BREITBART.COM - Edwards: Jesus Would Be 'Appalled'
Jesus would be appalled at our selfishness?!
Let us assume the premise of Edward's statement that Jesus despised poverty.
We must understand that Jesus discussed poverty in the context of Roman-controlled Palestine. The Jewish people were split in many different directions politically. Some were strong supporter's of Herod's then-new lavish temple. Some were offended by it. Some were supporters of the Romans. Some were not. Some were rich. Some were poor.
In a religious context, Jews were expected to follow strict rules as interpretted by the Rabbis and Priests based on Deuteronomy and Exodus. Being a good Jew meant watching dietary rules, female cleanliness, giving sacrifices at Temple, attending many religious observances, reciting set prayers.
Wealth was generated by the priests from these routine behaviors and became wealthy. The Romans gained wealth from a process of tax collection called "tax farming." Wealthy merchants made wealth by doing business, but were seen to be good Jews by follow pre-set practices without any compassion or personal regard for his fellow man.
Skip to today. Some wealthy gain wealth by being unscrupulous and destructive of others. Many wealthy build businesses that systematically provide for the food, shelter, clothing, and entertainment of the masses at low cost. Being wealthy in today's world is not easily connected back to the conditions of wealth and poverty in Jesus's era. He had no Wal-mart, no Shell Oil, no Toyota, no true republic to comment on.
How can Edwards or any critic of modern poverty speak credibly about what Jesus would think? More importantly, how can Jesus's observations be universally applied to all modernity. There is a difference between a person who gets rich from a Ponzi scheme (or a class-action lawyer that wins on questionable science) and a company delivering products and services sought by its customers.
