Wealth as a deadly sin - any official translation on this?

  • Thread starter Thread starter jmoburg
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jmoburg

Guest
i just got slammed by non-Catholics that I know… who said “Better change your business plan, otherwise you’re going to hell” referring to us trying to grow/build a business.

I love following the church, and I need a clarification on this newly issued statement from the Pope.

How does the Pope see Warren Buffett or Bill Gates…who have given much, to many great causes, being some of the most giving people of our times.

What about a wealthy person tithing? Is that not good enough? Thanks CatholicAForum 🙂 would love the help on this!
 
The Church does not ascertain that any individual is going to hell. It does teach that if money becomes another god or you do works of uncharity, that leads to damnation. Scripture says the same. It sounds like your friends don’t understand Catholic teaching. 🤷
 
Ohhh so true they don’t. I really have to be careful, because I am quick to draw a verbal sword when I reply. I was sent a link via email that said “For those of you who thought you had a valid/updated version of the New Testement…” and oh how I’d love to explain the reason we have a Pope, why we listen to our Pope… its soo frustrating, because attacks are so easy, yet a well formed responce takes time.
 
I think you’ll find that the church generally teaches that making money is not immoral provided one respects the rights and needs of others and do not accumulate wealth at the expense of workers and society in general. It is what you do with your money (or what it does to you) that can become sinful.

A suggestion might be to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, particularly the section on the Seventh Commandment. It presents the Church teaching on the respect for the rights of others in matters of work and the making of “wealth”.

Oh, and remember, Jesus was a carpenter. Do you think he charged a fair price for his work? I like to think so.
 
There was a stupid bit in the news the other day that claimed “Vatican Introduces 7 New Deadly Sins” and made it sound like “extreme wealth” was now on the same list as “sloth” and “wrath.” No such thing happened. I can’t explain what DID happen, exactly, but I guess some Cardinal was trying to illustrate a point about how, in a new world, we have new ways of sinning that have a bigger impact than just on ourselves and our immediate neighbor. So, the divide between the very rich and very poor, pollution, and some other things were mentioned.

Added to that problem is that many people confuse the Seven Deadly Sins with Mortal sins. That’s not true. The SDS’s are spiritual states that will kill your soul and lead you to mortal sin. Take sloth, for example. It is not a mortal sin to lie on the couch all day, watching football in your unwashed pajamas while eating ice cream out of the carton. However, if you do that sort of thing habitually, it can lead to neglecting your duties. You might get lazy and decide to watch football instead of go to Mass on Sunday… then you’re in mortal sin. See what I mean? And, if a company is too greedy to care about the pollution they’re spewing in some third-world country, that’s a major social sin that causes death… get it?

What can you tell her? If she’s antagonistic to Catholicism, probably not much. You can just say, “That news thing was bogus. There aren’t actually seven new sins. Just same old sins that were being illustrated in a new light, and the journalist didn’t understand what the Cardinal was talking about.” She won’t believe you, but at least you’ll have tried.
 
Having wealth is not a sin.

Though wealth can lead to sin and greed, the wealth itself is not sinful.

It is perfectly fine to be a Catholic with a lot of money, but as Jesus warns it is also a life that tends to lead one to sin more easily.

Recall the man who would not sell his wealth in order to follow Jesus. The point Christ was making was not that his wealth was sinful, but his attachment to wealth was sinful because it was preventing him from following Christ.
 
Christ preached against squandering money. Need to invest wisely.
 
If I was super wealthy I would give money to different charities.

I don’t see anything wrong in trying to build your business as much as possible. We are at a time when everything is sooo expensive and some of us have to do cut-backs in order to survive.

My advise to you is to be friends with other business people who are also trying to build their businesses.
Some people get jealous so it is best not to discuss your business to them.

Bill Gates is a strange man because he is taking advantage of the little people who buy his computers at a very high price. He has the market on computers. It makes it hard for other people to jump into the computer business.
He may just be giving some of his money to charities just as a tax write-off. I really don’t know him so I am not throwing stones at him. I can only tell you what I see.

Don’t let anybody stop you from earning a living through your business. God allows us all to make a living at any thing we want to do in order to financially take care of ourselves and also be able to help others through charities. Many wealthy people have been able to truly help others through charities.
 
LaLucia said:
Bill Gates is a strange man because he is taking advantage of the little people who buy his computers at a very high price. He has the market on computers. It makes it hard for other people to jump into the computer business.
He may just be giving some of his money to charities just as a tax write-off. I really don’t know him so I am not throwing stones at him. I can only tell you what I see.
Click to expand...
Well, before you tell what you see, you might want to take another look.

Bill Gates doesn’t sell computers, high priced or low priced. He sells software; and where there has been competition, he has had to back down on his pricing. Whether it is high priced or low priced I will elave for others to argue. It has been the most successful software for personal computers, and he has done exceedingly well.

He gives away literally millions upon millions of dollars through the trust he has set up. There comes a point where taxes are essentially irrelevant; I am sure that he complies with the tax codes, and takes advantage of every possible tax law. However, when you literally have billions of dollars, it is not something tht the individual pays a whole lot of attention to.

Some of the things he gives money to are very praise-worthy, and he does much good. However, he also supports groups that are not in line with the Church.

There are many other software firms which make programs that rely on his software. It is very difficult to enter into the software business as direct competition to him, and not much reason to as he has done so well with what he has made. But he has not made the field of software a non-compete area; only primarily the area of operating systems.
 
God save all here.

As Freshman88 pointed out, the danger of excessive wealth is the corrupting influence it and the power it brings can have on its owner. The immense effort required to accumulate that wealth, and then manage and safeguard it, often detracts its owner from other pursuits, such as his religion or spirituality. Read the stories told about individuals who have won a massive sum in the lottery–many times you will see that drug, alcohol, or sex addiction, estrangement from family and friends, sloth and materialism quickly follow. Many wealthy become suspicious of former friends and family, as well as of charity organizations, fearing that they only want to take advantage of their wealth.

Perhaps more importantly for the rest of us, excessive wealth concentrated in the hands of one individual allow him to have a disproportionate influence over his society, an influence which his other qualities may not necessarily merit. I have posted three links below, two referring to the Gates’ funding of pro-abortion and homosexual activist organizations, and the last one to the Gates, Warren Buffet, and Ted Turner’s support for population control.

lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07070509.html

canadafreepress.com/2005/cover012805.htm

jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20Government/billionaire_bomb.htm
 
jmoburg said:
i just got slammed by non-Catholics that I know… who said “Better change your business plan, otherwise you’re going to hell” referring to us trying to grow/build a business.

I love following the church, and I need a clarification on this newly issued statement from the Pope.

How does the Pope see Warren Buffett or Bill Gates…who have given much, to many great causes, being some of the most giving people of our times.

What about a wealthy person tithing? Is that not good enough? Thanks CatholicAForum 🙂 would love the help on this!
Click to expand...
Hey man, 10% is 10%.

Remember the parable of the woman who gave to the temple a measly offering–though it was all she had–compared to the rich men who would give much more and brag about it.

Although she gave very little, she gave all she had. Whereas the wealthy men gave very much, but still kept much much more for themselves, and spoiled their offerings by seeking praise from others for it.

Should a multi-billionaire be praised and lauded because he gave 2 million to whatever charity? That’s pocket change compared to what he has. What of those who give 10% if not more if their net income to the Church? Not a peep for them. Yet they are sacrificing much more than the billionaire who gave several times more then they did.

I think wealth is a blessing and an opportunity to fulfill your christian obligation to help those less fortunate than yourself. Don’t squander your money away, that’s a sin. Everyone knows it takes money to make money, and what better cause then to make money for the good of the poor? But just remember those in need, and Whom is ultimately responsible for your quality of life.
 
Wealth is a financial state as is poverty.

However both Old and New Testament warn against wealth as an end in itself.

*The love of money is the root of all evil. (Profound - the root of ALL evil.)

*It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

*As mentioned above, the poor widow gave from her dire need and her goodness will be rewarded. The rich men who gave from their wealth, seeking praise, already had their reward.

As for what the Pope might thnk about Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and the like? I can’t imagine that the Pope thinks of them as specific people at all. Why would he?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top