The Overriding Duty

For a nation whose leaders frequently invoke their belief in the Bible, curious indeed is how the political rhetoric ignores the overriding duty of the New Testament to care for the poor. "Sell all that though hast, and distribute unto the poor" for "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Jesus said those who believe must sacrifice for the poor; we sacrifice for the rich at the expense of the poor.
~ from Free Lunch by David Cay Johnson ~

Let me just start off by saying that this is not a religious book -- it deals with economic policy. That said, I think Johnson makes an excellent point. The Bible seems to indicate one thing, but so many of its followers head in the opposite direction!

I realize that the Bible is malleable; it can be made to support almost position under the sun. Pacifists claim it supports their position, while warhawks claim it supports theirs. Some people say the Bible paints a picture of Jesus as being tantamount to a communist revolutionary, while others consider such a belief to be pure blasphemy.

But there are some points that appear to me to be abundantly clear. The passage that Johnson cites would seem to fall into that category and yet, the people who are the most rabid Bible believers tend to be the very same people who celebrate wealth and denigrate and oppress the poor!

This illustrates one of my many beefs with Christianity, in specific, and religion, in general. Adherents so zealously defend their belief system -- often as being the words and sentiments of their god -- yet they concurrently disregard its precepts whenever they deem it convenient.

In this case, if you believe that the Bible is the word of the Christian God and he demands that you look out for the poor, what does it say about your so-called beliefs if you choose willfully to ignore him? What does it say about your supposed fear of the almighty, if you promote policies and laws that, in essence, thumb their nose at his mandates?

Why is it that, when it comes to issues like homosexuality or abortion, fundamentalist believers quote book, chapter and verse to show that these things are abominations, yet when it comes to the poor and destitute, they basically throw their sacred book out the window?

What gives?