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A Biblical Theology of Poverty… and What To Do About It
Leftists don’t know the Bible. There are many reasons why liberalism is wrong, but for Christians – real Christians who actually believe the Bible is normative – Scripture teaches much about all of life, particularly those subjects that liberals have attempted to hijack and divorce from truth. Liberals lie to and manipulate “the poor” and in the purported name of “mercy” or “compassion” employ the coercive power of the law to, in essence, steal from the rest of us to fund programs designed to ingratiate the “lower classes” into keeping them in power.
What should Christians do about poverty? Well, to leftists who don’t know the Bible, they put out a few proof texts and claim that God favors the poor or what have you. But that is all bunk.
I encourage you to read the seven part series on Doing Social Justice, written by my much older, wiser, and better educated friend, Dr. Ron Gleason. Be warned, the depth of biblical study and attention to precision may at first intimidate readers who have been conditioned by the liberal powers that be to turn off their brain and follow rhetoric or emotions, but if you stick with it… the truth will set you free. Part II is especially informative as he details the three “types” or “causes” of poverty found within Scripture, with the corresponding biblial response to each. It may surprise some to hear that not all poor people are to be treated with the same kind of “help”, according to God’s word! I highly suggest that prior to any responses that you read all seven articles.
For the reader’s ease, here are the subsequent essays: Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, and Part VII.
Beyond the 7 part series on doing social justice, if you look around his site you’ll see many incisive posts aimed at the “evangelical left.”
Happy Reading!
You can’t be serious. Now you are questioning liberals’ faith? I’m literally praying that you are just kidding. You are starting to sound like a zealot. Like a bigot. Actually, you are coming off like a radical extremist. A “Christian” version of a member of Al Qaeda, or a Jim Jones disciple. For all your pride-filled boasts of self righteousness and integrity, YOU, my misguided brother, are the one who sounds dangerous.
I must ask: do YOU know the Bible? You write as though you’ve memorized it from cover to cover. If you have, then why didn’t scripture like Rom. 2:1-3, Jam. 4:11-12 or Matt. 7:5 run through your mind before you opened up your post with “Leftists don’t know the Bible.”?
I tried to read the link you posted with an open mind. I really, really tried… but I stopped taking the good doctor serious when he wrote “’Most Christians’— don’t have a lot of time to contemplate global injustice, although our consciences feel a twinge of sorrow from time to time when we see the commercials of Third World countries on TV after a nice dinner of pheasant under glass and a $300.00 bottle of wine.” What arrogance! I completely zoned out when I read what he said about our President: “he’s actually Irish and his name used to be O’Bama, but he changed it because there aren’t that many black Irishmen”. Come now. How do you jump from Kenya to Ireland?
As far as God’s view on the poor, there are FAR MORE than just a “few proof texts” describing what God’s thoughts on that matter. Deut. 15:7, Lev. 19:19, Prov. 31:8, Luke 3:11 just to name a few. But I’m sure you already knew that, being the sinless Bible scholar you proclaim yourself to be.
Ben Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 8:13 PM
The content of your reply is such that it gives the impression you merely skimmed the article, took offense at a couple remarks which were intended by the author to be taken tongue-in-cheek, and then you decided you could come across as being substantive.
I encourage you to read the entire series and base your comments on the substance -the veracity of his exegesis and the theological precision and historical accuracy of what he says.
Rev Nev Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 12:05 AM
In a busy week I had not had a moment to spare on this linked article until tonight. I thank Ben for posting it. Gleason’s article is thought provoking if a bit unsatisfying in the end.
The question of what Christians should do about poverty, however, is very interesting. On this point, I agree wholeheartedly with Dr. Gleason. God does not favor the poor so much as he favors justice. This is because justice is a reflection of his own righteousness. I cannot help but think the God favors the poor motif rises from the same ideological trash heap as socialism. Socialism is the notion that it is acceptable to take what some have earned and give it to others who have not earned it by force of law. Such acts perpetrated by anyone other than the government are called theft. The eighth commandment seems applicable here.
But neither do I think poverty can be completely ignored. The command to love others demands action when we see them in need. Nor do I think knowledge of Scripture alone is sufficient to address the problem. Lest I be accused of being a weak-kneed liberal with no biblical knowledge, I appeal to James 2 where favoritism is condemned and action is encouraged. “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 1:15-16) Saying that more knowledge of the Bible is the best response to poverty is like saying to a homeless person “Keep warm and God loves you!” on a three degree night while you drive off to your nice, warm house. Acknowledging him might make you feel good but it does nothing for him, your faith, or the Gospel. I hope Dr. Gleason addresses this in other articles.
Besides knowledge and solid teaching Christians need inspiration, motivation, and equipping to minister to a desperate world. Ben and Dr. Gleason, so far as I can tell, are proponents of “historic Christianity” which draws on the historic practices of the Church for life and doctrine. Christianity includes benevolent giving and heroic acts of compassion from its very beginning. While I am not a proponent of the “McLaren, Campolo, Sider, and Wallis” crowd, I admire that they wrestle with the issue bringing it to the fore. The Church needs to water these roots.
Baxter – Read the entire article, if you can. Dr. Gleason’s points are valid and worth consideration. Don’t get too hung up on what is obviously a joke. (How can you not think “O’Bama” is funny!) Get to the part where he actually discusses the topic before you “zone out.” You’ll be the richer for it.
For the Reader’s ease, I have updated my post to include links to the subsequent articles in Gleason’s series.
Gleason does get to the positive aspect of what should be done – and by whom – for the poor. You’ve just to get there… but he waits til later in the series to get there precisely because in most modern discussions of how to respond to the poor, the solid foundation has not been laid.
Rev Nev Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 10:23 AM
I wondered if he did address more practical aspects later. That particular article left me feeling unsatisfied, though. Thanks for posting all the links. Good idea.
Ben, please re-read your own post before accusing the responder of “trying to come across as substantive,” but thanks for the laugh. I didn’t read the article, only the blog entry and responses. Of course we all have our own interpretation of God’s will, but it is arrogant of anyone to say they know for certain what God wants. You don’t, you aren’t and will never ever be at that level. It’s all interpretation. As far as socialism is concerned, read a dictionary and try to understand what it means. There are socialist aspects to any civilization. Ever drive on a highway or call a police officer for assistance? You have it wrong; please don’t parrot conservative talk show host talking points. It is a serious thing to discuss scripture in a public forum and everyone’s points should be considered without ridicule, if you are truly God’s people.
Ben Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 3:11 PM
One of the fallacies latent in the liberal mind is the idea that God’s will can’t be known with any degree of certainty and that, as you say, “it is all interpretation.” God communicates to us in His word. When God – or anyone – communicates, they intend to convey a message. If it is indeed, “all interpretation,” then there is no inherent meaning in the text. And so God hasn’t really revealed anything. But Christians don’t believe that. Indeed, Christians believe communication means something. In fact, so do you (I think), unless you believe it would be acceptable for me to interpret the words of your post as gibberish.
No, God has communicated His will. And while it may seem shocking to our radically individualistic “have-it-your-way” culture, what God says – and what God means – is determined by God. Thus the goal and aim of exegesis and theology is to seriously study the Word and submit ourselves to it.
Try reading the articles.
Ok, RevNev, I will give it another read.
And Ben I appreciate you posting the links to all the other articles, as I was not going to actively search the site for them.
But my problem won’t be with the articles still when I’m done. My problem is with Ben. See, one of the great aspects of our faith is that even if we don’t see eye to eye about all aspects of the world, we still have a common foundation. A solid rock upon which Jesus built his church. That rock, of course, being our desire to witness God’s love to the rest of the world, to strengthen His kingdom here on earth, to give Him all the praise glory and honor, for only He is worthy. And here you are, Ben, ACTIVELY and ENTHUSIASTICALLY dividing the church. I don’t know where you are from, but where I am from people don’t like being talked down to simply for the fact that they have a different opinion. Like it or not, I am your brother in Christ… if you are a Christian, because I know I am. And I know the Bible VERY well. Conservatives are not the only Americans who believe that Jesus died for our sins so that our souls may be saved. That is why RevNev and I get along as well as we do. He understands this. You do not.
Ben Reply:
January 2nd, 2010 at 9:36 PM
“But my problem won’t be with the articles still when I’m done.”
How can you be sure if you haven’t read it yet? If I were a betting man, I’d wager that a person from your perspective would find much agitation from a serious reading of Gleason’s series (or any of his posts, for that matter!).
Rush is, as usual, right. Libs are angry, bitter people. Liberal theologians and pastors destroy churches, liberal churches destroy people, and liberal people destroy the world. Ugh. Come Lord Jesus, Come!
What am I, spitting into a fan talking to you? I keep extending you olive branches and you keep slapping them out of my hand! And what, do you perch yourself on Rush’s shoulder and mimic everything he says while he feeds you crackers? My God, man! RUSH LIMBAUGH IS ONE OF THE BITTEREST, ANGRIEST PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET! And you agree with him when he, of all people, says that LIBERALS are angry bitter people?!?!? Have you the capacity to think for yourself?!?!? RevNev, where did you find this guy?
And you want to talk about liberal pastors destroying churches and families? Does the name Ted Haggard ring a bell? No? He was a CONSERVATIVE pastor in Colorado Springs who resigned when he was caught having an affair with a male prostitute while high on ecstasy. They met regularly. How do you think that made his church and family feel? Or how about Mike Hintz, a CONSERVATIVE youth pastor who was fired when it came to light that he was having an affair with a 17 year old girl on church mission trips? How do you think his wife and four children felt about that? How do you think the girls family felt about that? I’m sure that didn’t just blow over in the rest of the community, either. Should I keep going? Steve Anderson, the CONSERVATIVE pastor whose article I posted in your post “Sudden Prayer Warriors”. Standing in front of his congregation and preaching hate and death (that President Obama dies of brain cancer) and then sending his flock out into the world to preach THAT gospel? Not Jesus’ love, not how to make your relationship with God stronger, but “pray that President Obama dies of brain cancer, just like Ted Kennedy”. (spits on the ground) He is supposed to be a Sheppard and he’s nothing but a fork-tongued wolf in Sheppard’s clothing!
Lord Jesus come, indeed! Give him a clean heart! Someone PLEASE help me guide my brother off of this road of bigotry, extremism and divisiveness that he is on! Pray hard for him! It’s really unfortunate, buy it’s becoming apparent that he really feels like he’s right!
LOL, Baxter calm down! No true Discline of Christ would label an entire group of people as angry and bitter; label an entire group of pastors as destroyers of the faith, throngs of churches as destroyers of people. These words don’t even make sense. True Disciples of Christ love their bretheren even if they don’t agree – in fact, even if they are of a different faith. There are some people not worth your effort; focus on the true Disciples of Christ.
These responses have been astoundingly helpful and I thank the respondents for helping to illustrate my points.
You know, I was gonna leave it alone, but I really must ask. So, you quote a line from a hypocritical drug addict. I give you factual information proving that be you a liberal or a conservative, you are susceptible to sin. And the best you can manage is “I thank the respondents for helping to illustrate my points”?
Ben,
This reply comes several days later, because I took the time to read all seven of Dr. Ron Gleason’s posts. I must say I was extremely disappointed with his tone as well as with his answers. First, he seems to constantly berate Wallis, McLaren, Sider, Campolo, and Yoder by either using too casual a referent (i.e., Bri for Brian McLaren – I doubt they have that close a friendship) or attempting to put them in the same camp as Jeremiah Wright. All of Gleason’s ad hominem attacks are a distraction from the topic at hand. Whether or not one agrees with their politics or theology these men still are professing Christians who deserve respectful dialogue. Second, much of what Gleason says is a rant against the emergent church movement, which seems to be something of a red herring in relation to the issue of social justice. Rather than going on and on about how he believes most emergents lack a biblical worldview, he ought to address the specific arguments of Sider, for instance, related to poverty or social justice (asserting that they all just want to re-distribute wealth is simply claiming more than he has shown). Moreover, if some wealth is truly ill-gotten gain, perhaps, it should be redistributed (genuine impartiality may require this; this would not be preferential treatment of the poor). Third, Gleason never really addresses the problem of structural evil or systemic poverty. His solution for “self-caused” poverty due to laziness is fine; however, he never really gets around to answering the problem of poverty that is “imposed” from the outside. To me this is what social justice is about. It is about addressing societal problems that go beyond individual sins like sloth, etc. When the general truths found in Proverbs about diligence and prosperity no longer hold true, social injustice is likely the cause. And I would contend that their are unjust structures in our economic system that make it extremely difficult for people to get out of poverty even when they are not lazy or sluggards. There are “working poor” in this country who simply cannot make ends meet on minimum wage no matter how wise and thrifty they are. On this topic, Gleason seems to be silent. He simply fails to suggest biblically informed solutions to issues such as corporate greed, preditory lending practices (charging exhorbitant interest rates used to be forbidden by the church as usury), or the current dearth of affordable housing.
Baxter Reply:
January 12th, 2010 at 3:39 PM
Nice.