Explain:A. How Human Greed and Selfishness is to blame for World Poverty.B. What can inspire some Christians to Care for the Needy.
Chris Doyle 10tx
R.S. Coursework Assignment 2001:
) Explain:
A. How Human Greed and Selfishness is to blame for World Poverty.
B. What can inspire some Christians to Care for the Needy.
Poverty can be defined as the state of a person who cannot satisfy his own basic needs. Firstly, the term can be applied only to people who lack the needs that are 'necessary for survival', and secondly, it can be applied to those who lack needs that 'reflect the standard of living among society in general'.
The first meaning of poverty would refer to people who are starving, the second to those who have basic necessities but lack the extra comforts and conveininces that those around them enjoy.
To the people who spend their whole lives in poverty, and have no way to tackle it, it is a way of life. They are used to the lack of clean water and high energy/protein food, malnutrition and thirst are just there, although this does not stop it from causing pain and death. Secondary schools, telephones, civil rights and political freedom are simply not present in Third World countries where poverty is strife. The per capita income of a poor country normally means that the country has no money for treating the dying, let alone the immunisation of infants, leading to short life expectancy.
In a rich country like Britain, all of the indicators of human well-being that people in poor countries have no access to, are had by at least 99% of the population.
The reasons why certain countries are rich and others are poor, creating poverty, are varied. The richest countries in the world are mainly in the "west": the USA, Great Britain, France and Germany. Oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia have acquired funds simply from extracting "black gold" and selling it to the countries of the west. Normally, a country is rich because of its geography and history. Although even a country that is perfectly placed must have a history of greed to obtain and maintain wealth and comfort.
Geographically, the natural resources and climate often form a driving force behind the wealth of a nation (Japan being an exception in that it has hardly any natural resources and has made its money through technology.) Historically, a country's past shapes its development technologically and socially.
A good comparison between rich and poor, using geography and history as catalysts that display how rich and poor came to be, is with Europe and Africa. Europe is a relatively small continent and under Roman rule, which brought the continent stability, knowledge and a common goal, along with intelligent leadership and the birth of true human rights, Europe flourished. Geographically, Europe was almost perfect; with a balanced climate that easily supported the Roman Empire. Science, technology and power brought the continent wealth, which it has greedily held on to throughout history.
Africa, however, before being explored by Europeans, had no principle of central government and was fragmented into tribes and clans, constantly warring against each other and with no common goal. The climate is hot, dry and useless at supporting most crops, the people have had no methods for extracting the country's minerals and people there have always scraped a living.
This probably makes Europeans sound like the saviours of a continent in turmoil, but in colonising Africa, Europeans behaved as they always have, greedily. To keep themselves rich, Europeans looted and plundered native wealth in the places they colonised and from 1500AD onwards, the resources and peoples of South America, Africa and some places in the Far East have been exploited by those who were 'better off'. Through this, the manipulation of poor countries has made sure that they remain poor and created poverty as we know it today.
Part of this exploitation was the Slave Trade, ...
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This probably makes Europeans sound like the saviours of a continent in turmoil, but in colonising Africa, Europeans behaved as they always have, greedily. To keep themselves rich, Europeans looted and plundered native wealth in the places they colonised and from 1500AD onwards, the resources and peoples of South America, Africa and some places in the Far East have been exploited by those who were 'better off'. Through this, the manipulation of poor countries has made sure that they remain poor and created poverty as we know it today.
Part of this exploitation was the Slave Trade, which took natives from all over the world to plantations in the Americas, this practice was only formally abolished in 1863 (140 years ago.) As the strongest and best workers were taken to work for no pay and in harsh conditions, the remaining community developed slowly, and creating a lack of proper industry and development.
Without industry and proper manufactured goods, poverty-ridden countries in the south cannot develop to the level of rich countries in the north, without developing to the level of the north; the south cannot afford to buy expensive goods to help them develop. This constant, vicious circle keeps the rich countries rich and the poor countries poor.
The small amount of money that poor countries actually produce mainly goes towards the unpayable debt that most poor countries owe to the richer countries after taking out huge loans in the 1960's and 1970's. Most countries in debt produce only slightly more or just equal Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.) to their debt arrears. In Liberia, for example the G.D.P. per person is $843, the debt per person is $701.
One problem with poor countries is that sometimes a main beneficiary of money produced is not the people who work for the money, but their corrupt "leaders." Recently, Mr Estrada, the former president of the Philippines was thrown out of his presidential palace by his ex-supporters and the army for corruption, gambling, drinking; just about every non-violent crime possible. The Philippines are not the poorest country in the world, but are definitely not rich.
Lack of almost every basic foundation for the creation and maintaining of wealth and healthy living, also means that funds are not available for the purchase of expensive "western" medicines and medical services. Without these medicines, people living in poverty often die from treatable diseases.
The Bible contains many individual excerpts, stories and speeches that could inspire Christians to care for the needy. Jesus' teachings, the prophets' denunciations and the apostles' sayings all contain references to poverty and suffering.
Jesus said "those who feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty and clothe the naked" would go to the Kingdom of God, because they were doing it for him also. Today, this translates into helping the less fortunate in life by giving them food, drink and the possessions essential to live a relatively painless life. Jesus also said that those who do not "feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty and clothe the naked" would be "cursed", would receive "the eternal fire" and be sent to "eternal punishment". Today's equivalent is the state of poverty among some of the World's population, according to Jesus, if we do not help to alleviate the situation and allow the poor people of the World life with dignity. Some people say that there is no reason to help the poor, after all, it's their own money, that they worked for, they didn't work for it to give it all to some poverty-ridden person in Africa, but this is not true. If people spend their whole lives working to receive riches and pleasures, they are not one with God, for "no-one can serve two masters". The rich man could not inherit eternal life, because he would not sell what he had and give to the poor, Christians today should learn from this, "how hard it is for one with riches to enter the Kingdom of God!"
The Apostles taught that Christians are "of one heart and soul" and therefore, all wealth should be shared equally; Barnabas "sold a field that belonged to him" and brought the money to the Apostles "and laid it at their feet", and Barnabas was blessed. On the other hand, Ananias and Sapphira "sold a piece of property" but only brought part of the money to the Apostles. After this, both died instantly.
According to Deuteronomy, "You shall open your hands wide to your brother, to the needy, to the poor," in fact, a Christian should "open his hands wide" to everyone who is in need. Whether a Christian helps a person in need should not depend on sex, colour or creed, and as those in poverty are in constant need, then Christians should try constantly to help them.
During Christianity's (relatively) short history, there have been many figures and groups of people who have helped the poor and fed the hungry. Their acts of some of these people have inspired other Christians to strive to help others.
Although widespread feeding of the hungry has only become practicable through recent technological developments, caring for the sick and dying has been commonly practised throughout history. Since Jesus' teachings, some Christians have dedicated their lives to helping the poor, following the example of the Apostles themselves.
One example of a group of people who helped the poor and sick are The Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. The order originated in the Eleventh Century as a monastic brotherhood who cared for the needs of pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land. Eventually, the brethren of the Order began to serve as medics. Even after being forced off their island home of Malta, some of these organisations have rededicated themselves to the charitable work. The order's dedication and bravery can be an example to all Christians.
Monasteries and nunneries have always provided for the poor, especially the hungry, although some specialise in treating the sick.
Christian governments normally try to provide for the poor through publicly funded schemes (such as the welfare system in this country) and are often forgotten when thinking of people who have helped the poor. During the time of Martin Luther and the Reformation of the middle ages in Germany, the people of Wittenburg had a "common chest" inside the church. The donations of the citizens of the town went towards the poor.
Some Christian movements have worked inspirational acts of helping the poor. The social gospel movement (19th century) believed that the whole world must be saved for any one person to be saved and no individual should endure unnecessary pain or hardship. Also, the "Liberation Theology", an idea originating from Latin America in the late 1960's sprouted from three separate beliefs all centred on the fact that people had been oppressed and that this was not right; the Latin American belief is that they have been exploited and left in poverty by rich capitalists. With some European, but some Marxist roots, the Liberation Theologists have sometimes tried to achieve their overall goal of equality through the barrel of a gun. This goes to show that there can be negative as well as positive inspirations for Christians.
There are some more modern examples of inspirational Christians. Public personalities such as Mother Teresa and her Nuns and well-advertised charity organisations such as Christian Aid, who target people emotionally are often very successful in inspiring (not only) Christians to help the poor.
In today's modern culture, characters who are often seen to be helping others for whatever reason are sometimes seen as saintly figures who other people and Christians try to imitate, people like Bob Geldof, Princess Diana and recently, Craig Philips (the winner of the Big Brother television show who donated his winnings to a very ill girl.) This sort of care for the needy is not, however, simply a Christian idea, as inspired people from other religions can do just as much work to care for the needy.
2) "Charity begins at home"
Dou you agree? Discuss fully, showing that you have considered more than one point of view.
The phrase "charity begins at home" is a proverb dating back to the late 14th century, and can be interpreted in two opposite ways.
Firstly, the phrase can be aimed at people who display themselves as great supporters of charity and all-round helpful citizens, but are completely different at home and to their family. On the other hand, the phrase can be said by those who only care about themselves/their family/the area in which they themselves live.
For a Christian to agree with the phrase, they would have to agree with two contradicting ideas. In considering "charity begins at home" a Christians is asked, 'should Christians only be concerned with their only family and friends?' or 'should Christians be concerned with the rest of the world as well?'
The bible says that Christians should 'feed the hungry', 'give drink to the thirsty', and 'clothe the naked' and whenever a Christian does these things to anyone he/she does it to Jesus himself. Therefore Christians should do their utmost to help everyone. Also, Christians can only show their love for God if they show their love for everyone.
The Bible actually targets this topic almost directly. In the Old Testament, the Lord says "The wealthy...ill treat the poor...so I will turn my anger loose on them." Furthermore, The Bible tells us to feed the hungry and that all of mankind will be saved by Jesus, not just the wealthy, therefore, we should help our poorer brothers and sisters all over the world, not just on our porch.
Some people would argue that if Christians have been told to help everyone, then they should first help those close to them as this is 'helping one's neighbour.' The Good Samaritan helped the wounded traveller, whom he had never met before and would not have done the same for the Samaritan in opposite circumstances. The Samaritan is viewed as an example of how Christians should act, because of this; Christians should help everyone, just like the Good Samaritan.
Christians are told to help their neighbours, but who is a neighbour? Jesus said that it is not who you are, but what you do that defined you as a neighbour "Which one...acted like a neighbour" and that we should treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves, meaning that the more we help, the more help we will receive if we are ever to need it. Christians who say "charity begins at home" could support it by saying that if they help those around them because when they need help themselves, it will reach them much faster an easier than if it comes from the other side of the world. This view, however is very selfish and not in itself Christian; a Christian should help people because it is the right thing to do, a Christian should not only help people so that they will receive help themselves.
Christians who say to a person "charity begins at home" and are meaning to tell that person to be more amicable to their friends and relatives could not disagree with the phrase, because in saying it, they are trying to help the friends and relatives of the person to whom they are addressing it. If a Christian is intending to help someone through the use of an obscure and often misunderstood phrase, then no other Christian could disagree with that.
