The current attack on Paul Ryan’s budget has me livid. Most of the attacks coming from Catholic groups masquerading as Jesus lovers say the Ryan budget is an attack on the poor are flat out wrong.
“Yes,” Jesus did say we should give to the poor. He also said, “come follow me.”
A Catholic website offers this explanation.
“A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’ He replied, ‘I have kept all these since my youth.’ When Jesus heard this, he said to him, ‘There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!'” [Lk. 18:18-23]
I never heard Jesus teach that we should give to the tax collector and let him feed the poor. Instead he said “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and to God that which is God’s.I hate being critical, but all my Catholic community members who espouse redistribution of wealth should begin with their own bank accounts. In my lifetime, Mother Theresa is the only Catholic who tried to practice that principle. All Catholics who attack Paul Ryan’s budget as an attack on the poor are communists.They are certainly misguided.
Related articles
- Catholic theologians denounce Paul Ryan’s budget (dailykos.com)
- Catholic bishops criticize Ryan budget for hurting the poor (thehill.com)
- Catholic Theologians Take On Ryan Budget (lezgetreal.com)
- Christians Debate: Was Jesus For Small Government? (wnyc.org)
- Religious Groups, Georgetown Faculty Protest Ryan’s Use Of Catholic Social Teaching To Justify Budget Cuts (thinkprogress.org)
Filed under: Conservative, family, religion | Tagged: Catholic, Catholic Church, Catholic social teaching, Christianity, God, Jesus, Paul Ryan, Religion and Spirituality |
Oh hell yes it is right
Hey Joe
I am a theologian and an ex catholic. What I can tell you is that 95% of all catholic doctrine is in direct contradiction to biblical teachings
Is my interpretation right or wrong?
Being benevolent is not having your money taken from you by the Federal Government, an amount taken off the top for distribution, and then whatever is left over is given to the poor. We don’t need politicians bribing votes from the poor with our money. Excellent post Grumpa. Chuck
Thank You Chuck. I’m sure I upset my Catholic friends with this post, but it is what it is.
I’m not sure if I like your post or not. The Mackerel Snappers I know and love don’t feel they need to give their money to the government in order to help the poor. In fact, most of us feel that the government will only make us all poor! I’ll bet you do, too!
I think you missed the point of my post. It must be the effect of the wine I had at supper. What you are arguing is exactly what I tried to say. Jesus wants US to give to the poor, not US give to the government to give to the poor.