The churches view of poverty is fairly similar. Methodists believe we have a duty to help those in need be they either poor or suffering from a manmade or natural disaster. They also believe that debts on third world countries should be lifted.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches people to show a love for the poor. As everyone is the same in God’s eye, their rights need to be given attention. “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 19:19), teaches Catholics that they must express this love by protecting these people’s human rights. Overall they believe that we as a rich nation have a duty towards poorer nations and must show that.
As far back as the Old Testament people were taught to care for the poor and the punishment if they did not and to avoid exploiting them. “You must not lend him money with interest” (Leviticus 25:35). The gospel writers showed Jesus caring for the poor. Luke wanted to show that for Jesus the poor were as important as the rich. The Bible teaches it as impossible to be able to love God while ignoring the poor at the same time “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him.” (John 3:17).
The disciples of Jesus set a good example in the Bible as they were encouraged not to carry possessions and after Jesus’ death they sold everything that wasn’t essential and used the money to feed the poor. “They would sell their property and possessions, and distribute the money among all.” (Acts 2:45).
Many Christian leaders have been martyrs for the poor. Their actions and teaching helps to inspire other Christians. Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King devoted most of their life to helping others and we can see by the amount of people who grieved when they died the affect they had.
It is because of these reasons that Christians feel it is their duty to help those who are poor or in need of aid. People who try and base there life around either the Bible or Jesus or anyone who try’s to be a good Christian will learn that they need to be aware and help those in need.
Part 2
As well as looking at teaching followers of the religion put their ideas into practice. They do this because they know it is not enough to just pray for the poor, they need to help them physically. Because Christians feel they need to help the poor they join charities like CAFOD or get involved with politics. Christians have always been taught to give something to those who are worse off. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.” (Matthew 21:35-36)
Christians can either join or just give money or clothing to a charity. There are many different charities, the main ones being Christian Aid, CAFOD and TEAR Fund. As early as the Bible people have given money to charities. “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money” (Corinthians 16:2). God doesn’t worry if someone does not give the same amount of money as another; it is to do with the percentage of their wealth.
There are different ways for Christians to collect their money. Some Christians give money to the church wherever they go to the services. Some give money to the charity collecting boxes in shops or door-to-door collectors. Some Christians keep collection boxes and put money in it when they think of the poor. As well as giving, some work for a charity. This may include working at a charity stall or knitting clothes for Oxfam. Jesus taught that the size of the gift did not matter; it was the generous spirit behind the gift that mattered. “All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” (Luke 21:1-4).
If Christians want to give money to charities they usually give it to the main three. These organisations take the money given to them and use it to help people. Christian Aid, for example, uses the money it gets for development work, emergency relief, campaigning and educating people and other overseas work. Over 40 churches in the UK are part of it and its income is £40 million a year. The development work is the best choice as it helps the poor to help themselves.
Christians can either give part of their money to charity or dedicate their whole life to help those in need. Sir John Templeton, a former businessman who sold his business for $400 million gave away 10 per cent of everything he earned. He did this even at his poorest. This practice is known as tithing and some Christians do this as their way of helping the poor.
The other way is to give away all your wealth and possessions. The Iona community share in this idea. It is an island off the coast of Scotland where people come to live a simple life with no possessions other than those that are needed. The Iona Community also works in other places and lead protests. They also help other projects like their own. Some Christians choose this way of life to help the poor.
Christians can also get involved in politics. In this country we have a democratic government with elections and the right to free speech. This isn’t so in other countries. If Christians get involved in politics they can use their vote or opinions to influence our country’s policies on issues like poverty or Aids. Other Christians around the world cannot do this. Some of these other Christians use Liberation Theology. This is when a Christian decides to express their faith by using actions against the misuse of power and social injustice. “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives … to set free the oppressed”. (Luke 4:18).
One man who did this was Oscar Romero. Oscar Romero was a catholic who became Archbishop of El Salvador in 1977. At first he was quiet and did not get involved in politics. But when he witnessed a Priest being murdered for his views he changed from being on the side of the law. Eventually he was willing to die for his beliefs. “If I am killed I will rise again in the people of El Salvador.” (Oscar Romero). He started protests and preached his beliefs to soldiers. He was eventually murdered by soldiers when taking mass on the 24 March 1980. The people of Latin America look upon him as a martyr.
If Christians truly believe their teachings then they will do something to help people. Ultimately it does not matter how much money they have but the way they use it. “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (Timothy 6:9-10).
Part 3
“We should help people who are the same religion as we are but we need not bother about other people.”
There are both arguments for and against this statement. Some Christians believe we should only help those of the same religion because of reasons such as tradition, while other Christians believe we should help anyone who needs aid, as this is what Jesus did.
In the Old Testament early Christians were shown to have shared wealth amongst themselves and people of the same faith. Throughout the Bible there are examples of this wealth sharing taking place. “All the believers were together and had everything in common” (Acts 2:44-45). It is also the case that other religions have their own charities such as the Islamic charity Zakah If other religions can have their own charities then why can’t Christians?
But the Old Testament also taught people to be kind and acceptant to foreigners. At an extreme only giving to your faith can be seen as racist. The “Good Samaritan” is a good example of this. This story shows us that a Christian should show charity even to his/her worst enemy as the Good Samaritan did. Some Christians may believe that God made us all, and that we should all do our best to help one another no matter who we are or what faith we belong to. What religion we are does not matter, it isn’t relative to how much help we need from others.
Some Christians believe that there is not enough money to help everybody. If each religion helps only their members then the money will be used more fairly and put to better use. Some Christians do not give money to other religions simply because they are not Christians. They believe that because they are not Christians that they do not worship God or live a Christian life so should not get the money.
In the New Testament Jesus was shown to have helped sinners and others of different religions. He said “Love your neighbour as yourself” which shows his awareness of other religions. Some Christians believe that if they are to live a proper Christian life they must help those of all races it was God’s wish to help everyone in need. God never said to only help the poor who are Christians. “God blesses those who come to the aid of the poor and rebuke those who turn away from them” (Catechism of Catholic Church). All people are equal and made in God’s image so we should treat everyone as equals.
In conclusion, I disagree with the statement and think that anybody that needs help should be given it, I also believe that we should support as many charities as we feel the need to, as nobody would get anywhere if we were selective about whom we chose to help and whom we didn’t. This would not be a fair way to do things. All people are equal and made in God’s image so we should treat everyone as equals.
Bibliography
Christianity in Today’s World Ed. Sally Lynch
Beliefs, Values and Traditions Lovelace and White
The Bible
What the Churches Say
Christianity Sheet
What the Churches say sheet
Old testament quotes sheet
Today’s Issues and Christian Beliefs Danes
