What Christians Believe About their Responsibility for Other People

In the old testament the story of Moses includes the ten commandments rules given which have the basic standards of humans for example do not steal or do not kill, these rules being written into the bible really enforced them into catholic religion. In the new testament Jesus was a real show of social justice, he told stories and set example of caring for the ill and outcasted saying “blessed are those who act justly, who always do what is right.” (psalm 106:3, bible). Social justice is constantly enforced in the bible and Catholic religion and because of this is enforced in the modern world. Caritas Australia is a catholic based charity that helps all over the world, their statement is to “end poverty, promote justice, uphold dignity”. Caritas Australia has changed many lives with education, food, shelter and more. Caritas Australia is an accurate example of catholic social justice being shown in modern world and most religions can show social justice through similar charities like the Islam

(Luke 10:25-37). Jesus taught this so that Christians would treat everyone the way that they would want to be treated. In Luke 6:20-26, Jesus said. “That the poor were special to him and that their suffering would be rewarded in heaven.” He also went on to say, “The rich who ignored the suffering of the poor would be punished.” One of Jesus’ most important teachings on poverty was in Matthew 25:31-46. To the affect Jesus said “Whenever you help anyone in need you are helping me.” Christians believe that when they help someone they are helping Jesus and that they will be rewarded for it. These are the main Christian teachings on wealth and poverty.

The Christian worldview holds that one is to honor God by serving others. The scriptures in the Bible teach Christians to act out of kindness, to give unto others, and to treat others as they would like to be treated. Acts 20:35 “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’”

In the beginning, God provided Adam and Eve with a garden to live in with no house to go home to as the sun set each day. Americans today have the opportunity to live in a home where their lives carry on day after day. Adam and Eve were in a sense homeless, yet God did not love them any less. The homeless in America today are seen as less than everyone else in society, yet God does not love them any less than those of us who live in a home. As Christians, we are told to share with the homeless. Luke states in Luke 3:10-11, “And the crowds asked him, ‘What then shall we do?’ And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.’.” The Bible tells us to share with the poor, despite

Christians are called to help others, but when they give and give and do not take time to care for themselves or say no to some requests that cross their boundaries. Jesus was found retreating from crowds to spend time in prayer with God displaying the importance of soul care, Jesus ate with His disciples fueling His body, He took time to rest and sleep, and He maintained important friendships. In coming to earth Jesus showed how to maintain balance between self and personal care as well as establishing healthy boundaries so He could care for Himself and in return care for

Humans are greedy. They want and want, and then want some more with no regards for another person’s needs. Twain states in “The Lowest Animal” that he has witnessed men with millions have a rabid hunger for more. Though these men and women have enough money to last them their entire lives, they still crave more unnecessary cash, despite the fact that some people need it more than they do. They have no consideration for the poor, and rather than donate a fraction of their large fortunes, they feel the need to make more. While giving to charities, people with less money make up a larger percentage of the donations than wealthy people. They understand that they may want the money, but they need the money less than the absolute poorest of the poor. Humans are scum.

In the Roman Empire, they believe the emperor connected their world to heaven. All blessings flow through him. Consequently, a poor person would not receive as many blessings because of their placement on the social pyramid the Christians believe not only themselves, but everyone is made in the image of God. Since God is royalty, then that makes everyone else of royal blood as well. The parable of the "Good Samaritan" continues express this idea of equality. In the parable a man is robbed and beaten. A priest and a levite notice him, but continue on the path. The samaritan, an enemy of the jews, helps the man and nurses him back to health. Jesus attempted to spread the message that in order to be a person of God a person must treat everyone the same regardless of background and beliefs. This equality gave people worth and value to

William Turner, an English doctor in his book New Booke of Spiritual Physick (6) stated that he could’ve healed the poor so that they could work again, but instead they would have rather remained unhealthy so they did not need to work. He felt that the idle wanted to maintain their life style, so they did not need to earn a living through great pain and labor. In the Poorhouse regulations in Suffolk County, England (7), anyone that was a member of the house had to receive whippings to identify themselves of poor. Anyone that was stubborn received heavier shackles and harder labor. The poor house demonstrated that people would rather be whipped, behave well in the poorhouse, and remain poor than try to find a job and work to support themselves.

Throughout the Bible, God commands his children over one hundred times to help the poor and needy around them, yet Christians sadly do not care for the poor, but rather oftentimes blame the poor for his/her situation. According to studies conducted by Pew Research, about 178 million Americans call themselves Christians. This mean there are four times as many Christians in America than there are individuals living in poverty—why then does poverty even still exist in America? My goal in life is to challenge Christians throughout America to love and care for the poor.

In the time that Jesus was alive, God's favor and poverty was God's punishment for sin. Mark 10:21 states "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” Jesus points out the young man’s biggest sin, which is greed. Mark stresses this idea of child-like faith. This applies to anyone wealthy or not. In order to enter God’s kingdom, one must detach oneself from this sinful world and by selling one’s

Because mankind was made in God’s image, Christians aspire to follow the footsteps of Jesus as he leads the pathway to the Kingdom of God. So just as Jesus, “healed the leper, the paralyzed, the blind, the deaf, and many who suffer from many diseases,” followers of the gospel are called to “pass through this world doing good.” Not only did Jesus heal, but he turned it around and allowed the once sick to heal. They became “agents of healing and invited to be agents of their own destiny” (Saying and Showing, pg. 31). And as Christians, the gospel calls them to do the same, focusing their attention to the “most abandoned and mistreated” and help bring them to be a part of society.

The Catholic Social Teachings are understood within the context of the entirety of faith. The fourth Catholic Social Teaching principle is the option for the poor and vulnerable. According to this principle, Christians are called to care and protect those who are poor and vulnerable due to the existing inequities in the distribution of power. Each person receives the goods of creation. Individuals are required to eliminate sinful inequalities that prevent people from meeting their basic needs. Overall, the deprivation of the power of the poor affects the whole community.

One basic teaching of Jesus Christ is to put God above everything else. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (New International Version, Mt. 22.36-38). This means that Christians are supposed love God so much that they would sacrifice their own personal desires for Him. For example, an individual who does not want to give an offering to their church so they can

Christians have earned a reputation for many things as it pertains to social issues. Some Christians reject equal rights for homosexuals because, in their interpretation, the Bible casts homosexuality as an abomination. Some Christians across the south burn textbooks that include evolution because it does not align with their reading of the creation story in Genesis. Some extreme Christians even bomb abortion clinics in protest because abortion is an attack on the sanctity of life.

In this chapter, Richards discusses the relationship between Christianity, capitalism, and the poor. He also explains the piety myth, which is the emphasis of intention at the expense of knowledge of consequence. Richards begins by explaining Jesus’s relationship with the poor, and how Gods two greatest commandments are how we should, “love the lord your God with all your soul, and love your neighbor as yourself.” The author believes this verse reflects how modern day Christ followers should react to certain popular policies by practicing prudence, which is seeing reality as it is and acting accordingly.