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| Distribute unto the poor.... |
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What a noble idea, "distribute unto the poor".
18:18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? 18:19And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, `even' God. 18:20Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother. 18:21 And he said, All these things have I observed from my youth up. 18:22And when Jesus heard it, he said unto him, One thing thou lackest yet: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 18:23 But when he heard these things, he became exceeding sorrowful; for he was very rich. 18:24 And Jesus seeing him said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 18:25 For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. He did not say distribute to the rich, or the temple, or the publicans (Wall Street). Should we call Him a socialist? |
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| To add a comment to "Distribute unto the poor...." |
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| October 19, 2008 |
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| AMEN!!!!!!! I agree what a nobel idea! |
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| October 20, 2008 |
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| You are so political. That is not really a bad thing. I love polotics too. I have no problem helping and blessing and giving. But spreading the wealth around by force is different than doing it out of love and mercy and compassion. |
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| October 20, 2008 |
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Todd, how many rich people you know would spread their wealth in an altruistic manner (some do, yet most of their pet projects are targeted outside the USA, curious isn't it?). If anything a government should do, is to in some form or fashion see that social and economic equity takes place. Bailing out Wall Street is not the way to do it unless you believe in Nationalization of the economy. Government and the market should work in unison to bring about prosperity to all levels of our society. Government expending is one of the macro economic variables needed to move an economy forward, but it should not be because as a society we do not know how to incentive the market to spend in the most valuable asset we have (us). This country is so out of touch with Jesus teachings when it comes to economics. We call free market to an economy of the few, with a struggling middle class that is looking more and more less middle, and a poor class that is supported by government programs (the very same programs that normally get cut). To social and economic justice we call it "Socialism" because to cause fear is a way to keep the status quo. I am not advocating for socialism rather for a more equitable society. The Smith economic theory died in 1929, the Maynard's model is dead too, the socialism and communism projects did not work either. But the concept of a more equal distribution of the wealth is still the concept to follow and Jesus spoke of it in more than one occasion. PS. Jesus was more political than I. Jesus created a whole set of policies that are still alive today and are the same ones we follow for our salvation. Definition of politics from Wikipedia: Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. Politics consists of "social relations involving authority or power"[1] and refers to the regulation of a political unit,[2] and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.[3] |
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| October 21, 2008 |
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Are you a professor? I love you because you are such a good thinker and a student! Not to mention that you added that you are a sox and pats fan too! Too bad about the soxs but it didn't hurt too badly this time around. Although Jason Bay played well, he virtually disappeared in the alcs I missed Manny and the dreads drama and all.
Anyway, There are some that are generous some not so. But then again many "liberal" are wealthy and do not share the wealth. For me I like capitalism. The strong survive and the the losers readjust. Everyone has an equal opportunity for sucess and failure. I am all for hand ups but hand outs constantly take the motivation to work and be productive away. Why should I work hard only to have my family suffer for someone else? I for one don't see the system working for me. this is my personal testimony...but the one time I needed public assistance when my wife was nearly killed and badly injured in a car accident, we were hit by an uninsured driver who worked at a fastfood resturant (so we know he makes less than 250K) was driving on a revoked license, I knew that he could not pay. Therefore I did not sue him for damages. I forgave him and gave to him so to speak. Then because she (me espoza) was incapacitated I had to stay home and take care of her and the children. I tried to close some mortgages out of the house during that time, but I was operating at about 15% productivity. I had no savings, the hospital took the unisured motorist coverage and I had 5 kids living at home. When I went to apply for public assistance they said I made too much money. I had to make less than $600 per month household income to qualify. No income, no health insurance, unpaid medical bills etc...now the government did not help me. It was the compassion of my church family that helped us through. If we expect the government to provide for us we will be sorry, because quite frankly the government doesn't do things all that efficiently. Anyway, I believe in helping my fellow man and providing a level playing field for everyone, but redistribute wealth so that everyone is the same seems dishearten effort and production.
As for Jesus I was thinking about this parable today: Remember the parable of the Talents? each servant was given so many talents and the wicked disobedient servant burried his talent in the ground? Remember what happened? That which was to be his was taken from him and given to the more productive and faithful. That sounds like capitalism doesn't it? LOL
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| October 22, 2008 |
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Well as a Boston's sports fan I should not be greedy. I shall spread the wealth and see other teams win too, LOL. The last few years in Boston's sports have been terrific so I cannot complain much. The Red Sox will comeback bigger and better next year. My Pats are kicking back rears even without Brady and the Celtics will do the same again this year. Go Boston Sports!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Talents parable is interesting and it does speak to productivity but also to the fact that initially the wealth was distributed (LOL), so lesson learned, is not just enough to distribute the wealth, but to know what to do with it to make it grow according to each person's ability. Thank you for the sharing your story and for the kind words. It is a pleasure to be able to share our views and have a great respectful interchange of ideas back and forth. God bless you and your family always. BTW, how is your autistic son doing? Mine is doing fine, he is turning 15 on Halloween. |
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| October 22, 2008 |
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"Should we call Him a socialist?"
LOL!!!
No Caleb. Believe it or not, the point Jesus was trying to make wasn't that the distribution of wealth must be equal and fair among the people. Jesus gave the rich man the opportunity to reveal that which he loved above all else. God demands that we love him above all else, yet the rich man valued his wealth more than God, as Jesus was able to demonstrate.
Furthermore, if Jesus were a socialist, he wouldn't have given the rich man the opportunity to voluntarily give his wealth to the poor. He would have demanded that the government institute wealth redistribution policies, with severe penalties for those who resist!
lol... this is fun! |
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| October 22, 2008 |
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I would prefer economic models that offer people the freedom to work hard and earn more than those who don't work hard. As well as the freedom for those who earn much to freely give to the poor, in obedience to God. I'm not an economics professor, but I do know that I like freedom. :-) |
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| October 22, 2008 |
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| Good point on the distribuiting to start with...funny when we approach something with a certain mindset it jumps out at us otherwise we are blind to it. Cameron is doing fine. He is funny and is sweet and so creative. The one thing that i worry for him about is his eating habits. He is overweight and loves (as you know) the gluetin filled sugar and white flower foods and such. I have tried to limit him but it is a losing battle as he spends most of his time at his mom's house and I only have him for the summer. Other than that though he if a pleasure and brings a lot of joy and love to our home. |
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