Family Research Council: Christians should not want the government to care for the poor

[nitasee]

“The government has a responsibility to care for the poor? That’s not what Scripture says"

The Family Research Council has some interesting ideas about Christianity and poverty.

Last month, FRC senior fellow Kenneth Blackwell said there was “nothing more Christian” than kicking 4 million people off food stamps, and FRC head Tony Perkins echoed his

Comments

[seishin]

Have these people even read the fracking Bible? O_o

[schexyschteve]

Probably not. Or at least not the entire thing. They just pick the parts that apply to their needs.

[rkt]

someday, i'll write a book about how 400-500 years ago, people didnt read the bible because they literally couldn't - no access (thank god for the printing press..) and no literacy (in the spoken language or the ancient language of most then-bibles)

today - people just plain don't fucking read it and intentionally read hate between the lines.

[chasingtides]

Not to be pedantic, but to pedantic: While 1450 marked the Gutenburg printing press, glorious machine that it was, literacy rates were not at the stunning lows so many modern people assume before 1450. The printing press did not magically make everyone learn to read. Literacy rates in medieval England for example - especially if we're talking English basic reading comprehension and not Latin literacy, not the ability to write, not the ability to construct complex language forms - were fairly high. And plenty of people, even those not able to read Latin, memorized the Bible anyway.

I'd argue that they were illiterate and knew the Bible better than these jokers.

[simply_blah]

These people want it both ways. They want the US to be "Christian" but they don't want to follow through with it. You help the poor. You don't judge. You treat others as you want yourself to be treated.

[mercystars]

are these the same bunch who wanted to rewrite the new testament because jesus was too liberal?

[tsaraven]

Of course they don't want the (bad) government to do it, because they believe private charity can help everyone. Except that it doesn't. I will never understand how they balance a religion that says everyone is born a sinner and is easily tempted to do bad things, yet everyone will always magically step up and do the right thing without a government playing a parent role to make them. I read multiple right-wing Christian friend-of-friends on fb say that the government monuments should not be run by the government and that Americans who just love their country enough would volunteer to clean and maintain them (and offer volunteer security as well?). Funny how they never extend this boundless optimism to not having jails because people will just do the right thing and not break the law!

[angelus7988]

Let's be honest, the reason conservatives would rather have poverty be handled by private charities is because charity, unlike taxes, are not mandatory.

[darth_eldritch]

This

And their charity quite frankly sucks. It's nothing but beans and rice for the poor and boot straps the rest of the way.

And, oh, the strings attached. Get involved with the church that helped you.

[tsaraven]

An anti-welfare friend-of-a-friend insisted that churches would just help me pay my bills and get me kitchen appliances (I mentioned that my oven had been broken for a year) and I emailed the richest local church I know of to humor her. They never wrote back, surprise surprise.

[magli]

Yeah, Jesus hated poor people.