Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered (Proverbs, 21/13)
Was there a "prosperity gospel" in the first century? Of course not.
So what would happen if today's priests/ministers/bishops of "bling"
met with the first Christians? Would they meet the same fate as Ananias and
Sapphira, who withheld property from the communal group led by the apostles and
were struck down?
I don't think "Bishop" Eddie Long wants to see God (or the Devil)
just yet.
In these days of Billionaire Jesus, the BLING counts. And while lavish homes
and lifestyles have been frowned upon by pope Francis, the Christian Right of
America clings to the advantages of capitalism with a fevered grip: extravagant
estates, cars and expensive jewelry are "gifts" from God never to be
questioned. Greed has been replaced by "belief" (as in "Word of
Faith") and the outward show of "belief" is prized above all
else.
Where Jesus Christ's poor is in all this "belief", however, is
another matter.
James 2:1-4 (ESV)
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
The struggle to paint Jesus - as a capitalist totally against shared wealth can get pretty thin - ergo WND's argument:
"Someone in the crowd said to Him [Jesus Christ], 'Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.' But He said to him, 'Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?'"In just one verse, we see that God rejects the left-wing "Jesus Christ supported socialism" heresy. When Jesus was asked to support redistribution of wealth -- to tell one brother to share the family inheritance with the other -- Jesus refused.
Did Jesus actually refuse to support "distribution of
wealth"? Refusing to be a judge is not refusing to support, but
WingNutDaily advocates would have you think otherwise. For every
"capitalist" verse, there are a dozen verses supporting the poor and
championing compassion.
Blessed Be The Bling
As religion may be considered the opiate of the masses, bling might be
considered the opiate of the needy and greedy. Consider this: the trappings of
wealth signify release from need, the big sigh after winning the lottery,
realizing that the one thing you worried about all your life - money - was no
long a worry. Every diamond ring, every luxury car, signifies that the owner is
not in need. And the easiest way to achieve that sublime status of non need is
through greed.
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