Friday, April 02, 2010
The churches and the U.S. Census
Lutheran Social Services of Central Ohio wants me to be sure to complete my Census form to bring much-needed federal dollars to help pay for community and social services (The Leader Newsletter, Spring, 2010). For every person not counted, Ohio could lose $12,000 over the 10-year census cycle we‘re told. Yes, Jesus was adamant about asking the government for money so we could “love our neighbor.”
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5 comments:
Will you be making a donation then to LSSCO so they can continue helping the needy? I don't remember Jesus saying anything about not taking government money, but there are plenty of verses about helping the poor. Also, LSSCO isn't the church. They are a not-for-profit organization.
Yes, we donate to LSSCO. Do you?
there is in literal truth absolutely nothing objectionable about the census in the USA, and you're correct that the Gospels are silent about the specific topic, as they are about a lot of things that didn't exist in 1st century Judea, like freeways, cheeseburgers, or Thomas Jefferson. Jesus and the apostles couldn't exactly count on the government for anything (except persecution. you could count on that), so it would be pretty non-sensical for Jesus to suggest any interaction with the adversarial state.
My point is this:
You seem like an otherwise nice and decent lady; you might do well to turn off the talk radio for a few days.
It's just so cute that liberal Christians think conservative Christians can't be informed by scripture, community life, reading history or common sense, and instead have to be plugged into a talk show in order to have a coherent, well thought out sense of right and wrong. Back to the Bible, my friend, for your definition of the poor, the weak, the hungry and those who need to hear and believe the Gospel. Turn off your current pastor and denomination, and do some of your own reading and research.
Much of my information comes from my education (Slavic studies, history, library science) and my 40 years as a Democrat watching billions and trillions thrown ineffectively at social programs.
Paul was very proud of his Roman citizenship and he wrote most of the NT. And you can see its influence in much of the formation of the early church--like family and order and submission to authority. But remember the poor Roman citizen did have the equivalent of today's entitlements--maybe not much by our standards, but they got entertainment and food, and they didn't work and didn't pay taxes (but could be conscripted). The Christians were to contribute their OWN wealth and PROPERTY to taking care of the poor among the various churches, not steal it from non-christians and redistribute it. What point would be admonitions about sharing if you were just taking it from others?
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