This is verbose, sorry. Read it if you like, just take a chill pill first.
Hi Becky,
I agree with many of Mr. Moore’s premises, with one major core, critical point: Jesus NEVER taught that the acquisition of wealth was evil. What he did teach was that money cannot be treated as a god before God. To do so is breaking the First Commandment. Jesus also teaches that it is the responsibility of the person, especially the rich person, and not the government, to take care of the needy. Allowing the government to usurp the privilege of the Church to care for the needy has been one of the great spiritual tragedies of the 20th century. The only class of people that Scripture teaches the Hebrews to support by tax dollars were the Levites, so that they may fulfill their responsibility of tending those things Holy.
Everyone else was expected to work. There is no ambiguity here.
Even when the original Apostles who shared everything to enable each other to share the Good News, did so ONLY with those called to ministry in the 2nd Chapter of Acts and forward. The Second Chapter of Acts is so often miss-represented as a mandate for universal Communism, which couldn’t be further (in degree), or farther (in distance) from the truth. In other words, if one is called to the ministry, then he should be willing to sacrifice everything. If called to be wealthy, be wealthy with good stewardship and a humble, serving heart. Job was among the richest men of his time, yet God called him righteous.
Job chapter 1 verse 8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
He was among the wealthiest of his time, then was tested, and then made wealthy again, with God showering upon Job even more wealth than before his tribulation.
The key to remember is that it is not right to force somebody else into “charitable” behavior against his will. In fact, it is anathema. Rather, we should teach our kids that the Christian is a giving person, not a taking person, especially when taking from someone unwilling to give. It makes the “giver” a sinner because of his hardened heart, and it makes the “taker” a sinner for being prideful and not relying on the Holy Spirit for his needs.
I think that Mr. Moore has many valid points (especially regarding international corporations), and if everybody would just quit arguing long enough to realize that it isn’t our form of economic exchange that is faulty (after all, it created the greatest economic engine the world has ever seen, and the only society ON EARTH where “rags to riches” is a reasonable expectation). It is, rather, the immoral perpetuators of a rotten, stinking, international banking and monetary industry that has erupted out of the ashes of the reforms occurring after the last great crash.
So, when I’m made king, I’ll outlaw all this oligarchial nonsense , fix (set permanently) our funds rate (or (gasp!!!) transition back to the Gold Standard), outlaw: hedge investing, currency value trading, international banking, governmentally forced loaning to credit unworthy individuals, individuals buying any asset without 30% down, deficit spending for any reason except war, and then only for arms, and a whole bunch of other crap.
Most of all, everybody pays taxes under the law according to Dan. No exceptions, no bitching. Then, everybody has a stake in governmental efficiency.
Last,
Foreclosures up? Good. It weeds out the bad debt. (and yes, that includes me if the other shoe falls. I should have been more responsible with my money)
No health insurance and under 40 with no pre-existing condition? Tough s**t. You can buy it with a 5K deductible (even a 1K) for your whole family for barely over $200 per month. This type of uninsured person should do this: sell the $20,000 car, the entertainment system, and the deer lease and grow up a little………..geeze!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. My best car is worth $5000.
Sick? Can’t work? Really? Then let’s help you out with what you need. It’s only right to do so as a society. This applies to less than 5% of the US population. BUT, if you can work, then get thyself a job and quit sponging off of the rest of us. Sorry if all you can do is sack groceries. Do it a while and you’ll learn to stock, then manage an aisle, then a department, then a store, and so on. Sarah made $6K in 40 work days waiting tables. There just isn’t an excuse to not make money.
Last of the last, it would curl most people’s hair if they knew how much Caron and I have given to charity. Fact: Who are the most giving Americans according to the most recently available IRS data as a percentage of income? Mississippians (also the lowest per capita income State in the Union, hmmmm). Who are the least giving? You guessed it, Northeasterners and Californians. Kind of makes me think, it is always easier to spend other people’s money than to pony up and spend one’s own dough to help the needy. Obama gave less than 1% of his income to charity before 2006. Compare that to his predecessor. Even acknowledging his weaknesses, Bush was, for his whole life, a cheerful, charitable giver of his own money to those in need.
If Mr. Moore really wants to make a difference, he might consider a documentary on the 250,000 plus missionaries throughout the world who work for nothing but the thrill of serving a Holy God, and who have built countless towns, schools, wells, clinics, etc. all on private funds (from the cheerful giver). Until then, if Mr. Moore wishes to invoke God into his discussions then he should absolutely feel free to do so, but, he really ought to consider a Bible 101 class, or something, so he doesn’t continue to make himself look like such an uneducated ahmmm…, well, commenter.
Just my thoughts, I agree with so many things with you and John, but the enemy is not the economic exchange system of the month, rather, it is the consolidation of power into the hands of a few. History clearly dictates that when this happens, free societies fail, then fall.
My favorite quote is:
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States when men were free. RR
Freedom in America is, unfortunately, on the ropes. The knockout punch is coming not from Repubs or Demos, Capitalists or Communists, but international authoritarians. It will come with such ferocity that all that we have known will be gone before we can lift a glove in defense, and we will pass the way of other great societies, smited by the bloated, corrupt rank and file citizenry who chooses to look the other way, into its Opra box, as its life is ripped from the American way. I have always found it puzzling to see people trample upon the Flag of our Fathers, who fought and died defending freedom, so that these same tramplers can have the right to trample upon the Flag of our Fathers.
Your loving Brother,
Dan
Sent: Monday, October 05, 2009 12:31 PM
To: dskarke1@comcast.net
Subject: Fwd: For Those of You on Your Way to Church This Morning ...a note from Michael Moore
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Michael Moore" <maillist@michaelmoore.com>
Sent: Sunday, October 4, 2009 3:50:43 AM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: For Those of You on Your Way to Church This Morning ...a note from Michael Moore
For Those of You on Your Way to Church This Morning ...a note from Michael Moore
Sunday, October 4th, 2009
Friends,
I'd like to have a word with those of you who call yourselves Christians (Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Bill Maherists, etc. can read along, too, as much of what I have to say, I'm sure, can be applied to your own spiritual/ethical values).
In my new film I speak for the first time in one of my movies about my own spiritual beliefs. I have always believed that one's religious leanings are deeply personal and should be kept private. After all, we've heard enough yammerin' in the past three decades about how one should "behave," and I have to say I'm pretty burned out on pieties and platitudes considering we are a violent nation who invades other countries and punishes our own for having the audacity to fall on hard times.
I'm also against any proselytizing; I certainly don't want you to join anything I belong to. Also, as a Catholic, I have much to say about the Church as an institution, but I'll leave that for another day (or movie).
Amidst all the Wall Street bad guys and corrupt members of Congress exposed in "Capitalism: A Love Story," I pose a simple question in the movie: "Is capitalism a sin?" I go on to ask, "Would Jesus be a capitalist?" Would he belong to a hedge fund? Would he sell short? Would he approve of a system that has allowed the richest 1% to have more financial wealth than the 95% under them combined?
I have come to believe that there is no getting around the fact that capitalism is opposite everything that Jesus (and Moses and Mohammed and Buddha) taught. All the great religions are clear about one thing: It is evil to take the majority of the pie and leave what's left for everyone to fight over. Jesus said that the rich man would have a very hard time getting into heaven. He told us that we had to be our brother's and sister's keepers and that the riches that did exist were to be divided fairly. He said that if you failed to house the homeless and feed the hungry, you'd have a hard time finding the pin code to the pearly gates.
I guess that's bad news for us Americans. Here's how we define "Blessed Are the Poor": We now have the highest unemployment rate since 1983. There's a foreclosure filing once every 7.5 seconds. 14,000 people every day lose their health insurance.
At the same time, Wall Street bankers ("Blessed Are the Wealthy"?) are amassing more and more loot -- and they do their best to pay little or no income tax (last year Goldman Sachs' tax rate was a mere 1%!). Would Jesus approve of this? If not, why do we let such an evil system continue? It doesn't seem you can call yourself a Capitalist AND a Christian -- because you cannot love your money AND love your neighbor when you are denying your neighbor the ability to see a doctor just so you can have a better bottom line. That's called "immoral" -- and you are committing a sin when you benefit at the expense of others.
When you are in church this morning, please think about this. I am asking you to allow your "better angels" to come forward. And if you are among the millions of Americans who are struggling to make it from week to week, please know that I promise to do what I can to stop this evil -- and I hope you'll join me in not giving up until everyone has a seat at the table.
Thanks for listening. I'm off to Mass in a few hours. I'll be sure to ask the priest if he thinks J.C. deals in derivatives or credit default swaps. I mean, after all, he must've been good at math. How else did he divide up two loaves of bread and five pieces of fish equally amongst 5,000 people? Either he was the first socialist or his disciples were really bad at packing lunch. Or both.
Yours,
Michael Moore
