“If anyone will not work, neither let him eat”

I don’t know how to articulate it, but e-v-e-r-y single time, welfare comes up, it is too broad. There are some things that should be expanded and other things cut off, but it’s always so broad. It is always very not in touch with what is going on in peopel’s lives either.

I really liked what you wrote about responsibility, that is one thing I see totally lacking with the “civil rights” leaders today. As part of my son’s history lessons this year we learned about Turead and B.T Washington and they both emphasized resposnibility that come with rights or freedoms. I know Washington was involved with liberals but he had good values and I see some of the same things he wrote about.

There is a HUGE prejudice and stereotype with republicans on the poor, that they are irresponsible, lazy, do not value education and things like that. I see it on this board. People need to seperate someone’s character or morals from how much their earn.

I think we were already at the point of abdicating person responsibility/charity before Obama was ever on the scene. Bush didn’t cause it either but he also contributed to this mentality tying in the gov with private charities. I don’t think it’s fair to blame Obama and his volunteer/service expansion.

” A welfare environment ensures that the lower self of human nature will dominate the higher self. And, when the lower self is in charge, it is vice that flourishes at the expense of virtue. Laziness, a grandiose sense of entitlement, gluttony, and envy are sure to establish a firm foothold. Is this the aim of social justice? ”

I don’t think it has to contributes to laziness. Some people simply don’t earn enough and use public assistance to get by. I do see an entitlement mentality though, of everyone that recieves any form of public assistance or tax refunds when they don’t pay federal tax. It’s automatic and have even seen it in myself. That is why I *usually* don’t buy toys for my son, I refuse to cripple him, he can earn money and decide what to do with it.

What is the difference as far as “the self” between private and government welfare? If recieving a hand out does that, what difference does it make where it’s from?
I love your diaries, they are so good.

I especially think the observation that welfare is having the government do the work of the Church instead of the Church is poignant, since the church is called to works of mercy and not the church, which is called to works of justice as its primary vocation (Romans 13, government has a sword, etc).

You would do even better to reflect on the consequences of conflating justice and mercy, for if God *owes* everyone mercy as a matter of justice, the gospel itself is nullified.

Thirdly, thought should be given to the principles and ideas forming the basis of Kuyperian sphere sovereignty, for a liberal progressive Christian may agree with your points but simply assert that he is not advocating only the State doing works of mercy, but both the State and the Church cooperating. Only an understanding of sphere sovereignty can answer this: God has endowed certain social institutions and communities such as the government, the Church and the family with specific vocations and responsibilities by nature (justice, salvation by grace, raising of children), and so the usurpation of responsibilities by one institution by another violates their respective spheres of authority.

The last Christian political principle I will mention is the Catholic notion of subsidiarity which articulates the principle of localized responsibility. Localized responsibility is tied, like all these principles, to the created order, specifically in this case the created nature of human beings as finite creatures embodied in space and time with limited capacities. Because of our finite nature, humans are properly organized with deference to place, and authority and political life is best practiced in localities, with larger political institutions such as states and federal governments being accorded limited powers due to their distance from the finite individuals and communities in which humans actually live their lives and flourish. This is antithetical to statism, but alas Christian political conservatives will also have to give up (voluntarily not by government edict) not just political globalization, but economic globalization as well, which I’m sure will displease some here.

on some level. Almost every week during the Prayer of the Faithful there is one petition for government leaders to do something for the poor. Rarely (possibly never?) have I heard a call for us to be more generous with the poor so the government doesn’t step in, and I’ve been to Mass in at least 12 different states.

Great, though-provoking diary as usual.

Welfare = forceful redistribution of property, so I’m guessing that’s not something Christians should be involved in. Besides, when you take away the individual’s choice in whether to give to charity or not you simultaneously steal the virtues gained in the process of that decision and consequential action.

….for those of us who have chosen to live for God must be careful we don’t conform Christianity to what conservatism says. Our Christianity should inform our conservatism, not the other way around.

We must also concede that conservatism doesn’t neccessarily equal Christianity, because frankly, it doesn’t all the time. We’re never going to get it 100% correct and we’ll stand before God one day and find out where we were wrong.

But socialism destroys all human ambition and the human spirit and that is dead wrong and completely against what God has for humanity.

Just look at Latin America. Many of the socialist/communist movements there have tacit support from the pars of the Church affected by this movement, and the hypocrisy and decadence of the movement is breathtaking. The lack of scriptures used in the movement, and the reliance on what the priest says, really leads to an unhealthy sort of Christianity where the priest is the ultimate authority, and where God is not accessible by the hoi polloi. This, of course, leads to massive amounts of corruption, and a fanatical allegiance to the authority figures of the Church. It binds people to religious traditions, and rather than setting them free, and breaking down barriers, it works at constructing even higher and more impenetrable barriers between the rich and the poor, the black, hispanic, and indian, and between the socialists and others, of course.

Just so no one thinks I’m just picking on the Catholic Church, research the “emergent church movement”, if you want to read about a similar phenomena on the Protestant side of the schism (I’m Protestant, btw).

I don’t have chapter and verse, but I distinctly remember Jesus saying (paraphrase) “The poor ye will always have with you” (I believe it was in reference to Judas saying that the perfume that Mary Magdalene poured on Jesus’s feet should have been sold and the money given to the poor), hence we can conclude that attempting to completely eliminate poverty is pointless at best and heresy at worst.

Wonderful, thoughtful essay. One of the early founders of the original 13 colonies said “no work, no eat.” And we do understand caring for those that cannot do for themselves vs. those that won’t do for themselves. I believe when you take away all discomfort and have nothing to strive for, you actually kill the human spirit and maybe this weakens the soul?

Which brings me to another point. Please see Political Class diary today re: “Fire kill 3, child, parents in England. That diary in turn links to that story and the one regarding “the silence of the Canadian lambs.” Maybe you have read them already. they are terrible stories, but the passivity of the bystanders in one and the police in the other, bring to mind the loss our humanity and our souls-is this part of the complacency that dependency on government brings? It certainly relates to “where have all the men gone?”

Thanks again for your insight and ability to share same with us.

Good post, but I’ll disagree with your primary reason. It would be a sufficient reason in of itself, but there is an even stronger reason Christians should not follow LT: It is a violation of the First Commandment. It is the government attempting to supplant God’s place as the head of Christianity. The whole Human Rights thing does the same thing under leftist ideology. It is only by keeping God at the head of His people that mercy and justice may be found.

After years of reflecting on the matter I have adopted a simpler approach. Charity is a matter strictly between God and me. It is both an obligation and an opportunitty to search my soul for things that are good in God’s eyes and to do them quietly and anonymously. And I discuss my charity with God alone. If I pool my efforts with others I do it all the more quietly but I have never found opportunities difficult to find just walking down the street.

So to me, any “welfare” scheme is theft. Somebody… the Emperor, the King, the legislator, the bureaucrat… takes my money to give away as THEY see fit. Now I may agree or disagree with the object of this activity but they have taken away my obligation and opportunity. Worse, far worse, they have eliminated God and His will from the process. Welfare intends to deprive me of Christian growth.

So I can’t count my share of welfare as charity. Charity is what I do with God’s help not what I am compelled to let others do supposedly in my name. I find charity a continuing wonder, welfare a continuing curse. Even, and I have, taking welfare upsets me profoundly.

Looking at the political systems in place in the Bible days and how Jesus and His followers responded to it, I don’t believe God cares one whit whether we vote for a socialist or a capitalist.

I don’t think the legal system should be based on the Bible or on spiritual beliefs that all people do not share. I base this view on the passage in Cornithians telling us not to be “of this world” but to be “in” it. The world includes America. We evangelize to nonbelievers and hold only believers to our teachings. I think too many Christians today have gotten that backwards and done just the opposite! That’s part of the reason I think society today is in such a mess.

The only time I can see my Christian faith informing my vote would be if the free practice of the Christian faith were being threatened, and I believed my vote would make a difference. It’s almost like Pilate asking which man should be set free. I don’t think God would want us making a vote to harm the minisitry to nonbelievers or fellowship with believers. But that’s the extent of it.

Outside of such a situation, I don’t think the Bible says anything about voting, much less government policies or programs.

It’s ALWAYS THE FIRST STEP for authoritarian and communist regimes.

We’ve seen and felt all the necessary preparations.

Sooner or later….. liberals and socialists shall declare that RELIGION IS IRRELEVANT AND DIVISIVE.

That’s when all the Christians should GO UNDERGROUND or perish.

People… this is what I really fear most as a Christian from the very DANGEROUS ADMINISTRATION of Dear Leader Obama.

For one, most welfare-pushing liberals aren’t Christian and they don’t push welfare in the name of Christianity. They do it so they’ll have a larger group of people dependent upon them, which equals more votes in the next election. In the private sector, they do it to satisfy their conscience.

Secondly, I was poor growing up. I had to get a job when I was 15 just to be able to afford things like deodorant, toothpaste, and my own clothing. We had to heat our trailer with our oven b/c we couldn’t afford to fix our heater. We had a hole in our floor which we just put a piece of plywood over b/c we couldn’t afford to get the hole fixed. I had a single mother and a father who paid no child support. What this did for me was make me very determined NOT to live like that as an adult. So, I got loans, went to college, worked three jobs to make it through and graduate so I’d have a good job. That’s what being poor should do for people. If they have someone giving them everything they need, why would they want to work for it?
The point is…….being “poor” is a subjective term these days. I’ve seen some people on welfare who still drive Cadillac Escalades, have great hair and nails and have about 10 children……..all with different fathers. They’re getting extra money for having extra children. That is where the welfare system is faulty. It is perpetuating the “poor” mentality and giving some people a crutch.

I am a Christian and I do believe in charity and helping those less fortunate. I do not believe it is the government’s job to decide where my money should be spent.

It now takes its place in my arsenal.

Good work, brother.

She ends her article with this-

So, the next time you hear the phrase, “social justice”, take time to question the one who is using it, and challenge them to read some of the resources I have mentioned above. Maybe their motives are pure and they are using the word “justice” in its classic, biblical sense. But chances are they have no idea that the vision of justice that has taken their hearts captive was perpetrated by a terrorist who is using their good will to spread his hatred and to bring forth a more authoritative government where the individual is held captive to a few elitists with ultimate power.

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Activists Taking Action: Unified Patriots

It’s directly relevant to this diary.

here’s part 1 of 5 (and i highly recommend watching all of the parts):

http://tv.nationalreview.com/uncommonknowledge/post/?q=NWMzOWRlZmE0MGFiODRhZTA2ZTdmMmNlNjFlMmUyNjI=

You hit the nail on the head. I’ve often wanted to post something similar, but could never come up with what I wanted to say. You said it better than I ever could.

I guess when I get time, I will still post what I had in mind, but it won’t be nearly as good as yours.