Rich People can be holy easily; it is hard to be wealthy and a Christian. To be a real Christian you have to be able to loose money in any situation. Once getting past this Wealthy people can enjoy being Christians. To be a Christian; rich or poor, you cannot love money enough to break the 10 commandments.
With reference the various Christian church teachings they mainly agree with this statements. This is backed up as many collections as in church many collections are taken place, sponsor programs and donations ; all of which need money important.
Sections A (ii)
Over the years the world has become a very complicated place. And because of this it has become a very ‘ split up’ place. There are developed countries like the U.K and the U.S.A, there are developing countries like the Philippines and there are less developed countries like Sierra Leone.
Most people would want all countries in the world to develop but this is difficult because there are many factors which hinder this Motive.
One of the main factors is Free trade and all trading prices, companies and organisations like the world trade centre mainly employ big companies who work in developed countries producing a lot of goods such as crops. He world trade centre does particularly care for a small working farmer in a developing country, for he only produces a tiny amount of crops. This means that small businesses and farmers are paid a small amount if the WTC feel like it. Therefore this small cry cannot develop.
When developing countries such as Mozambique are hit by drought they are intensely given aid such as food and water by a large developed country. Unfortunately this put the country in Debt. The only way they can pay it back is by reducing certain things such as crops and schooling. As a result the country can never develop.
This is also the case with war. Developed countries will offer aid to support a dying country, but it comes to a price to pay, which is impossible to pay for. Hence the country unfortunately cannot develop.
But there are ways by which these ‘stuck’ developing countries can be helped and get of there problems. Organisations such as Cafod, and Jubilee 2000 try to do this.
Firstly Cafod runs a Trade Justice Campaign. This campaign tries to force WTC and other companies to pay small businesses from developing countries the right amount of money they deserve for their produce/crop. This way, they will have a chance of developing further.
Cancellation of debt will also be a good way of helping these countries develop. But this would up to the World Bank.
Jubilees 2000 is also another organisation which aims to help these developing and less developing countries. It is a global campaign to cancel the unplayable debts of the world’s poorest countries. In Britain Jubilee 2000 is a Coalition of 100 organisations including Cafod. Nearly 37 countries in Africa owe a total of 400 Billion Dollars either the world’s wealthiest countries or the World Bank. The world’s wealthiest countries are; Japan, U.S.A, G.B, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy. Collectively they are known as the G7 but together they have the power to cancel debts. So all developed countries who have debts are in the hands of those countries. But there are so many other examples of companies that help in the fight for world development. Such as fair-trade who correlate with small businesses and sell their producing and giving them the profit. Even the simple collection of money in church can make a difference. Money needed has to be raised by the public. Speakers are the people that persuade them. So five-minute talks in a school hall can also make a difference. Also special programs like sponsored runs etc. can raise a lot of money and can be given to the various charities.
Section A (iii)
For this section I have chosen a charity agency called Cafod.
Cafod is a major British charity that has been fighting third world poverty since 1962. Here is quote from Cafod,
‘We believe that all human beings have a right to dignity and respect and that the world’s resources are a gift to be shared by all men and women, whatever their race, nationality or religion.’
Cafod are an agency that obviously are working for world development. So here are their specific aims: -
They want to work in the world’s poorest countries improving education, skills training, health care, safe water and agricultural + small businesses development.
They want to provide emergency aids
They want to analyse world under development and find out how to improve it.
They want to run campaigns to improve the amount of money they raise to improve their work.
They want to educate the people of England and Wales of the underdevelopment of third world countries.
And obviously all these acts taken by Cafod drastically help in the aim for world development.
Cafod are a Christian organisation so they have values that inspire their work; these are: -
- Compassion
- Partnership
- Stewardship
By following these simple aims Cafod have become one of the most successful development agencies.
Whenever providing help such as technology they want it to be useful e.g. wells. But also they want it to be sustainable technology. This is where the person they were giving it to will be able to fix it themselves.
An example of Cafod’s work is the Aids dilemma in Africa. They have got involved enough to help a lot but to destroy the dignity of the person. They can provide more support to the person and family. They also provide money if needed. They mainly support the community as much as possible reducing the suffering. They could also provide education about the risks and causes of Aids HIV.
Also an agency like Cafod reflects the different ways a person/individual can fulfil their social duties.
A person can donate money to Cafod through their different campaigns. They can sponsor a child or animal.
A person could even be a volunteer worker for Cafod either working on the field or with campaigns as a speaker or just paper / finical work.
Section (B)
Some people might be inclined to think that Yes, there should be no rich people as long as there is poverty in the world. The bible has several stories Illustrating the corrupt nature of wealth. And some Christians believe in these passages.
One passage that illustrates this particular belief is the story of the rich young man Mk 10:17-31. The rich young man has tried his to do his best to follow the ways of God. He asks Jesus what can he do now. Jesus replies,
‘Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor’
In return to this the young rich man face fell,
‘He went away sad because he had great wealth’
This passage clearly shows that being Christian and rich is hard. As Jesus said,
‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God!’
But Jesus here did not say it was impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
In my own opinion Christianity does involve a lot of sacrifices. And obviously hard for a person to act as a Christian fully if deep down they would prefer money.
But some other people might be inclined to disagree with this statement. After all these teaching s are only relevant in Jesus’ time. The world today is a different place. The economy is different and our society has different views on religion.
Anyway if all rich people gave up their money to the poor all it would do would reverse the fortune and world would be back to square one.
People with money are important because they provide a lot of employment and they also have the means to help people in need. Communism, an equal community has been tried and tested. It does not work. Also our society today is different. It costs a lot to survive in this world. Debt, food, tax and transport are some of the many examples. And finally it is not Jesus’ responsibility to care for the poor, it is the job of the government to provide services and care for its community.
Finally some people/Christians might not say yes or no but maybe. They are inclined to say this because mainly it is not about how rich the Christian is, it is about their attitude towards their money and religion. So a person like the rich young man Mk 10 17-31 who cannot part with their money are bad Christians. But a person who does not care particularly for their money but spend it in a responsible manner is a good Christian.
A parable that illustrates this is Timothy chapter 6: 3-10
‘For love of money is a root of all kind of evil’
‘But if we have food and clothing we will be content.’
So here Jesus has said that having money is fine if it helps you survive, but not being able to live without it is unchristian.
