Reply #23: Maybe they should be a little more "Christian" in their treatment of the poor:

[Lorien]

Matthew 16: And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

The people ask, "Why should we fast if the Lord never notices? Why should we go without food if he pays no attentions.

The Lord says to them, "The truth is that at the same time you fast, you persue your own interests and oppress your workers.

<snip>

"The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of opression and the yolk of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear. and do not refuse to help your relatives....

Isiah 58:3-7

"Evil men live among my people; they lie in wait like men who lay nets to catch birds, but they have set their traps to catch men. Just as a hunter fills his cage with bird, they have filled their houses with loot. That is why they are powerful and rich, why they are fat and well fed. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They do not give orphans their rights or show justice to the oppressed.

But I the Lord will punish them for these things;...

Micah 2:8-11

the Lord Almighty says "I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners - against all who do not respect me....

D. Greed and oppression of the rich and powerful.

Proverbs 22:16 "He that oppresseth the poor to increase his he that giveth to the rich, surely to want."

Proverbs 28:15 " a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; a wicked ruler over the poor people."

Amos 2:6, 7 "...they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek..."

Amos 4:1 "Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy..."

Amos 5:11, 12 "Forasmuch therefore as your treading upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate ."

Amos 8:4-6 "Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, ...falsifying the balances by deceit. That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; , and sell the refuse of the wheat?"


Proverbs 29
1 He who is often rebuked and stiffens his neck will be destroyed suddenly, with no remedy.

2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.


6 An evil man is snared by his sin, but the righteous can sing and be glad.

16 When the wicked increase, sin increases; but the righteous will see their downfall.

24 Whoever is an accomplice of a thief is an enemy of his own soul. He takes an oath, but dares not testify.



Money and Godliness

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For
we brought nothing into this world, and we can
take nothing out of it. But if we have food and
clothing we will be content with that. People who
want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap
and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some
people, eager for money, have wandered from
the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs.
But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance
and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take
hold of the eternal life to which you were called
when you made your good confession in the
presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God
who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus,
who while testifying before Pontuis Pilate made
the good confession. I charge you to keep this
command without spot or blame until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God
will bring about in His own time.-
God the blessed and only Ruler
1Timothy 6:6-15


Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a rush,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the LORD?

Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you,
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, "Here I am."

If you take away from the midst of you the yoke,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.

Isaiah 58:5-10, Revised Standard Version

"When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. efore him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.

"Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?'

"And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.'

"Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'

"Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?'

"Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Matthew 25:31-46, Revised Standard Version