ABSTRACT
As with all other political and economic matters, taxation inevitably emerged as a matter of theological reflection once Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Except in a very few cases (most prominently, Lactantius’ historical writings), theological reflection on taxation came about gradually and surfaced implicitly rather than explicitly. This is because taxation was tied so closely to imperial power and was thought of almost entirely in terms of raising revenue. Christian thinkers did influence the way the empire came to think about poor relief, but new ways of thinking were not yet tied to redistributive taxation. Nevertheless, Ambrose and Augustine in particular put in place the categories of thought that, as the Middle Ages progressed, would link taxation and justice and ultimately introduce the concept of redistributive taxation.
