Who knew?
http://www.holisticpolitics.org/...
Deuteronomy 15:11 For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.
Take that, you Randian Dominionist Triumphalist Christian Reconstructionist hypocrites!
The site opens with an interesting statement:
What is the purpose of government? National defense? Law enforcement? Is that it? Ask many conservatives and they will say yes, that is all: the purpose of government is to protect life, liberty and property. Many of these same conservatives wax nostalgic over our nation's very Christian past, and claim that their views and our Constitution were inspired by the Bible...
Yet the Bible answers the question above quite differently! The Biblical Law provided for no standing armies, no police, and no jails. Law enforcement was a mix of blood feud, lynch mob, and impromptu town meetings. National defense resembled the gathering of a Wild West posse. The ancient Israelites were perhaps the only civilized people to practice anarcho-capitalism while surrounded by other nations. (The other examples I can think of were on islands.)
Anarcho-capitalism! The first Libertarians?
A provocative pro-capitalism site offering commentary on loans for the poor, gleaner laws, Jubilee laws, inheritance laws, as well as a section on community, childcare and retirement.
As an antidote:
http://dotcommonsense.blog-city.com/...
Acts I 4:31-32:
And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
Gasp! Communism! Communism pure and simple!
But, as an antidote to the antidote (and herein lies the primary doctrine of Calvinistic capitalism, prosperity theology, et alia), the conclusion to the Parable of the Talents:
Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. -- Matthew 25:28-29
Giving birth to the theology of prosperity:
Prosperity theology (also known as prosperity doctrine, the health and wealth gospel, or the prosperity gospel) is a Christian religious belief whose proponents claim has "tens of millions" of adherents, primarily in the United States, centered on the notion that God provides material prosperity for those he favors. It has been defined by the belief that "Jesus blesses believers with riches" or more specifically as the teaching that "believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the 'sowing of seeds' through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings." In the words of journalist Hanna Rosin, the prosperity gospel "is not a clearly defined denomination, but a strain of belief that runs through the Pentecostal Church and a surprising number of mainstream evangelical churches, with varying degrees of intensity." It arose in the United States after World War II championed by Oral Roberts and became particularly popular in the decade of the 1990s. More recently, the theology has been exported to less prosperous areas of the world, with mixed results.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Oh the Bible is a wondrous book of myth and contradiction! But, leave to the Roman Catholics to throw cold water on abundance theology:
Preaching a gospel of abundance is an easy draw for filling the pews. It goes something like this…
If you are a good and faithful Christian and give regularly and generously to your church, then God will reward you with material wealth and success. Wealth, in fact, is a sign of a good Christian. Hence, the financial success and rich life-style of a preacher merely affirms his or her faithfulness.
Perhaps if we heard this message from our priests, we’d have more Catholics in the pews. In fact, in many developing countries we’re losing ground to our evangelical sisters and brothers in the convert contests. Become a Christian in our congregation and you’ll have wealth and success. Or, become a Catholic and prayerfully unite your poverty and suffering with Christ. Tough choice!
http://catholicdialogue.com/...
Whoah! Wait a minute! How much do we have to suffer in order to secure redemption? I resign myself to the simplicity of Atheism.