Time: Does God Want You To Be Rich?

[deadparrot]

Editor's note: The following is a summary of this week's Time magazine cover story.

In three of the Gospels, Jesus warns that each of his disciples may have to "deny himself" and even "take up his Cross."

In support of this prediction, he contrasts the fleeting pleasures of today with the promise of eternity: "For what profit is it to a man," he asks, "if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?"

Generations of churchgoers have understood that being Christian means being ready to sacrifice. But for a growing number of Christians, the question is better restated, "Why not gain the whole world plus my soul?"

For several decades, a philosophy has been percolating in the 10 million-strong Pentecostal wing of Christianity that seems to turn the Gospels' passage on its head. Certainly, it allows, Christians should keep one eye on heaven. But the new good news is that God doesn't want us to wait.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/10/time.cover.tm/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[DRoseDARs]

1. Apparently, the fracturing of The Church all those centuries ago...

...is lost on these people. :eyes:

[DRoseDARs]

2. And it's pretty hard to square their very un-Christian heresy with this...

"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven." (matthew 19:24)

[bhikkhu]

12. translation note

"rope" in old aramaic is only slightly different from "camel". Most modern scholars agree that the use of camel in the Greek which our English versions come from is a very old error.

[Bear down under]

13. Maybe, but old tradition holds that...

"The Needle's Eye" was a town gate -- I've forgotten where, it may have been in Jerusalem -- which got its popular name from its narrowness. it was so narrow that a loaded camel could not pass through; the driver had to take the saddlebags off first. So there is no need to invoke a mistranslation for "rope". Presumably King James's translation committee when they wrote "the eye of a needle" had forgotten about the gate. Christ's comparison of the camel which must be unloaded to pass through the gate with the rich man who must divest himself of his attachment to wealth to pass through the gate of Heaven is a very appropriate one. Remember the remark immediately follows his instructing a rich young man to go and sell all he possessed and give the proceeds to the poor before he could become a disciple.

[bhikkhu]

14. That makes sense too

And would fit the context. I hadn't heard it before, thanks.

[Briar]

3. Not only does the modern church worship Mammon

it lusts for revenge. Tens of thousands killed in pay-backs for 9/11 so far. Christianity in the modern USA is just about the polar opposite of what Christ preached.

[Kagemusha]

4. Hahaha... "modern"? In what sense, "since 1500 AD"?

THAT is dismal normality for religions. Religions that didn't believe in conversion by the sword didn't survive the last several centuries in Europe very well at all. Fascism and communism weren't even religions, but THEY caught on because THEIR followers DID believe in conversion by the sword.

Worshipping mammon and lusting for revenge? Normal. Brutally, pathetically, inanely, banally normal.

[FiveGoodMen]

10. Amen to that!

Most of today's "Christians" had better hope that the Atheists are right.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. If you're gonna continue living in this country, the question should be

"Does God want you poor?"

[jody]

6. IMO God expects each of us to use her/his talents the best way and share

the results including wealth with the hungry, thirsty, strangers, sick, etc.

That's my understanding of Matthew 25:13-46 and Luke 12:48.

[Joe Bacon]

7. But Ayn Rand and Milton Friedman want YOU to get selfish and rich

Yes-Sir-ee Preachers promise you Pie in the Sky when you Die, as long as you tithe that 10% to them here on Earth!

[Blue_Tires]

8. that's funny

since the rich always like to point out how 'blessed' they are!

[Joe Bacon]

15. According to these Christians, Bill Gates is the holiest man ever!

OR He's the biggest asskisser!

[Tyo]

9. That stupid camel is totally refusing to cooperate

Looks like the best I can hope for is the middle class. Damn.

[Joe Bacon]

16. And what did Old Man Rockefeller say about the Camel thing?

When confronted with the "Easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle", the old fart replied that God gave him the ability to buy a needle big enough to let the camel walk through!

[ShortnFiery]

11. Jesus teaches us Christians to Care for the Poor and Disenfranchised

as much as we would our friends and family. Much easier said than done. This one excerpt from Mathew is quite poignant albeit I don't normally make a habit of quoting from scripture.

"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God."


However, we should never value people with wealth and power as "greater than" a poor bum on the street. I personally don't value power or wealth. In fact, I knew that I had to resign my Regular Army Commission as soon as my Active Duty obligation time was met - because I was "burning up inside" and would soon tell my senior officers what I thought of them.

For people like myself who are genuinely wired to "question authority" it has been a depressing five years. However, I feel hope in recent weeks that The American People are finally waking up to the fact that THEY must MAKE our USA Representatives serve The People before either The War Machine or The Corporations. I hope and pray. :-) ;)