Stealing For Jesus

[jordanriver]

The closer it gets to Good Friday and Easter, I notice more and more liberals preaching Jesus on CNN and on C-Span some writer named Obery M. Hendricks, Jr. (http://www.crosscurrents.org/Hendricks2005.htm)was hawking his book, 'The Politics of Jesus : (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0385516649/ref=pd_sl_aw_alx-jeb-9-1_book_19623032_2) Rediscovering the True Revolutionary Nature of Jesus' Teachings and How They Have Been Corrupted', and delivering his diatribe against conservatives who seem to be wasting their time opposing legal abortion and gay marriage instead of promoting a more egalitarian culture via government intervention.

If he is right about who the real Jesus is, and if the other liberals who made their appearances on CNN are right when they ask "What Would Jesus Really Do (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/04/martin.jesus/index.html)?", should we be robbing the rich to give to the poor. Was Robin Hood a liberal.

Now, I'm not really rich myself, and I don't have the power of the politicians in Washington D.C, but can I help in my own little way. I don't have much to give myself, but I know of some rich folks who seem to have more than they need, (who needs 3 cars?). I know they worked a lot of overtime to accumulate their materials, but nevertheless, there are poor people who don't have a car or money for their bills. True, some of them are bums, and make poor choices (beginning with their early choice to drop out of school and practice pre-marital sex and single-parent homelife), but some have had an authentic bad run of luck, losing their jobs to cheaper labor.

Would it be the Christian thing to steal one of the cars from the rich folks and give it to the poor, (well, wait, thats a bad idea since the stolen car can be tracked down and the poor folks will be caught with it, )

hmmm, ok, how about this; steal the car, but have it stripped or whatever it is car-thieves do, get the cash, then give the cash to help the poor folks. Maybe even steal one of the extra televisions from the rich (they don't really need 4 T.V.s) and pawn it to help the poor. (and jewelry and appliances and other stuff that rich people can afford to get more of or are probably insured anyway)

If all Christians would practice this form of Christianity, we would soon have an egalitarian society, the wealth would be redistributed, and poor people would benefit from a more level playing field. And of course, if Christians get the chance to hold public office, they can take advantage of the opportunity to progress to a more egalitarian society on a bigger scale faster.

JR

[heavykevy]

Why would any Christian who knows Christ as their provider need to or want to do such a thing when it is clearly not in God's express will?
How could we claim that we love our neighbor, even the rich, stingy neighbors if we steal from them?
I would much rather trust God for all of my needs.

[semmie]

Now, I'm not really rich myself, and I don't have the power of the politicians in Washington D.C, but can I help in my own little way. I don't have much to give myself, but I know of some rich folks who seem to have more than they need, (who needs 3 cars?).
hey JR.

i wanted to say a couple of quick things in response to your questions here.

1. is there any scriptural defense for stealing from the rich to give to the poor?

2. so if you are caught stealing from the rich...you get to go to jail....and...this is going to help the poor....how?

3. wouldn't you do better to become rich yourself and give with a clear conscience?

4. giving has never been a matter of quantity. give what you're able to give.

5. i dunno...this whole issue of rich people who don't "need" several cars...several televisions...etc....seems odd to me. of course they don't "need" those things. so what? do you or i "need" to be on tweb? do we "need" the computers we're using to be here? :shrug: the problem isn't what you've got; the problem is how attached you are to what you've got. if you can't give away what is yours to give, how can you determine whether to give what belongs to someone else?

6. and keep in mind....the idea of "belongings"....is silly. from dust we were created; to dust we will return. you can't take your car...your tv...your tweb...your guitar...your water bottle...or your favorite pair of blue jeans with you.

store up treasures in heaven, and give freely of the blessings god's given you here on earth.

that's all.

pax.
sarah

[jordanriver]

hey JR.

i wanted to say a couple of quick things in response to your questions here.

1. is there any scriptural defense for stealing from the rich to give to the poor?

2. so if you are caught stealing from the rich...you get to go to jail....and...this is going to help the poor....how?

3. wouldn't you do better to become rich yourself and give with a clear conscience?

4. giving has never been a matter of quantity. give what you're able to give.

5. i dunno...this whole issue of rich people who don't "need" several cars...several televisions...etc....seems odd to me. of course they don't "need" those things. so what? do you or i "need" to be on tweb? do we "need" the computers we're using to be here? :shrug: the problem isn't what you've got; the problem is how attached you are to what you've got. if you can't give away what is yours to give, how can you determine whether to give what belongs to someone else?

6. and keep in mind....the idea of "belongings"....is silly. from dust we were created; to dust we will return. you can't take your car...your tv...your tweb...your guitar...your water bottle...or your favorite pair of blue jeans with you.

store up treasures in heaven, and give freely of the blessings god's given you here on earth.

that's all.

pax.
sarah

I'm fine myself. I don't really need much in the way of material possessions. I'm worried about the poor folks.

As for scriptural references, there are plenty of liberal Christians who don't let that stop them
As for going to jail, I don't see employees of the IRS going to jail when they take property from one group to redistribute it to another group. As far as that goes, the IRS can put people in Jail for not parting with their property for redistribution.
Maybe I should go to work for the IRS so I can steal legally.

JR

[semmie]

Maybe I should go to work for the IRS so I can steal legally.
is that what you're hoping to accomplish? you want to be able to steal legally?

[Teallaura]

"Thou shalt not steal" - I don't see any exceptions to that one.

If Liberal Christians all jump in a lake, are you going to too? Seriously, 'but they do it' is a pretty pathetic argument for anything - least of all for whether or not something is right.

IRS: "Render unto Caesar..." or write your Congressman - those are the Scripturally acceptable choices. Deciding that the IRS are 'legal' thieves and you wanna be one too just makes you a thief as well, nothing else.

[Jedidiah]

Stealing would be a lot more efficient than the liberal approach, which uses up a large share of the stolen goods before the money ever gets to the needy.

[jordanriver]

Originally posted by semmie
is that what you're hoping to accomplish? you want to be able to steal legally?

and

"Thou shalt not steal" - I don't see any exceptions to that one.

If Liberal Christians all jump in a lake, are you going to too? Seriously, 'but they do it' is a pretty pathetic argument for anything - least of all for whether or not something is right.

IRS: "Render unto Caesar..." or write your Congressman - those are the Scripturally acceptable choices. Deciding that the IRS are 'legal' thieves and you wanna be one too just makes you a thief as well, nothing else.

I'm tired of being called a cold-hearted conservative who only cares about abortion, stem-cell research, and gay-marriage, but lack compassion for the poor.
I just about decided to give up this quest, but yet another liberal 'Christian' was put on CNN to hawk yet another book about conservatives hijacking Jesus for politics -- Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, with her book Failing America's Faithful: How Today's Churches Are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way
http://www.faithfullyliberal.com/?p=243

Its an onslaught of liberals who say we're supposed to help the poor, and they aren't talking about individual charitable donating, they're talking about using the government (taxes) for that purpose.
I think they're claiming Jesus would approve.

I want to help too, but I have a problem. I want to at least be honest about it and call it what it is; stealing from one group of people to give to another group of people.

I wanna help the poor bigtime.

JR

[Jedidiah]

Its an onslaught of liberals who say we're supposed to help the poor, and they aren't talking about individual charitable donating, they're talking about using the government (taxes) for that purpose.

I have to agree with you. The sort of "stealing" these folks are using is (as my post above suggested) not really very effective. It really provides more for those devouring along the pipeline.

[Rayado]

I'm tired of being called a cold-hearted conservative who only cares about abortion, stem-cell research, and gay-marriage, but lack compassion for the poor. It seems to me that this is the main problem. Do you often change your worldviews when you're called names? Where is the wisdom in that?

[Teallaura]

I'm curious as to when he thinks someone here called him 'cold hearted'? Or why he assumes that disapproval of a particular method implies a lack of compassion?

Only a fool calls evil good - no matter why you intend it, theft is still wrong. Your ends will never justify the means - nor are evil means likely to accomplish good ends.

It interests me that you mention Jesus' approval - if it's His approval you seek why not use the means He prescribes? Just where in Scripture does He sanction theft of any kind for any reason? And precisely where does He, Who paid His taxes although His claim to authority was the superior, condemn taxation? You might make the case for excessive taxation but first you must show that it is in fact excessive. Otherwise, there's nothing unjust about using taxation to provide for the poor. Best or efficient, arguably not, but not unjust in the least - and a darn site better than paying for a new wing of Herod's castle.

[semmie]

I'm tired of being called a cold-hearted conservative who only cares about abortion, stem-cell research, and gay-marriage, but lack compassion for the poor.
who's calling you that? the liberals you're talking about? that's silly. and for that matter, disagreeing with government policy regarding monies for the poor does not necessarily equate a lack of compassion for the poor. my advice? grow a pair and stand with your convictions. who cares what other people think about you? seriously? it seems to me your problem has nothing to do with a lack of compassion but with a lack of strategy. you can either go along with what these people are suggesting (which i wouldn't encourage), or you can do what is in your power to do.

Its an onslaught of liberals who say we're supposed to help the poor, and they aren't talking about individual charitable donating, they're talking about using the government (taxes) for that purpose.
I think they're claiming Jesus would approve.
i think this is brilliantly stupid. saying "we're supposed to help the poor" is one thing, but dictating how we are to help the poor is silly. jesus didn't tell us to steal from one and give to another; he did, however, teach us to give selflessly of the things we have.

I wanna help the poor bigtime.
then give freely. it's a foolish mindset to differentiate quality and effectiveness of giving to the poor based on the quantity being given. stones still slew philistines, my friend. don't discredit what you have to give just because it's not giving "bigtime."

[Jedidiah]

JR, you were not seriously proposing theft as a good way to help the poor were you? There seem to be several folks who failed to understand.

[joel]

Would it be the Christian thing to steal one of the cars from the rich folks and give it to the poor, (well, wait, thats a bad idea since the stolen car can be tracked down and the poor folks will be caught with it, )
Yeah, we could set up a government program where, along with stealing the car and giving it to a poor guy, then you just have to go down to the courthouse and fill out a form, letting them know that you did it, and they take care of all the work of automatically transferring title of the vehicle to the other guy. And then it's all okay.
:wink: