblical principles, judged by God’s revealed Word. Tariffs are forced taxation—a coercive act that must be weighed against biblical standards of justice and righteousness.
In Seven Statist Sins, I outline three biblical witnesses against punitive taxation: the voluntary context of the head tax in theocratic Israel, its voluntary application in Scripture, and the absence of civil penalties for non-payment in God’s law (p. 75-76). Unlike sins like murder, blasphemy, or theft, which carry clear civil consequences (Leviticus 24:17; Leviticus 20:16; Exodus 22:6), failing to pay a tax is not a crime the magistrate may prosecute. Tariffs, by imposing coercive levies on trade, violate this principle.
Imagine you’re a hardworking father in Smithfield, a small town where you labor to provide for your wife and four children. Tax collectors arrive, declaring that Bedford, the neighboring town, taxes its residents for buying Smithfield goods. To “balance the scales,” they demand a portion of your income whenever you purchase from Bedford. You buy critical medicine for your daughter’s worsening illness and lumber to repair your barn’s collapsing roof—both from Bedford, where prices fit your tight budget. Days later, the collectors return, forcibly seizing a significant chunk of your savings. You beg them to reconsider, explaining that this leaves you unable to afford your daughter’s next dose of medicine or to finish the barn, endangering your livestock and your family’s food supply. You take the collectors to court, hoping for justice, but the judge dismisses your case, insisting the tax ensures “fairness” for the “common good.” Bedford retaliates with steeper taxes, inflating prices across both towns. Your daughter’s condition deteriorates, the barn remains exposed to winter storms, and your savings dwindle. Local grocers can’t stock shelves, farmers can’t sell crops, and neighbors lose jobs as trade grinds to a halt. Your community, once thriving, spirals into despair. This isn’t justice—it’s theft dressed as policy, a statist sin that crushes the godly and mocks God’s law.
This scenario, though exaggerated slightly for effect, reflects the broader injustice of tariffs, which burden the righteous and hinder dominion. Tariffs are not merely unbiblical; they fail the secondary question: do they work? Consequentialist arguments—that tariffs protect jobs, bolster revenue, or weaken adversaries like China—fall apart under scrutiny. Proverbs 29:4 declares, “A king brings stability to a land by justice, but one who exacts tribute tears it down.” Tariffs, as unjust tribute, sow economic chaos, inflating costs, disrupting supply chains, and impoverishing families. They claim to serve the “common good,” but if something is unjust according to God’s Law-Word, it does not serve the common good, no matter how many talking heads or philosophers pontificate and prognosticate. Deuteronomy 16:20 commands us to “follow justice and justice alone,” not to chase pragmatic schemes that defy God’s design. History proves that God’s way, though sometimes slow to manifest, yields true prosperity—unlike protectionist policies that promise stability but deliver strife and division.
The Senate’s failure to reject Trump’s tariffs entrenches this error, prioritizing political allegiance over biblical principle. Some defend tariffs as a necessary evil, arguing they generate “revenue” or “shake things up.” But stealing from my neighbor’s garden or seizing his Corvette would also generate “revenue” and disrupt the local economy—yet no one would call that just. Tariffs operate on the same flawed logic, punishing the innocent to achieve dubious ends. They hamper the righteous from taking dominion, forcing families to bear the cost of the state’s overreach. The notion that tariffs counter issues like foreign asset purchases is a separate matter, one that could exist with or without tariffs and deserves its own discussion. Here, the focus is clear: tariffs, as forced taxation, are both unbiblical and impractical.
Proverbs 29:4 reminds us that only justice stabilizes a land. Tariffs tear at the fabric of a righteous society, impoverishing communities while masquerading as progress. I urge believers to reject this statist sin and champion free trade that honors God’s law, fosters godly dominion, and upholds justice.
Chris Hume is the host of The Lancaster Patriot Podcast and the author of several books, including Seven Statist Sins. He can be reached at info@thelancasterpatriot.com.
