Chrysostom on Forced Redistribution of Wealth

[portarica]

Conservatives love the poor the way Jesus loved the poor.

See, I can spout off at the mouth too!!!

(I cant pull myself away… I think I need to unsubscribe…)

Or maybe conservatives and liberals can love the poor the way Jesus did.

I’m spending way too much time here too!

Peace

 

[gurneyhalleck1]

I bet all the neo-conservatives salivated at reading this OP! “Now if we can just find a Chrysostome quote that justifies starting pre-emptive wars, busting up labor unions, outsourcing American jobs to India and China, and taking away people’s pensions and benefits we’ll be in business!”

 

[St_Francis]

I bet all the neo-conservatives salivated at reading this OP! “Now if we can just find a Chrysostome quote that justifies starting pre-emptive wars, busting up labor unions, outsourcing American jobs to India and China, and taking away people’s pensions and benefits we’ll be in business!”

Why do you think your way is the only way? Why do you think that the best way is through a means which violates Catholic principles?

St John Chysostom did not in any way say that people should not help the poor. He said nothing contrary to Christ’ teaching about helping those in need.

What St John did was simply criticize one of many possible ways of helping the needy. I think those criticisms are valid, and I would be interested to hear your refutation of the criticisms he made rather than an off-hand attempt at a merely political insult.

 

[PPeterson]

Taken from On Living Simply: The Golden Voice of John Chrysostom (Sermon 63):

Should we look to kings and princes to put right the inequalities between rich and poor? Should we require soldiers to come and seize the rich person’s gold and distribute it among his destitute neighbors? Should we beg the emperor to impose a tax on the rich so great that it reduces them to the level of the poor and then to share the proceeds of that tax among everyone? Equality imposed by force would achieve nothing, and do much harm. Those who combined both cruel hearts and sharp minds would soon find ways of making themselves rich again. Worse still, the rich whose gold was taken away would feel bitter and resentful; while the poor who received the gold form the hands of soldiers would feel no gratitude, because no generosity would have prompted the gift. Far from bringing moral benefit to society, it would actually do moral harm. Material justice cannot be accomplished by compulsion, a change of heart will not follow. The only way to achieve true justice is to change people’s hearts first - and then they will joyfully share their wealth.​

hey guys, you might want to consider that at least in the US we have representative government. kings, princes, or ‘communist’ dictators don’t take our money and give it away. we vote based on how we think our taxes should be distributed. it’s not a case of government goons robbing you.

plus, even if your party lost last few times around and you disagree with current wealth redistribution programs, you can still give however you want and get considerable tax write offs. sounds like a pretty decent compromise to me.but it’s also fun to get all alarmist about living in a “socialist welfare state.”

 

[St_Francis]

plus, even if your party lost last few times around and you disagree with current wealth redistribution programs, you can still give however you want and get considerable tax write offs. sounds like a pretty decent compromise to me.but it’s also fun to get all alarmist about living in a “socialist welfare state.”

First, there is not all that much difference between the Republicans and the Democrats. They are both based firmly on “Enlightenment” principles.

And wrt to giving charitably on our own, 1. they have already taken a considerable amount of the money we earn, and 2. you can only get a tax break on your charitable giving if you are paying a lot of interest on a mortgage or if you are extremely rich. Those who rent, are well into their home ownership or who do not make a ton of money don’t get a tax break.