Essay about It's Time for More Bible and Less Welfare

Pope Leo XIII used that Bible as a way to support his idea of the common good. He cited, “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned land or houses sold them and

The bible is a pretty exhilarating book; tales of bearded men crossing deserts, talking snakes, talking bushes, forbidden fruits, floods, adultery, and pregnant virgins. What more could you want? Well, you might want to escape poverty. Logically, your next question is: can religion accomplish this task? And according to Richard Wright and John Steinbeck, the answer is a resounding “no.” Wright and Steinbeck, pump their books, Black Boy and The Grapes of Wrath, respectively, full of biblical allusions to demonstrate that religion is ineffective at addressing the issues of the indigent because teleological narratives, when applied to material context, do not have the same end.

Most of Americans view people in poverty as being lazy or unmotivated and there can be a universal solution to fix poverty. As a child that did not have to deal with the problems of poverty personally I also believed that there could be an easy or quick solution to fix all of these problems. Now that my family has experienced poverty first hand, I know that is not the case. The solutions that are in place currently are more of a band aid fix. What I mean by this is you deal with problems quickly but you have not fully resolved the root of the problem. This view of poverty also has been the belief historically. Tratner discuses that in the early 1800’s people who were poor were separated into two different groups the worthy and the unworthy. The worthy poor were mainly widowed women and orphans. The unworthy were deemed as drinkers, and people who were too lazy to work.

He cites Preacher Daniel Garcia who at the time was preaching on the sacrifice of Isaac that is a Scripture from the perspective of poverty. The main point of this passage was that power always would find a convenient ram to be sacrificed at little cost to the ones with power. Even today the poor are considered the “convenient ram” and are sacrificed for the powerful. As stated in Romans and Corinthians the sharing both material and spiritual goods is called for by Paul, and is received by the Gentiles. If the immortal goods were shared, they also shared in mortal ones. Gonzalez separates the interpretation of poverty from marginality by explaining that for most poverty is the main reason why many left their lands to travel to a new land in which they would still be poor but possibly not in the same

We get a glimpse of the Social Darwinism perspective “survival of the fittest” and only the strong will continue. We have been taught Democratic Egalitarianism and Individualism argue equality and privileges should be demonstrated and given to all citizens, this would be the ideal situation, unfortunately the poor was simply lazy and the master of their fate. Interestingly morality came into view never looking at the devices engaged to inhibit access to a free membership of the American life as the culprit. More over the article mentioned being poor is to be considered a religious factor by many. Those that were poverty stricken was stigmatized as beliefs dictated by Puritans and numerous religious communists an individual out of God’s favor was doom to suffer; poverty aided as a symbol of this social ill. Various subscriptions given however, with many prerequisites; such as acquiring skills or obtaining a job whose initial pay was favorable would serve as a cure all; certainly one could say, there is a degree of legitimacy as in some cases what was aforementioned has worked, but quite often is not the end result. If the success story yielded a higher rate one possibly will walk away with a greater

In the story of the Rich Official (18: 18-34), Luke tells the story of a young ruler who approached Jesus asking what he needs to do to achieve eternal life. Jesus’ response is “sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven” (18:22). The young official is disheartened by this response as the idea of giving up his wealth left him dejected. After going through his impressive resume of how faithful to the Jewish Law he has been, Jesus remarks that the one thing lacking was giving his wealth to the poor. In this scenario, specific instructions are given to the rich and what it takes to win eternal life; the care for the poor. The rich are expected to share what they have with the poor. This fits perfectly with the teaching of John the Baptist found earlier in the Gospel (3:10-14), “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise”. Luke highlights, as he does throughout the Gospel, the idea that wealth is a significant roadblock on the road to the kingdom of God: it prevents many from doing the will of God. While wealth is not necessarily wrong to have, it might overtake a person who seeks dependence on their wealth.

When the United States of America first began, there were small villages with men and women of varying degrees of wealth. Like any society, there were people who had little money and poor living conditions while others were wealthy. In the colonies of the new world, the church and the neighbors of those in poverty helped provide food and clothing, while also finding ways to improve their daily lives. These acts of kindness were an enormous help to the poor but sadly became less effective to those individuals as the population of the colonies increased along with the number of those in poverty. Soon seeing the streets filled with the poor the government of this new country decided that an improved method of help should be put into effect:

According to CST, this should not be the case. “The deprivation and powerlessness of the poor wounds the whole community,” (Clark). Instead of debating on the best practices to alleviate poverty, or complaining that the poor are in their situation due to a lack of effort from him- or herself, if efforts were taken to eradicate all poverty from everyone, the issue would eventually cease to exist. The issue of poverty is not one of government to handle, nor the Church to solely address, nor the responsibility of non-profit organizations or businesses who want to help the poor – the responsibility lies with everyone. From a global perspective, if everyone was involved in helping the poor achieve a state of self-sustainment, this could ultimately improve profits for a business as more individuals with disposable income enter the

Moreover, the Bible declares, “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, it is more blessed to give than to

McFague and Solomon both relate religion to the current economy. Both authors seem to agree that there is something that can be done to help enhance our current economic state. Both authors advocate for the consideration of religious influence in the economy, and they both use different examples from religious texts to support their statements. McFague and Solomon use Christianity and Judaism respectfully. One of the points they both bring up is the way the poor is treated. McFague says".... how we treat needy bodies gives the clue to how a society is organized."(pg. 132) Along with this, Solomon says " No permanent remedy is readily available to heal the sickness of poverty and maldistribution of wealth."(pg. 114). In contrast with each other,

when the discussion of impoverishment shifted towards a politico-economic outcome rather than the manifestation of a natural order, poverty was regarded as necessary. It was terrible for those forced to live in it, but it kept the economy running by providing lots of cheap labor. Poverty also often meant uneducated. An uneducated public was easy to control and ignorant of the effects that the aristocracy were having. The uneducated are likely to work for low wages, even more so if they are already impoverished. This allows the wealthy to exploit large groups of people without much effort or money. There was an enforced idea that God had placed oneself into such a position and it was not their job to raise themselves up, but to accept and be content. Poverty was seen as a necessary evil, a kind of darkness that contrasted the wealth of the central civilization. For one very wealthy man, there are many, many, poor but it is their burden to bear to balance the order of things.

Poverty has been a consistent problem throughout the history of the world. Despite the wealth of a country, there will always be people who are homeless and hungry. Poverty carries many different definitions, but one that truly encompasses all of its effects is, “the unfulfillment of basic human need required to adequately sustain life free from disease, misery, hunger, pain, suffering, hopelessness, and fear” (Julio, 76). Even though the United is one of the most prosperous countries in the world, it is not immune to poverty. In 2014, 46.7 million people (15%) were in poverty in the United States. This is no small issue, and one that we as Christians are called to combat. In the United States poverty is a national problem, however, it is most prevalent in the inner cities. The inner city is defined as, “A general term for impoverished areas of large cities. The inner city is characterized by minimal educational opportunities, high unemployment and crime rates, broken families, and inadequate housing” (Dictionary.com). Although, according to the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), absolute poverty is higher in the suburbs than in the inner cities, affecting 11 million people compared to 8 million people in the inner cities, poverty is still concentrated in the inner cities and is more prevalent there. The inner cities comprise less than 1% of land area versus the suburbs which comprise 17% of total land area – nearly 100x that of inner cities. Overall, 3 in 10

Instead they should first acknowlwdege that God has been working even berofe the came, seek to understand how God has been working and then partner with God and the local people in enforcing the working of God. The planning and enforcing fo the plans should not be done in the absence of the people but instead it should be done with the local people. The affected people should alsways participate in the poverty alleviation process for the process change to be long term and

The Old Testament is abundant in teachings about poverty and wealth. Throughout each section -the law, wisdom literature, and

Our Old Testament Text from Amos speaks judgment against those not caring for the poor. Not caring for the poor is not something new. As we read the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament), we constantly hear God calling the Israelites to care for the poor and judgment when they do not. Overall, I think congregations and our ELCA do a pretty good job with caring for the poor. Yet there are always ways to do more and ways to change the system that often hurts