Serving the Poor: The Christian Virtue of Charity

[luckyshot]

Today's Gospel reading in the story of the conversion of the rich tax collector Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus said to Jesus:
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house."
Luke 19:8-10

A report by a leading antipoverty organization claims that the eight (just eight) wealthiest people in the world have more money than 50 percent of the world's population (reported by OXFAM International on January 16, 2017). That's a breathtaking statistic. What if those wealthy men and women gave just half of those billions to the poor as did Zacchaeus? My guess is that it would make a huge dent in world poverty.

 

[Teppodama]

Today's Gospel reading in the story of the conversion of the rich tax collector Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus said to Jesus:
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house."
Luke 19:8-10

A report by a leading antipoverty organization claims that the eight (just eight) wealthiest people in the world have more money than 50 percent of the world's population (reported by OXFAM International on January 16, 2017). That's a breathtaking statistic. What if those wealthy men and women gave just half of those billions to the poor as did Zacchaeus? My guess is that it would make a huge dent in world poverty.

Give a man a fish...
Teach him to fish...

I guess a more modern analogy would be bring a person out of poverty for a day, a week, a month and he will be poor again as soon as the wealth is taken away. But provide the infrastructure whereby he can thrive through education and opportunity and he can build a foundation from which prosperity may flow through his effort.

 

[uncommon]

Today's Gospel reading in the story of the conversion of the rich tax collector Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus said to Jesus:
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house."
Luke 19:8-10

A report by a leading antipoverty organization claims that the eight (just eight) wealthiest people in the world have more money than 50 percent of the world's population (reported by OXFAM International on January 16, 2017). That's a breathtaking statistic. What if those wealthy men and women gave just half of those billions to the poor as did Zacchaeus? My guess is that it would make a huge dent in world poverty.

i think the difference between liquid and illiquid assets skews the reality of the situation.

if mark zuckerberg gave his facebook shares to the poorest half and they sold on the open market at the same time (given they even have telecommunication and electricity) the value of the shares would plummet. and then the statistic of the top 8 being wealthier would no longer hold true given that the wealth was actually exercised.

is it similar to schrodingers cat?

My guess is that it would make a huge dent in world poverty

if you to took all the wealth of the wealth of the new york stock exchange and gave it away it would cover the united states national debt, not half of the world.

and again if the value of the nyse were exercised to pay for the starving children the value is likely to tank as what typically happens when large portions of asks enter the market with a fixed amount of buyers. the buyers offer less, in this scenario much much less.

 

[helltoupee]

i think the difference between liquid and illiquid assets skews the reality of the situation.

if mark zuckerberg gave his facebook shares to the poorest half and they sold on the open market at the same time (given they even have telecommunication and electricity) the value of the shares would plummet. and then the statistic of the top 8 being wealthier would no longer hold true given that the wealth was actually exercised.

is it similar to schrodingers cat?

if you to took all the wealth of the wealth of the new york stock exchange and gave it away it would cover the united states national debt, not half of the world.

and again if the value of the nyse were exercised to pay for the starving children the value is likely to tank as what typically happens when large portions of asks enter the market with a fixed amount of buyers. the buyers offer less, in this scenario much much less.

The problem is that the disparity is growing, and wealth is concentrating in fewer and fewer hands.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

Doesn't Bill Gates the wealthiest man in the world spend most of his time and money to help with poverty?

 

[SammyPops]

Christian values are to make as much money as possible off the poor.

 

[uncommon]

The problem is that the disparity is growing, and wealth is concentrating in fewer and fewer hands.

is it really a problem that people are choosing facebook over myspace and iphone over nokia?

some may say so, but how you act is more telling.

 

[HomerThompson]

Give a man a fish...
Teach him to fish...

I guess a more modern analogy would be bring a person out of poverty for a day, a week, a month and he will be poor again as soon as the wealth is taken away. But provide the infrastructure whereby he can thrive through education and opportunity and he can build a foundation from which prosperity may flow through his effort.

I wonder if you could use the money from properly taxing the world's richest people, to build that infrastructure?

 

[Farmer Br0wn]

I wonder if you could use the money from properly taxing the world's richest people, to build that infrastructure?

If the money has to be taken by force, than it's no longer a charitable, or moral act.

Charity must be a chosen behavior, otherwise it's no longer charity.

 

[Headkicktoleg]

I wonder if you could use the money from properly taxing the world's richest people, to build that infrastructure?

Probably need to have a discussion with Africa, China, and India to help these lowest 50% since that where most of them live

 

[luckyshot]

Give a man a fish...
Teach him to fish...

"Give a man a fish..." isn't in the bible. What is in the Bible is "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.." Luke 6:30. Jesus' primary concern was the state of people's souls, not economics.

I do agree with your general assessment, though. Education and opportunity are important after people's immediate needs are met.

 

[Craigslist]

Zaccheus gave of his own free will, and that’s what the Bible commends him for.

 

[HomerThompson]

If the money has to be taken by force, that it's no longer a charitable, or moral act.

Charity must be a chosen behavior, otherwise it's no longer charity.

It's called the social contract. Look it up.

 

[Pupi]

All Christians want is to perpetuate their own influence and their conception of reality. In order to do so, they need followers, land, and donations. In other words, they need private property to spread their message, they need capital to keep expanding, and they need people that are so alienated from reality that they need to be numb to that reality. Christians will never give up their money (mostly seen as property since churches are extravagantly luxurious, especially in Europe and Latin America), because they will lose their power as a consequence.

"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." - Marx

 

[Farmer Br0wn]

It's called the social contract. Look it up.

I already did, wasn't impressed.

The Social Contract: Defined and destroyed in under 5 minutes


I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than an easily disproven social theory.

 

[Teppodama]

I wonder if you could use the money from properly taxing the world's richest people, to build that infrastructure?

Sarcasm aside, I believe you know that it could. Unfortunately, they are very good about looking after their interests and those in positions to actually effect those taxation changes are intricately tied to these captains of industry and finance.

 

[chardog]

Today's Gospel reading in the story of the conversion of the rich tax collector Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus said to Jesus:
"Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over."
And Jesus said to him,
"Today salvation has come to this house."
Luke 19:8-10

A report by a leading antipoverty organization claims that the eight (just eight) wealthiest people in the world have more money than 50 percent of the world's population (reported by OXFAM International on January 16, 2017). That's a breathtaking statistic. What if those wealthy men and women gave just half of those billions to the poor as did Zacchaeus? My guess is that it would make a huge dent in world poverty.

your guess is bullshit

 

[Teppodama]

"Give a man a fish..." isn't in the bible. What is in the Bible is "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.." Luke 6:30. Jesus' primary concern was the state of people's souls, not economics.

I do agree with your general assessment, though. Education and opportunity are important after people's immediate needs are met.

I didn't mean to imply that was from the bible although My bad.

 

[HomerThompson]

I already did, wasn't impressed.

The Social Contract: Defined and destroyed in under 5 minutes


I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than an easily disproven social theory.

It's not easily disproven. Also, posting videos like that is something @Devout Pessimist would do. Really poor form in a debate. Embarrassing, actually.


The Social Contract is the basis of our entire modern, functioning society. Taxes aren't theft, and anyone who thinks that they are, is an ideologically blinded simpleton.

@Greoric

 

[HomerThompson]

your guess is bullshit

Not an argument.