Religion, Poverty and Wealth
GCSE Philosophy and Ethics Coursework
Religion, Poverty and Wealth
Describe the teachings of the religion which you are studying about the way in which believers should treat people who are less fortunate than themselves.
Christianity has many teachings to do with the treatment of others. Christians are taught that caring for people less fortunate than themselves (e.g. poorer) is not a choice, but a responsibility. Throughout the Bible there are numerous examples of how people should treat each other. It is a very important theme of the Bible.
"'The most important [commandment],' answered Jesus, 'is this: "...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." The second is this: "Love your neighbour as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these.'"(Mark 12:29 - 12:31)
The story of the Good Samaritan in the Bible shows that loving your neighbour is important no matter how different they are to you. It tells the tale of a man who is robbed and left for dead. A Priest notices him as he is walking by, but crosses to the other side of the road. Then a Levite did the same. Finally a Samaritan saw him and took pity on him. The Samaritan bandaged up the man's wounds, put him on his donkey and took him to an Inn to take care of him. The next day the Samaritan left, but before doing so, he paid the innkeeper to care for the man. Jesus taught that the Samaritan was the best neighbour.
Christians believe that God's final judgement of them will be based on whether or not they helped the deprived. The Bible says in The Sheep and the Goats that God will "separate the people one from another" and welcome those who have helped the poor into heaven. Anyone who refused to help the less privileged will be sent away to Hell, for God said "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Jesus taught his followers that they should take care of one another. The very first Christians ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Christians believe that God's final judgement of them will be based on whether or not they helped the deprived. The Bible says in The Sheep and the Goats that God will "separate the people one from another" and welcome those who have helped the poor into heaven. Anyone who refused to help the less privileged will be sent away to Hell, for God said "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
Jesus taught his followers that they should take care of one another. The very first Christians supported each other and ensured they were all equal. And they did not just help and give to their fellow Christians, but to others too, just as Jesus had instructed.
"All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need." (Acts 2:44 - 2:45)
Because there is so much responsibility for Christians to care for the poor, the issue of money and how much one should have is a big issue. The Bible teaches that money can be a good thing, so long as it is used sensibly. Christians believe that money is a gift from God, and must be used wisely so to create goodness.
However, lots of people believe that, because of the recent success of the national lottery, becoming rich is a main aim in life. This goes against Christian teaching. The Bible tells you to, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13.5). This tells Christians that whilst fortunes come and go, God will always be there for you.
Christians do not believe that having money is bad; they think the love of money is bad. Despite this, it does say in the Bible that it is quite hard to get into heaven if you are rich.
"It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." (Luke 18:25)
The eye of a needle was a narrow gate in Jerusalem, through which it is quite difficult, although not impossible, for a loaded camel to pass. As long as rich people use their money wisely (e.g. give to charities) and are not selfish, they should be allowed into heaven.
The Old Testament has many views and teachings about money and caring for the poor, many of which are very similar to the beliefs of today's Christians.
"Do not ill-treat foreigners who are living in your land. Treat them as you would a fellow Israelite and love them as you love yourselves. Remember that you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt."
This is very similar to the commandment "love your neighbour as yourself", and is trying to promote equality between people.
Another passage in The Old Testament reads "Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear."
This is very comparable to the Parable of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25:35 - 25:36, where God is speaking on judgement day.
Although the main ideas of the treatment of others are virtually the same, there are some slight discrepancies between the beliefs of the different churches.
For example, members of the Catholic Church believe that there is no division between the religious and the material world. At the end of the day it is all God's. They believe that "God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them." They also believe that "Rich nations have a grave moral responsibility towards those which are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves."
Baptists are very much in favour of programmes which help poorer people. They believe that unfair trading by the more powerful countries, like Britain, is averting the economic development of poor countries.
Methodists also believe there should be fairer trade, and that international debts should be cancelled. They feel that Christians have a duty to assist those in need, especially after natural or man made disasters.
A recent development concerned with the issues of equality for all people is Liberation Theology. This is a belief that followers of Jesus' teachings should take positive action to fight against governments' exploitation of power. Both the Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches have followers of the idea. Liberation Theology is particularly popular with priests in Latin America, Africa and Asia. If these followers believe the law to be treating people in an unjust, un-Christian way, they feel it is their duty to dispute and, in some extreme cases, break the law.
"The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed."
Grace Anderson 11 IS
GCSE Philosophy and Ethics Coursework Part One