Christians are an odd bunch when President Obama talks about redistribution of wealth Christians immediately shout that it is not fair to take from the rich and give to the needy.
Karl Marx is quoted as saying, “From each according to his ability; to each according to his needs.”
Luke recorded in Acts 4: “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. …There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
Some economists say the world has reached the end of economic growth. If they are correct are the poor to accept their poverty as permanent, since no more economic wealth can be created?
Accepting the principle of economic growth allows us to morally justify the poor. The Great American Dream, built upon the foundation of economic growth, suggests that anyone who works hard can improve himself and increase his wealth. In this context, many believe the poor are at least to some degree lazy or incompetent. They are poor by their own actions or lack thereof. I’ve heard Christians say this; I’ve heard GSMCOC elders say this.
Not only do we have to face the end of economic growth but now we have to consider the most heretical idea of all: redistribution.
Christians believe God has blessed them so they can have more stuff. Imagine how different things would have been if today’s Christians had been the church of the first-century?
In 2010, a Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh commented on these issues saying. “The situation the Earth is in today has been created by unmindful production and unmindful consumption. We consume to forget our worries and our anxieties. Tranquilizing ourselves with over-consumption is not the way.”
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