THE POOR AND THE BIBLE or Jesus causing class warfare?
But that's what the Bible indicates! That's exactly what the Bible suggests: for example, Jesus didn't say "It is easier a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a poor man to enter into the kingdom of God;" but He did say about the rich:
"And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a RICH man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matt. 19:24)
And He said this not once, but twice in the same passage of Scripture:
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a RICH man shall hardly enter into the kingdom heaven." (Matt. 19:23)
Moreover, the Bible doesn't speak about the "deceitfulness of poverty," it does say that, however, about wealth and riches (Matt. 13:22 and Mark 4:19), specifically, it suggests that riches choke the efficacy of the Word of God in our hearts -"Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
"When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. "But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth "Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the by and by he is offended.
"He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. (Matt. 13:18-22) The Bible doesn't tell the poor "woe unto you that are poor." Nowhere does it say that! Nowhere! But it does say the rich:
"But woe unto you that are RICH! for ye have received your consolation.
"Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep." (Luke 6:24-25)
The Bible doesn't say, "Go to now, ye poor men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your poverty has corrupted you ..." But it does say that about the rich:
"Go to now, ye RICH men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
"Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
"Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. (James 5:1-3)
The Bible doesn't say, "And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye rich: for yours is the kingdom of God." But it does say that about the poor:
"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye POOR: for yours is the kingdom of God." (Luke 6:20) The Scriptures don't say, "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the rich." But it does say that about poor:
"Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God CHOSEN the POOR of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?" (James 2:5)
THE BIBLE IS AN AFFRONT TO THE RICH
What are we to say about all this? - Yes, the Bible very evidently does favor the poor over the rich -
VERY CLEARLY DOES!! And, moreover, it doesn't beat around the bush about its favoritism; it says it very plainly and openly:
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that NOT MANY WISE MEN AFTER THE FLESH, NOT MANY MIGHTY, NOT
MANY NOBLE, are called:
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things the world to confound the things which are mighty;
"And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, bring to nought things that are." (1 Cor. 1:26-28)
Obviously, rich Americans will find this offensive. Why? BECAUSE THEY ARE RICH! - at least in comparison to living in the rest of the world. Obviously,
they would be offended by our comments concerning SUVs. It's not the who parade around in them pretending to be on Safari in Kruger
National Park or in the jungles of the Amazon - rich! They're the ones who read the Wall Street Journal; not the poor; the poor aren't following the stock market, r
ich who are. They're the ones who talk on cell phones and the ones who live in Yuppie Land. They are the ones invest their money in
the stock of companies who treat their employees like slaves in Indonesia, El Salvador,
Thailand, etc. - maybe not so much the ones who subscribe to our website, but certainly the ones who attend the services at Crystal Cathedral in Southern California, or at Capital Christian Center in Sacramento, California, or Thomas Roads Baptist Church in Lynchberg, Virginia, or at James Robison's church in Texas, or at James Kennedy's church in Florida, or at Tim LaHaye's church, etc., or who tune in to Paul Crouch at TBN and Pat Robertson at CBN.
Naturally, all these people will reject what the Bible has to say about the rich; of course they will complain bitterly "This poor vs. rich theme is in all of what he (i.e., S.R. Shearer) writes." But the very real fact of the matter is, THIS ONE OF THE GREAT THEMES OF THE BIBLE: THE OPPRESSION OF THE POOR BY THE RICH:
"Do not RICH men OPPRESS you, and draw you before the judgment seats?" (James 2:6)
Moreover - and much more ominously - the Bible says that in making such an ostentatious display of their wealth in oppressing the poor, they (i.e., the rich)
are storing up God's wrath against themselves (Rom. 2:5). That's the of the matter - and only Western Christianity (and especially the Christianity of America) would miss this point.
REJECTING THE COUNSEL OF GOD
Again - why do the rich rage against all this? Why do they call this "class warfare?" BECAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES
AGAINST WHOM ALL THIS IS DIRECTED! Duh! (to put it in the vernacular) - what else would one expect from those bastards
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As our upward mobility as decreased, as unemployment, natural disasters, sickness and old age make some brothers and sisters unable to FEND FOR THEMSELVES we must all strive and contribute not thru charity as THOMAS PAINE complained but thru government to the SECURE protection of LIFE thru the SECURITY of our government ensure that STABLE programs are in place to either retrain those who have lost due to the free market
corrections/private sector failures or simply bad luck and to help those who cannot survive do so...SECURITY OF TRUMPS THE RISK OF LIBERTY!
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