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| The Pope was a Socialist Liberal |
| 04.08.05 (1:02 pm) [edit] |
|
Hello, I know, I know, It's been a while. Saw this on Softball with Chris Matthews last night and it got me all riled up. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) was on the show with some others talking about the Pope's death, etc. Mr. Rangel decided to talk about Social Security. MATTHEWS: I mean, Charlie, Jesus didn‘t hang around with the swells, the rich people.Actually, Jesus DIDN't say rich people would go to hell. The conversation continues MATTHEWS: Well, he did not. Actually, the bible verse Chris Matthews is looking for is Matthew 19:24 "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Or Mark 10:25 or Luke 18:25, they all say the same thing.) First, I hate when people quote a single bible verse as backup to an argument. A bible verse by itself can be misused or misconstrued to suit your purpose. A prime example of this when people cite the verse from Leviticus "Do not lie with a man as a man would like with a woman" as proof that God hates queers. When you catch someone quoting that, ask them if they also refrain from eating meat with blood still in it (like a medium rare steak, which is perfection on a plate) or cut the hair at the sides of their head or the edges of their beards. What you need is CONTEXT, you have to take theses verses in context. In Matthew 19:28, a young man asks Jesus what good things he must do to receive eternal life (i.e. receive salvation.) Jesus questions the young man "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you want eternal life, obey the commandments." The young man informs Jesus that he has kept all of the commandments and asks what he still lacks. Jesus tells him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you WILL HAVE TREASURE IN HEAVEN. Then come, follow me." (emphasis added) The young man went away sad because he was rich. Who wouldn't be if they had material wealth and were just told to get rid of it all? After the exchange, Jesus tells His disciples "I tell you the truth, it is HARD for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The disciples, astonished, ask "Who then can be saved?" Jesus replies "With MAN this is impossible, but with God ALL things are possible." In the other books the story is slightly different, with the rich man calling Jesus a "Good teacher" and the version found in Luke, my personal favorite version, states that the "rich man" was actually a "rich RULER," like say, a Representative from the State of New York pulling down $158,000.00 a year, maybe? Looking at the story in this light, it's neat to see a wealthy aristocrat getting put in his place. "Yeah, you may have a fat stack of cash, but that won't buy you a ticket to Heaven, Mr. Bigshot." In any event, Jesus was talking about INDIVIDUALS giving to the poor, he wasn't sanctioning money being seized from citizens arbitrarily and given to others. Food stamps are one thing, but Social Security doesn't go to the poor, it goes to every US citizen who has met the criteria to receive it, regardless of income. Part of the point of the story was that the person had to be WILLING to get rid of his material wealth in order to receive salvation. Jesus also didn't say that the rich would "go to hell" as Mr. Rangel put it. He said it was HARD for the rich to enter Heaven, not impossible. With MAN, it is impossible (just like trying to shove a camel through the eye of a needle), but Jesus also said that "with God, ALL things are possible." I believe he also meant that with God, even a rich person could get to Heaven. I can't say for certain which side of the Social Security argument the Pope came down on, (I CAN tell you what side he was on regarding abortion, Mr. Rangel) but leave it to a Democrat to turn the Pope's passing into a chance to argue over Social Security. |
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