He praised poverty and condemned wealth and possessions by saying. He said that it would be difficult for rich people to get into the kingdom of God for, “It is easier for the camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God.” He said this to a rich man who asked him what he should do to get eternal life. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. When the rich man said he had always done this Jesus replied: “You lack one thing. Sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.”- Mark 10:21-23
Judaism also teaches that wealth is a gift from God and is to be used both for yourself and others. The Tenakh makes it quite clear that a Jew can only make money in the correct way (one which keeps the mitzvot). Judaism teaches that humans are custodians and not owners of wealth.
Jews are expected to give one tenth of their income to the poor as tzedakah (charity or correctness). By giving money to the poor you are using money correctly and putting the poor back into their correct position in society, because in Judaism ‘Poverty is like death’- Talmud, Nedarim. God does not overlook anything and so Jews believe that they must use some of their money for a good cause.
Open your hand to the poor and your neighbours in your land who are in need- Deuteronomy 15:11
Judaism teaches that even someone who receives charity should, in turn, give to others less fortunate than themselves: Even a person who lives of Tzedakah should practice Tzedakah- Talmud, Gittin.
The Talmud states that Rabbi Eleazar used to give coin to a poor man and then say his prayers
because it is written, “I in righteousness shall behold thy face” (Psalm 17:15). This means when I am in righteousness by giving charity then I shall behold thy face, appear before you in a prayer.
This the basis for the custom of the charity box in the synagogue.
Jews believe that some of your wealth should go towards the poor. One should not reap all of their money for themselves but leave some for the poor.
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the edge of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor. Leviticus 19:9-10
Explain why there is a need for world development
From 1950 to around 1985 it was very common to think of our world being spilt up into three sections depending on the wealth of the country. There was the first world, consisting of mainly the western countries and the USA. There was the second world which consisted of the communist countries. Finally there was the third world which consisted of the poorest countries which were all the other countries other than the ones in the First and Second world.
The world of poverty is a very complex issue. Some countries, such as Brunei, Kuwait, and Singapore, were once regarded as third world countries but are now richer than the West. Others are not as rich as the West but are not poor. Now, the countries of the world are divided in three groups, economically developed countries (USA, and W.Europe), Developing countries (Brazil, Mexico and Malaysia) and less economically developed countries (Sudan, Bangladesh, Mali).
There are various reasons for lack of development. Many LEDCs have been badly affected by wars. In Africa many civil wars have been caused by European empire-building in the nineteenth century. Many African races were joined together into one country even though half the race was in a separate country. When these countries gained independence they were still artificial countries and one race was often badly treated by the more powerful race. This resulted in civil war. LEDCs can also suffer from wars between countries. E.g. Afghanistan has suffered from years of conflict and civil war.
Many LEDCs are situated in areas where they are vulnerable to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and droughts. Earthquakes and floods claim the lives and homes of thousands and the farmland on which the inhabitants depend are destroyed. This leaves people homeless and hungry. In hot countries there can be many days without rain and so they need a supply of water for their crops to grow.
Most LEDCs have to borrow money from the banks of developed countries to survive and begin to develop. However these banks charge interest so that a LEDC can find itself paying more in interest than they earn in a foreign currency. In 1990 the South paid $43 billion in interest repayments to the rich nations. This is three times more than the aid given to the poorer countries. The total debt of the LEDCs is now about $1.4 trillion. In order to pay these loans poor countries must cut public spending on such things as health, education, and food subsides. Many people have died due to these cutbacks demanded by the banks of developed countries. Campaigns have been held to let the LEDCs off the debt and progression has been made.
The only way many LEDCs can make enough money for their debts is to grow cash crops. Cotton, coffee, tea and tobacco are grown to sell to the developed world. Many people in the LEDCs are starving because land is being used to grow cash crops instead of food.
There are other factors contributing to world poverty: lack of education, lack of clean water, disease, low life expectancy leading to large number of children, replying on one export (copper, oil etc.) whose value may go down in the world market changing a country from rich to poor in almost one night.
World poverty concerns us all as we all depend on each other. e.g. If we want the Sudanese to grow cotton fro our clothes we must be prepared to make sure that the Sudanese have enough food.
There is a desperate need for world development. There is a world development report which reviews the situation but more has to be done to help these poorer countries. Developed countries must be prepared to help LEDCs to help the situation.
Analyse and explain the work of one religious agency working for world development
Supported and sustained by the churches and driven by the Gospel, Christian Aid is inspired by the dream of a new earth where all people can secure a better and more just future. Christian was first set up in 1945 under the name of Christian Reconciliation in Europe. This agency responded to the needs of refugees and churches in Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War. In 1949 it became an essential part of the British Council of Churches as the Department for the Inter-Church Aid and Refugee Service. It was involved with world refugee settlement and justice issues. It also worked closely with the World Council of Churches and the churches in the countries in the South. In 1964 the organisation changed its name to Christian Aid after its best known source of income, Christian Aid Week, which started in 1957. Since the reorganisation of the Council of Churches in 1991, Christian Aid has been a separate legal agency, but remains in close relationship with it.
Christian Aid's wants to expose the scandal of poverty and to contribute to its eradication. Christian Aid recognises that change will only come about as a movement is built of individuals who are committed to a better world for all. Christian aid has various different departments which are all working together in order to improve world development. They are holding a petition which aims to abolish the debts on poorer countries.
Christian Aid has been directly supporting Afghanistan for more than eight years. Years of conflict, civil war and drought had already taken their toll, devastating agriculture and reducing much of the population to near starvation. Christian Aid partners worked to bring emergency aid to those affected by drought and war. They raised more than £3 million due to Christian Aid's Afghanistan appeal. Christian Aid have worked closely with the UN's World Food Programme and will continue to provide support, by improving village roads and water systems, as well as by helping farmers, and providing food for work schemes.
Christian aid also works to beat poverty in the Middle East where years of conflict has rendered the people of Palestine imprisoned in their towns without hospitals or schools. Christian Aid has been working with partner organisations, both Palestinian and Israeli, since the 1950s, covering activities such as agriculture, health, education, and women's and human rights. Christian Aid has increased its involvement in this part of the world, working with partners in the area and with other church organisations in Europe.
Although Christian Aid occasionally provides disaster-relief, helping when emergencies happen, only a small part of its income is used in this way. The main part of its work is in development work. Development projects are used to help those in need help themselves to avoid spending their lives constantly depending on others. This is known as sustainable development. Christina Aid improves the living conditions of the poor and teams up with various denominations to help fight poverty. The United Reform church, for example, helped Christian Aid with its Deccan Development Society project in Central South India. Once financial help and legal advice have been given to start the project, Christian Aid expects the DDS to run itself and be self-financing.
Christian Aid argues that poverty is often caused or worsened due to government policies in Britain and other developed countries. They believe that the Western governments should eradicate or reduce the debts on the developing countries as to pay them back would drain wealth out of them. Christian Aid campaigns for debts like these to be cancelled. They believe that in order to lessen poverty one must first change the patterns of trade so that they are fairer.
There should be no rich as long as there are poor
Poverty has many faces and changes across places from time to time. To understand poverty you have to first define measure, and study it. As poverty has many dimensions, it has to be looked at through a variety of indicators (levels of income and consumption, social indicators, and now increasingly indicators of vulnerability to risks and of socio/political).
The most commonly used way to measure poverty is based on incomes or consumption levels. A person is said to be poor if his or her consumption or income level falls below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the "poverty line". What is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values.
It is human nature to look after ones self. This selfish trait exists in the majority of people. It is true that one gives charity when he or she can afford to but not so it affects their financial status. The amount of money one gives to charity is often insignificant to how much money they possess. It is this that prohibits the even distribution of wealth. Christians believe that there should be no wealth as long as there is poverty, and so they would help the poor in the best way possible. God blesses those who help the poor and rebukes those who turn away from them – Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The common mentality is that if one has worked hard for their money then they ought to be the only one who keeps it. Wealthy people would not want to give the majority of their money away in order to help another being. They may believe that it does not concern them. However, as the bible teaches, If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and truth. 1 John 3:17, 18. This promotes equality in terms of financial status.
Places like Britain are dependant on foreign imports from other countries. It is imperative that these countries on which we depend stay wealthy in order for us to continue receiving products. It is in our interest to see these countries succeed and so we would be more likely to help them. Some people believe that rich nations have a grave moral responsibility towards those which are unable to ensure the means of their development by themselves.
If ones selfishness can be controlled then maybe we could all be as wealthy as each other. This is not likely to happen as it is human nature to look after oneself. This is the so called ‘survival of the fittest’ theory, and is one which we share with animals. Most people are concerned with their own lives and do not even think of donating charity. There are people who believe that they do not gain anything by donating most of their wealth in order for everyone to be just as wealthy. I would not like everyone to be just as wealthy if it means it affects my life in a way in which I cannot enjoy it.
Other people believe that rich people are entitled to all the wealth they gain as they put a lot of work in to get to that stage. Poor people have the amount of money they deserve as they do not work or put any effort in. Some poor people are not given the opportunity to work. In the Western world one can become wealthy with a lot of hard work and determination. Why should the wealthy people give their money up to be distributed evenly amongst the poor, who have put in less effort into life than themselves? Equal wealth would be an injustice to wealthy people as their quality of life would be worse. Jewish teaching states, “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted towards your brother. Rather be open- handed and freely lend him whatever he needs.”-Deuteronomy 15:7-8. Even though equal wealth is doubtful one can do the best they can to improve the quality of life for those who are less fortunate. God created us equal and gave us this land to live in. Should we not all do our best to help the poor?
Some people believe that absolute poverty can be easily eradicated and the standard of living for poorer people can be raised. The bare necessities of life such as clean water, food, shelter and heating could easily be provided to people who do not have these. It is impractical and impossible at this time to make everyone of equal wealth but improving the lives of others is possible. If the richer countries donate a fraction of their money towards providing poorer countries with their basic needs, then it helps matters a lot.
I believe that circumstances will improve for poorer countries as time progresses. There was a time when even the western world suffered from lack of food and shelter but we have developed. There will always be poverty in the world and there will always be wealth (Deuteronomy 15:11 "the poor you will always have with you in the land"). Various efforts have been made to create a society of equality such as the Kibbutz in Israel, and in Germany after the First World War. There should be no rich people as long as there are poor people but there is not much we can do at the moment to change this. If we all took on board the teachings of the bible and put them into practice the world could be on its way to alleviating poverty.
Bibliography:
Text books. (provided be school)
http://www.wdm.org.uk/ (World Development)
