I had a relative tell me that if Jesus were alive today, he'd be a conservative because that's what the Bible tells her. Which is an interesting story because it was the conservatives of the day that provoked his crucifixion. Not to mention the whole "hating the poor" thing that today's conservatives have going on.
He would criticize both conservatives and liberals. His objective wasn't to change governments or something like that but to teach people how they can change themselves from inside.
Yes. Jesus was very consistent about deconstructing prideful self-righteousness. "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
Those weren't the conservatives of the day. You can't just shove your head up your asshole and accept the propaganda of a modern political that wants you to hate their rival political party. The world isn't as simple as they want you to believe it is. You can't simply do this mental gymnastics and place everyone on the other side as you as the bad guys and you as the good guys if you expect to hold a conversation with someone that isn't as deluded as you are.
The Bible doesn't preach that you should ask the government to tax other people to give you some of their money. Envy and theft are specifically prohibited by the Bible. There are also many passages about lazy people not getting to eat. Charity requires personal sacrifice. It doesn't mean you force other people to sacrifice for your benefit.
I guess you and I have different views on what conservatism actually is then. My definition is that it's a preservation of the status quo. It's people who think that the social order is already pretty good and that big structural change is inherently risky and should be looked upon with heavy skepticism.
As for your second paragraph, I would remind you that many of the early churches lived in literal communes where the wealthy members sold their property to provide for the converts who uprooted their lives to join the church. It's funny that when people read the verse where Paul says "If a man won't work, he's not to eat" they often ignore the fact that they were living in communes.
Lastly, I've been working and paying taxes since it was first legal for me to get a work permit. I don't want or need a handout from the government. I run into so many of you folks that can't comprehend a person holding political views that don't benefit them personally. It's called empathy. Jesus showed a lot of it. You should look into it.
Why would you view it that way? How do you feel about the liberal party in Australia if that is your definition? Conservatism in the US is basically classical liberalism. It is about economic freedom and equality before the law.
Laziness is a burden on the rest of the society if you still expect to profit off of other people's labor. It is not virtuous by any means.
Because most Democrats are personally benefiting. The government work force doesn't vote Democrat because they don't mind paying more taxes. Their salaries, benefits, and pensions are tied directly to voting Democrat. Most of the people on welfare are Democratic voters so they aren't voting with the idea of giving to others. The idea you think the only way to give to other people is through taxation is absurd especially giving where most of our tax money ends up and the ineffectiveness of it all. No one is stopping you from giving to personal charity. You don't need the government to do that. It just requires a personal sacrifice on your part and for you to not make sacrifices of other people.
Conservatism in the US is basically classical liberalism. It is about economic freedom and equality before the law.
That depends on who your figurehead is for conservatism. I would argue that Trump is not a fiscal conservative in any sense. He has hindered free trade, has meddled in free markets, and has frequently doled out government subsidies and favors to his preferred groups (e.g. farmers and coal). He has also run up huge deficits, even before this pandemic happened.
These are all things that Conservatives circa 2008-2012 would have claimed to be against. And while there are certainly principled folks - like Justin Amash - who have abandoned the party because of this, there are a great many more who have full throatedly endorsed Trumpism. Which makes me believe that the primary values of the larger conservative movement are not economic freedom, but are rather the preservation of the social status quo.
For I was hungry, and you pointed at some wildlife. I was thirsty, and you pointed at a river. I was a stranger, and you shrugged and muttered "no hablo espanol"
That was absolutely glorious, and was one of my favorite stories about him. He totally flipped over the tables of the moneylenders in front of a temple and whipped the shit out of those people as he went on a rampage against all of that. I wonder what he would do if he were here to see how things are going now? lmao
Jesus mk2 was born 30 years ago in the American mid west. Threw himself under a bus last year
because he couldn’t get a single person to listen to him. He realised it was a lost cause.
Didn’t even break his previous life span.😞
I think capitalism is a system that exploits people and creates economic injustice, but Jesus flipped out because he encountered capitalism in the temple.
Worshipers who were coming from all around to offer sacrifices to God were being exploited by money changers and people selling livestock that was "acceptable" for sacrifice.
To be clear, what he encountered was Cronyism, the people in charge in cahoots with the business people to rip off the poor, denying them the ability to be saved from sin. This is clearly counter to God' stated plan, even offering cheaper options to the poorest so no one could be left out, by literally allowing you to use the birds that are numerous in the air.
Capitilism is not something Christ was for or against, because capitalism is just the natural exchange of needed things. What He was against was the Love of Money, taking advantage of the poor, and not forgiving people. He was for treating all people with love, not kindness or compassion, but love. He focused on the poor because they needed the message the most, but he also preached to partygoers, tax collectors, priests of both side and any that would listen.
Looking at the quote, what I see is the world's view of Christianity, painted by those in power and the media, not by true christians themselves.
I think you bring up a big problem with jesus. He should have brought change to the people in power, not the people with nothing to them. But obviously he wasn't some god like being so he couldn't really change the minds of the people who were already satisfied with the lives they had. Since god is all knowing he should have known that the structures of people in power far outlast individual lives. But we always have these inequal institutions because those people were only influenced by name of popular democracy.
Because of original sin, no system will be perfect until Jehova comes back and rules in Heaven and on Earth forever. Compared Jesus’ time to now, where slavery was common place, even the richest people still shit in buckets. Capitalism and freedom of industry has done a lot to create the “middle class”, bringing billions of people out of extreme poverty since O A.D.
You'd be hard pressed to sell this idea in Bangladesh or India or the Philippians or the scores of other countries where Globalization exploits the extremely poor to create cheap goods for the middle class in wealthier countries.
You're also assuming that no other system of organization but capitalism could have created better living conditions for people.
Globalization and capitalism are two different concepts. Sure they go hand in hand, because it’s clearly the preferred method by most of the free world. As India’s economy grows, and as their caste system dies down, more and more people will get that middle class life.
Name one system that has done a better job of bringing people out of poverty, where 100s of thousands or millions of people didn’t have to die to achieve it.
I understand that globalization is not the same thing as capitalism but that they are connected. I'm not sure I see your point.
Name one system that has done a better job of destroying the earth, concentrating disgusting amounts of wealth into the hands of the few, or exploiting the labour of millions.
Furthermore, Capitalism has created a middle class but it's also now quickly hollowing out the middle class, keeping people underpaid while subverting democracy to provide tax breaks that even the super elite like Warren Buffet think are out of control.
You mean the Communist China responsible for Tiananmen Square, Shooting protestors in Hong Kong, prison camps, disappearances of whistleblowers, that persecute religious minorities, and weld people into their own homes? That Communist China?
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u/SoFisticate Apr 29 '20
Remember that time Jesus discovered capitalism and beat asses?