Paraphrase of John Wesley quote: “If I have more money in my purse than meets my immediate needs, consider me a thief.”
In the US, one of the richest countries on Earth, 2% of the population control the majority of the wealth.
Apparently the Am. dream is not working for the 98%.
If you find socialism to be anathema, what would you propose in its stead?
Sure, the 98% live better than the majority of others in this world. But should that be an argument for the status quo?
Why do you need wealth?
Ask that to Native Americans, blacks and women. Wealth is power. It is also a promise of the American dream.
Freedom to choose to be who you are or what you want to be is the dream. And if you are born in the Americas you are a Native American. That title does not belong to one ethnic group. It is like saying African American, unless you hold dual citizenship, then you are one or the other. There are true African Americans, it demeans their dream to hand that status out to those who are not.
Taking money from others is stealing. I don’t care how it is dressed up. And that wealth, it is just computer records, how do you figure to take what does not truly exist? Or if you hand it out to everyone freely , just how many do you think would spend it wisely? Who would all that money go back too once it has been spent recklessly?
Parody–the good Samaritan:
A man is robbed, beaten and left in a ditch to die.
A religious leader finds him and asks him, “Do you believe in God?”
A politician finds him and asks, “Do you have a job? What do you contribute to society?”
A Samaritan finds him and asks no questions., but simply attends to the man’s immediate needs.
True, but, how many robbed and beaten walked in an area they new to be dangerous? Help up yes, give a perpetual source of milk? No
Charity is great and necessary. But, if given and given, it creates dependence, laziness, cheaters, manipulators, etc. not all but, many. Young people find that having babies creates income, having some doctor write that you are disabled creates income.
Why not spend money on a better education system? And a true social healthcare system?
Give where there is need. Let God sort out who is deserving of help and who is not.
Society is god
Caritas is better than carnitas, but only barely.
I have had lousy carnitas
Dunno what carnitas means.
BTW, what is your opinion of John Wesley’s statement?
It is sort of a taco but, so much more if done right.
I would say John was a person that thought only of the present and or had no dependents. A single person without dependents can think that way, a single person without hopes or dreams can think that way. It might be a fine sentiment or a selfish one.
I must be dense today, my friend. I do not understand what carnitas means; I do not understand the “taco” reference; and I don’t see how Wesley’s being single has anything to do with his thoughts on charity.
A few highly industrialized nations consume the majority of the goods and resources of the rest of the nations on this planet.
And what keeps the other nations down in your opinion?
Lack of technology and problems of distribution. We’ll do that for them—at a price.
I know you don’t mean to say that these countries are filled with stupid and inept humans but, it sure is coming out that way. Why must they want or need tech? What if they are not ready for it or even want it? Why the heck should we all be at the same place?
How do you determine need?
The god of whose standards?
If god is the one who will sort it out, how do you go about your giving? Do you wait for word from this god? How do you judge need, Ierrellus, based on what?
What you like, what you don’t like, what moves you, what makes you feel better? In other words, I’ll give to this one but not that one.
How have you judged god’s will?
lol You seem to have left out all of the other men in the equation, Ierrellus. There are a lot of homeless men, men struggling to take care of their family’s needs, and single men struggling to live, to survive, in this economy… no matter how they got there or what they are doing or not doing that is keeping them there. Why leave them out? Are they not part of society?
Wealth can lead to great power, especially in a beneficial way. It can also lead to squandering one’s resources and lead to abuses if it’s a tool in the wrong hands.
An intelligent person realizes that wealth is not necessarily the promise of an American dream because wealth does not lead to its practical intelligent use always. People who have money are not necessarily happy though it does ward off some of the fears that not having money can bring. Do you know how many people have won the lottery and are still miserable and who have spent that money in a matter of no time at all because they see it as a way to be happy, to be hedonistic. They haven’t learned the way of the squirrel - to save a little, more than a little and be happy with spending a little to enjoy and offering a little to some other squirrels. The best way to keep your money is to find other ways ALSO in which to enjoy your life which take no money at all.
Caritas also includes being discerning. Do we feed the man or woman for a day or do we teach him how to fish though no one should go hungry. But perhaps some need to go hungry. Can that too be part of caritas?
Discernment is not that difficult. What I’m getting here is all the traditional excuses for not being charitable. Tell them to the homeless American veterans (men included), to the persons with major handicaps such as deformity or incurable diseases.
“What you do to the least of these. …”