One day, a rich man turned to Jesus and asked him about how to inherit an eternal life. Even though he had already followed the particular commandments such as not murdering, stealing, lying and honoring your parents, he still could not keep the law perfectly. Because Jesus asked him to give all his fortune to the poor but he would not like to. Jesus told disciples that it would be easier for the camel to go through the eye of a needle than the wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God. (Mark 10:17-10:25)
The story from the Bible is not intended to persuade people to stay poor but to uphold the loyalty to God. (The Straight Dope) However, it can be reflected in a different perspective that the reluctance to give up the great possessions exist from the early history of human and all wealth except for labor-made possession is kind of theft because it more or less deprive manual workers of labor and free time which can be used to produce wealth. Moreover, the distribution of wealth is unfair from the emergency of surplus property. Therefore, there is an assumption that property is a kind of theft. (Proudhon, 1840)
The assumption can be explained in history in different human civilizations.
(i) As originated from Genesis, the mark of Cain (Genesis, ) is the sign of slavery according to the views of the Southern Baptist organizations in America. In human history, slavery existed for a long time and is still estimated over 20 million slaves around the world. (Gould, 2012)
After the discovery of the new continent, the colonists brought the black men from Africa to America, driving them to work in order to earn a fortune. In that society, slaves were subject to their owners like property and so exploited that they did not possess any...
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...ery's Global Comeback." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 19 Dec. 2012. Web.
5. Haley, Alex. Roots:. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976. Print.
6. Huang, Zongxi, and William Theodore De Bary. Waiting for the Dawn: A Plan for the Prince. Columbia University Press, 1993. Page 92
7. "Mark 10:25." New international verson. Bible Hub. Web
Marx, Karl, and T. B. Bottomore. "Wages of Labour." Early Writings. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964. N. paragraph.16 Print.
8. Waley, Arthur, and Joseph Roe. Allen. The Book of Songs. New York: Grove, 1996. Print.
9. Xinchun, Li. "The People Leaving Their Native Places in the Ming Dynasty: A Perspective from the Ecosystem." COLLECTIONS OF ESSAYS ON CNINESS HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 3 (1998).
10. "Book of Poetry : Minor Odes of the Kingdom : Decade Of Bei Shan : Bei Shan 2 - Chinese Text Project." Chinese Text Project. N.p., n.d. Web.
The origin tale of the African American population in the American soil reveals a narrative of a diasporic faction that endeavored brutal sufferings to attain fundamental human rights. Captured and forcefully transported in unbearable conditions over the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, a staggering number of Africans were destined to barbaric slavery as a result of the increasing demand of labor in Brazil and the Caribbean. African slaves endured abominable conditions, merged various cultures to construct a blended society that pillared them through the physical and psychological hardships, and hungered for their freedom and recognition.
As in 2 Kings 22 verses 7-9 when the money was entrusted to the workers and supervisors of the temple, we as a society need to entrust our financial needs with the Lord. The attitude of today is to consume and make more money to buy things so enough is never enough. Pretty soon the money is your only focus and you lose sight of Gods plan for us to spread his work. Our need to make more leads to greed and deceit, which you see in the media so much today. The best way to do business is with honesty and integrity, it will go a long way when people can put their trust in you and not have to worry about being misled. In 2 Kings 22 verse 9 “ Then Shapan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “ Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” (2 Kings 22: 9).
Since the beginning of slavery in the America, Africans have been deemed inferior to the whites whom exploited the Atlantic slave trade. Africans were exported and shipped in droves to the Americas for the sole purpose of enriching the lives of other races with slave labor. These Africans were sold like livestock and forced into a life of servitude once they became the “property” of others. As the United States expanded westward, the desire to cultivate new land increased the need for more slaves. The treatment of slaves was dependent upon the region because different crops required differing needs for cultivation. Slaves in the Cotton South, concluded traveler Frederick Law Olmsted, worked “much harder and more unremittingly” than those in the tobacco regions.1 Since the birth of America and throughout its expansion, African Americans have been fighting an uphill battle to achieve freedom and some semblance of equality. While African Americans were confronted with their inferior status during the domestic slave trade, when performing their tasks, and even after they were set free, they still made great strides in their quest for equality during the nineteenth century.
Slavery was the core of the North and South’s conflict. Slavery has existed in the New World since the seventeenth century prior to it being exclusive to race. During those times there were few social and political concerns about slavery. Initially, slaves were considered indentured servants who will eventually be set free after paying their debt(s) to the owner. In some cases, the owners were African with white servants. However, over time the slavery became exclusive to Africans and was no limited to a specific timeframe, but life. In addition, the treatment of slaves worsens from the Atlantic Slave trade to th...
For this wicked custom has so taken root everywhere among those who bear the Christian name, and this pernicious doctrine is everywhere so settled and established as though by public law, that men purposely bring up their children even from the cradle with excessive carelessness and laxity. (Celano, 1:1, http://www.indiana.edu/~dmdhist/francis.htm) These opening lines show just how much opulence (and by opulence the means to gain it wealth) were important to people of the era. That like now, the idea of too much money can lead to the idea of sloth and other poor morals. Another important phrase that connects the importance of money/wealth to the period is the idea of the “Hidden Treasure” that Francis speaks of when discussing the kingdom of heaven. (Celano, 3:7-8, http://www.indiana.edu/~dmdhist/francis.htm) In likening the kingdom of heaven to something as material and with such high monetary value as gold it
Imagine being one of the disciples, sitting with Jesus and a witness to the scene described in Mark Chapter fourteen, verses three through nine. It says, "...During dinner, a woman came in with a vase made of alabaster and containing very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke open the vase and poured the perfume on his head. Some grew angry. They said to each other, 'Why waste the perfume? This perfume could have been sold for almost a year’s pay and the money given to the poor.' And they scolded her. Jesus said, 'Leave her alone. Why do you make trouble for her? She has done a good thing for me. You always have the poor with you; and whenever you want, you can do something good for them. But you won’t always have me….” From that scene one could make the argument that Jesus didn't care for the poor. However, knowing the character of Jesus one could also surmise that this was not an excuse for inaction among Christians. Jesus was habitually made known His purpose for coming. That purpose always included the poor and disenfranchised, as mentioned in Luke
Marx, Karl and Engels, F. 1847. "Wage-Labour and Capital" Pp. 182-189 in Classical Sociological Theory, edited by Craig Calhoun et. al. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.
Systematically, the disabled citizens were excluded from religious affairs and functions by Jewish leaders and other religious leaders. Lepers were often required to separate themselves completely from the community at large . This is why so many parables and teachings of Christ focused on the sick and the poor; they were outcast by religion and the rich. Some believe that there are many parables that are like so many folktales and fables. Many fables, especially Greco-Roman Jewish fables are closely parallel with the gospel parables and that perhaps when Jesus spoke the parable he was pulling from the original Egyptian Fable about a rich man and a poor man . Fables typically have a moral to learn and usually end in irony. Mary Beavis states the ...
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV) At the time of Amos the poor were being oppressed by the wealthy, and God used Amos to scold Israel for their lack of justice, towards the poor. “Therefore because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. “ (Amos 5:11) According to Hindson and Yates “at a social level Israel’s accumulation of wealth led to a wide disparity between the upper and lower class, and a climate of injustice prevailed as the power of the rich began to take advantage of the poor.” (p.370) Justice was something of utmost importance to God; he created all people to be treated fairly. To exploit the poor and to treat them unjustly was something God was not going to allow the wealthy and powerful to
Although Qiu Ying’s Along the River During the Qingming Festival is a replica, the structure of the buildings and the people’s clothes clearly show the characteristics of the Ming dynasty. This skillful representation is a work of Qiu Ying’s own creation and imagination, in which he captures a more exciting city, Suzhou, compared to the ancient city of Kaifeng depicted in Zhang’s version. Qiu Ying’s version is two times longer than Zhang’s version. Using Suzhou city in the Ming dynasty as the background, Qui Ying’s painting captures the real lives of urban and rural people in Jiangnan during the Ming period. It shows the lively community life and folk customs with grand and magnificent scenes as well as illustrating the economic, political, military and political conditions at that
In Deuteronomy 15:7-11 tells us, “If there be among you a poor man thou shalt not harden thine heart, not shut thine hand” and cautions us to “beware that thine eye be evil against thy poor brother and thou givest him nought, and he cry unto the lord against thee and it be sin unto thee. (DT...15:9) He then reminds us that the poor shall never cease out the land: therefore I command thee saying, thou shalt open thine hand wide to the poor and to the needy.” This is basically saying is to open up to them or let them open up to you, do not go around thinking that you are better then
The Bible says that "the poor will always be with us." An similar statement is
Furthermore, Jesus also demonstrated through this teaching that the poor are not cursed, heaven and hell are both real, and riches have the power to separate a believer from God (Pentecost, 1981). Thus in the case of this parable, the rich man was given one last chance to alleviate one man’s suffering (Lazarus), but in accordance with Pharisaic tradition, the rich man, who enjoyed a life a luxury, saw Lazarus as being cursed and thereby disregarded Lazarus’ needs (Pentecost, 1981). Subsequently, both men died at the same time, and while Lazarus enjoyed eternal life in Abraham’s Bosom, the rich man was sent to eternal damnation in Hades (Luke 16:22-23). Even today many Christian’s believe that heaven can be bought and wealth is a sign of God’s favor; thus as a result of this belief, many Christian’s have bought into the idea of the prosperity gospel. In the secular world, those who are rich continue to overlook the needs of the poor, but as Jesus demonstrated in the teaching of the rich man and Lazarus, a true follower of Christ, regardless of material wealth, will not overlook those who are in need (Pentecost, 1981). Just as Jesus showed offense to the rich man and the Pharisees in this parable so will God be offended if a Christian has the ability to help someone in need and does
Previously [day-9] I wrote about how James dealt with the way we treat the poor in James 2:1-9. He used them as an illustration for how to make good decisions. In that section, James addressed how people in the church chose to treat the rich and the poor. The distinctions they made between them were based on arbitrary criteria that betrayed a serious lack of wisdom. The fact that Christians were judging others based upon their ability to earn income showed a perspective that gloried in the wrong things. They chose to rejoice in riches instead of godliness.
How should the poor be sheltered against injustice? Marxists would rebel and fight for a classless society. The biblical view is incarnation. Christians should care for the poor and lead them to the Lord. It does not matter about the class a person is in.