"So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets." In this assignment I will examine what Christians believe about their responsibilities for others.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Poverty Assignment

Matthew 6- “So when you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it, as the hypocrites do in the houses of worship and on the streets.”

In this assignment I will examine what Christians believe about their responsibilities for others. Firstly I am going to look at why Jesus and the bible are important. Next I will look at the Christian values and say where Christians get these values. I will then explain what Jesus taught about helping others and then say what the first Christians believed about sharing with others. I am then going to look at what the Roman Catholic Church teaches about helping others today and then give an example of a Christian organisation, which helps others and then I will briefly say what it does.

In the next part of my assignment I will give two examples of problems faced by people in developing countries and explain how Christians might apply their beliefs to these problems. In the final part of my assignment I will argue for and against the statement “Charity does not have the effect Christians want. It makes people lazy and keeps them poor.” I will then give my own opinions on the statement.

AO1

In this part of my assignment I am going to look at why Jesus and the bible are important for Christians. I will then look at the Christian values and then look at what Christianity teaches about helping others.

In Christianity, Jesus is important for various reasons. Jesus was the first Christian and without him Christianity would have never become a religion. Christians believe that Jesus is God’s revelation. One reason that Jesus is important to Christians is because they believe Jesus died to set the people of the world free from sin. This belief is called the redemption. Christians also believe that Jesus is the incarnation, this is that Jesus is fully man and fully God at the same time. This belief is often seen as a mystery of faith. Christians also believe Jesus to have authority because he is God. Some people do not believe that Jesus is important and this may be because of their faith.

The bible is important to Christians because they believe it is God’s word to the world. It is often said to be the word of God. Christians sometimes call the bible the Sacred Scripture. This means that it is unlike any other writing. The bible has special authority because it is said to be Inspired writing. This means that the people who wrote the gospels were inspired by God’s spirit.

Different Christian groups interpret the scriptures in different ways. There are a group of Christians that are known as ‘Fundamentalists’ or ‘Literalists.’ This group of Christians take every word of the bible to be the truth and they follow the teachings of Jesus very literally. In the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, the fundamentalists would believe that Jesus actually fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fish and then still had twelve baskets left over. The Catholic Church takes a critical approach to the bible and they believe parables like the feeding of the five thousand to have symbolic meanings rather than being the actual truth. The Catholic Church believes the feeding of the five thousand to be symbolic of the messianic feast and sharing. Although the Catholic Church does not believe the parables to be actual truth they still believe parables have authority.

Values are something that someone believes in and they are very important to that person. Christians take their beliefs from scriptures, tradition and Jesus’ teachings. The Ten Commandments are the basic rules of Christianity. Christians still believe many of the commandments are relevant today, for example ‘Do not kill’. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God. Although the Ten Commandments are very important to Christians they actually come from the religion of Judaism. The Beatitudes are another basic foundation of Christianity. Jesus gave these to his disciples at the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). The Beatitudes are ...

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In the parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25) Jesus taught that people should treat others, as they themselves would like to be treated. He said that those who help others would be greatly rewarded in heaven whilst those who look after no one but himself or herself will be treated as they treated others. This teaching could encourage Christians to take more of an interest in other people and to try and help whenever they see anyone in need of it.

In the story of The Widow’s Offering (Luke 21). Jesus teaches that those who have lots of wealth and riches and give very little but make a great show of it will not be regarded highly at the end of time. Jesus also taught that if you give all you have no matter how little it is, to help others you will be greatly rewarded at the end of time. These teachings are relevant for Christians today because they could influence them to give money to charity. It could also influence Christians to organise fundraising activities within their parishes.

1 Corinthians helped the first Christians to believe that they should try to help anyone that needed help because it said that all people were somehow joined together as one great body and that in order to survive everyone must help each other.

The letter of Faith and Actions by James encouraged the first to believe that actions speak louder than words and the only way to change anything in the world would be to act.

The Catholic Church believes that they must find what is the right thing to do through; what the bible teaches, what the bishops teach, our consciences and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Church has Catechisms, which teach about many aspects of life. The catechisms are the spirit of the commandments. One part of the catholic catechism, (1889) teaches that charity is the greatest social commandment. It respects others and their rights. Another catechism, (2443) which teaches that Catholics should help others, is that God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebuke those who turn away from them.

Some poor Christians in the developing countries of the world believe that the wealthier Christians have lost some of the beliefs and values that Jesus brought to the religion.

Christians have special organisations, which deal with helping the poor in the world. One such organisation is CAFOD, (the Catholic Fund for Overseas Development) which works to put the words of Jesus into action. It is a voice for the poor in the world. CAFOD’s aims are to, spread the Christian faith and its values and to reduce the effects of poverty. Cardinal Basil Hume said that the main aim of CAFOD was to bring love to the poor countries of the world.

CAFOD also helps people to help themselves. CAFOD’s slogan is ‘Give a man a fish and it will feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and it will feed him for life.’

CAFOD provide both long-term and short-term aid. An example of long-term aid is a project, which CAFOD has set up in the developing countries for example a community health care project in Kenya. An example of short-term aid would be famine relief.

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CAFOD has helped many different people in many different countries over the years.

The Staro Sajmiste ('Old Fair') is typical of some of the poor conditions that Roma people have to survive in. Under the elevated section of a motorway, one hundred and forty families exist in extreme poverty, living in cardboard and wood shacks that offer little protection against the harsh Serbian winters. Piles of cardboard lie neatly stacked around the settlement ready to sell to recycling firms - the main source of income for the families, which on earns them on average two hundred dinar over three days.

CAFOD has been working to support families in Staro Sajmiste to get access to clean water, treatment for illnesses and the basic necessities.

Another project, which CAFOD has set up, is teaching street children in Brazil skills that will help in the future. The children learn how to make lace, toys, brushes, flip-flops and puppets. They also learn how to embroider and screen print t-shirts.

CAFOD tries to help everyone that needs it and this is following the teachings of Jesus because that is exactly what Jesus tried to do.

An ordinary Christian can help with solving problems in the Third World in many ways. Christians can organise fundraisers with the proceeds going to the Third World. Christians can also make peaceful protests campaigning for the cancellation of Third World debt. Christians should pray for people in the third world. Christians could go overseas and help to educate and could help with manual work. Christians could also write letters to their local member of parliament asking about their parties’ stance on cancellation of third world debt.

A Christian MP should argue for more help for people in the third world and, depending on their parties views on the third world speak up in parliament for the cancellation of third world debt. A Christian MP should take an active role in organising fundraisers with the proceeds going to people in the third world. A Christian Mp should also try to argue the case for cancellation of third world debt with his or her constituents and then they will be able to plead their case in parliament, as they will have the backing of their constituents. A Christian MP could also argue to help other countries that are less fortunate than ours.

AO3

In this part of my assignment I am going to give arguments for and against the statement “Charity does not have the effect Christians want. It makes people lazy and keeps them poor.” I am then going to give my own opinions on the matter.

People who believe the statement is true would say that people in the Third World expect people in the developed world to send them money and give them aid. People who believe this statement to be false would argue that no one would want to stay poor and that people in the Third World are the same as anyone else in the world, and do not like to think that they are relying on others to help them live.

Another argument that people who support the statement would use would be the fact that charity does not work and this can be seen by the poverty in the world. People who are against the statement would say that they know that they will never be able to end poverty but they hope that through charity they will be able to reduce the effects of poverty. The effects of poverty that Christians hope to reduce are famine, disease and education. Christians believe this to be a reasonable aim.

Christians who are against the statement would say that the reason why the charity money is not having an effect in the Third World is because the governments of these countries are spending the money on arms and security. People who agree with the statement will say that it is up to Christians to make sure that all charity money goes directly to the people of the countries and not to their governments.

Christians can also prove that charity does not make people lazy through the projects of CAFOD. CAFOD has started a great many projects in the developing countries of the world. All of CAFOD’s projects are based on people helping themselves.

I believe that the statement “Charity does not have the effect Christians want. It makes people lazy and keeps them poor,” is wrong because I cannot believe that anyone would want to live in a place where there is no clean running water, no electricity and is rife with disease. I think that there should be a cancellation of Third World debt as this will give the people of the Third World a chance to prove that they are able improve their own living conditions with very little help from outside organisations.

I also believe that people should help others because in the parable of The Greatest Commandment (Mark 12) it says, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” Also in the bible there is a theme throughout which teaches us that everyone is equal to God. There are many parables, which teach us that we should help others and not discriminate them because they are poor. The parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25) tells us that at the end of time will be treated how we treat others. This parable should encourage Christians to believe that the statement “Charity does not have the effect Christians want. It makes people lazy and keeps them poor” is not the truth and that they should to try to help the unprivileged.