tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post3893709062666697178..comments2024-03-27T06:28:06.962-05:00Comments on Homeward Bound: Helping the Poor BiblicallyChrisBhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-60026665968408688282011-07-29T13:10:30.480-05:002011-07-29T13:10:30.480-05:00In response to the pastor who suggested that we gi...In response to the pastor who suggested that we give wisely to the poor. I address these and other issues in my Beacon Hill book, Benevolence: Caring for the Poor and Needy. There are Biblical guidelines for how we are to care for the needy, hurting and broken. There is a difference between a sluggard and someone who is in dire circumstances because of either a bad choice or no fault of his/her own.Teena Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00361059522725591939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-6259356840693191302010-11-17T14:21:32.159-06:002010-11-17T14:21:32.159-06:00I am a Pastor in a rural area filled with poor and...I am a Pastor in a rural area filled with poor and rich alike. The rich are very, very generous. They as well as I pour money into ministries that pay bills, hand out food and provide clothes and even supply children's Christmas presents to whosoever will. Many of those rich are Christians. Some are not. <br /><br />Now let me describe the poor. They are drug addicted, unreliable, irresponsible and unwilling to take opportunities when offered to them. They call the church when they are out of money, but they never darken the doors on a Sunday morning. They need help with gas to go here and yon, but they never need gas money to attend a worship service. <br /><br />The fact is, as we quote all the scriptures mandating generosity, we should also study the wise mans observations in proverbs as to WHY people are often poor.<br /><br />Just because someone is poor does not mean they deserve assistance. Consider the prodigal Son. He was abandoned by society and was forced to reconcile with the father he betrayed. All to a better end. <br /><br />There are ways to determine who is worthy of assistance. Paul the Apostle said, "If a man does not work, he shall not eat." Paul also restricted what women were truly widows. It was not just anyone with a dead husband.<br /><br />There is much to do to fulfill the Lords work towards the truly needy. But Liberalism has distorted the biblical distinctions and standards on charity and turned it into an enabling free for all that is more about pride and self righteous finger pointing at those who don't give as much as "We" do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-29634265754802287212010-11-12T12:50:40.929-06:002010-11-12T12:50:40.929-06:00Great article, i
hope can know much information ...Great article, i <br /><br />hope can know much information About it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-85938067066263526802008-07-23T12:13:00.000-05:002008-07-23T12:13:00.000-05:00There is a reason that under conservative control ...<I>There is a reason that under conservative control the chasm between the wealth of the rich and that of the poor always increases.</I><BR/><BR/>Yes. Under conservative control, the economy tends to grow, and the rich tend to be at the top of that. <BR/><BR/>But don't assume that "the rich" and "the poor" are static groups. It's been shown that "the rich" don't always stay at the top and "the poor" move into the middle class and beyond. Rich people take a lot of risk with their money. When they lose, they at times lose big. <BR/><BR/>Poor people move into middle class and, yes, middle class people become poor all the time. But we can't assume that there is a small group of people who get steadily poorer while another group gets steadily richer. It's far more dynamic than that.ChrisBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-60565278028141340432008-07-05T06:10:00.000-05:002008-07-05T06:10:00.000-05:00Thanks for posting these passages and your logic t...Thanks for posting these passages and your logic that informs your position on welfare and taxes. If only the republican fiscal policy was as straightforward as you paint it. There is a reason that under conservative control the chasm between the wealth of the rich and that of the poor always increases.<BR/><BR/>I do appreciate your argument against the position our welfare program is biblical.raequinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09969621960078935382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-90816817787276760272008-07-03T09:20:00.000-05:002008-07-03T09:20:00.000-05:00Crossn81,I'll agree that there is a breakdown in o...Crossn81,<BR/><BR/>I'll agree that there is a breakdown in our society. I think most people are ok with a certain safety net, though it's been badly handled by the US government in the past. I'll be returning to this topic later with a positive case for a prescription.<BR/><BR/>This was intended to be an answer to those who claim that you have to ignore the Bible to be a conservative. Besides being untrue, I think it's a hurtful comment intended to guilt people into voting for Democrats. To borrow from my daughter, that's not nice.ChrisBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04611311820554248004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-24586070539842568132008-07-03T08:14:00.000-05:002008-07-03T08:14:00.000-05:00I agree with pretty much all of what you said. I ...I agree with pretty much all of what you said. I think in a perfect world the church body would take care of the needs of a community and that as much as possible the free market should help individuals, but realistically neither of those happens in an adequate fashion. Therefore the government needs to step in a create a safety net to ensure that people's basic needs are met during a crisis. <BR/>I would concede that it is a broken system but it also does help those who just need something to catch them and throw them back into the working world. <BR/>This is something I struggle with a lot and go back and forth on so thank you for your thoughts and insights.crossn81https://www.blogger.com/profile/12160347910351845573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8196630391794341478.post-47458638736396936762008-06-27T01:14:00.000-05:002008-06-27T01:14:00.000-05:00Great post! I'll be back to read again.Great post! I'll be back to read again.Literacygirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14341804109875514455noreply@blogger.com