There are various Christian views on poverty and wealth . At one end of the spectrum is the view that casts wealth and materialism as a crime to be avoided and even countered. At the other end is the view of prosperity and prosperity as a blessing from God.
Many have taken up earlier positions to discuss this topic with respect to the modern neo-liberal capitalism that forms the Western world. American theologian John B. Cobb argues that "the economy that governs the West and through it most of the East" is directly opposed to traditional Christian doctrine. Cobb calls Jesus' teaching that "man can not serve God and Mammon (riches)". He asserts that it is clear that "Western society is organized in the ministry of wealth" and thus wealth has triumphed over God in the West. Scottish theologian Jack Mahoney, characterizes Jesus' words in Mark 10: 23-27 as "deeply entrenched in the Christian community over the centuries that people who are affectionate, or even comfortable, often feel uncomfortable and disturbed in conscience. "
Some Christians argue that a proper understanding of the Christian doctrine of wealth and poverty needs to take a greater view in which the accumulation of wealth is not the primary focus of one's life but the resources to encourage "good life". Professor David W. Miller has developed a three-part rubric that presents three common attitudes among Protestants against wealth. According to this rubric, Protestants have various views that view wealth as: (1) a violation of the Christian faith (2) obstacles to faith and (3) the outcome of faith.
Video Christian views on poverty and wealth
Wealth and confidence
Wealth as a breach of confidence
According to historian Alan S. Kahan, there is a bunch of Christianity who regard the rich as "very sinful". In this Christian chain, Kahan insists, the day of judgment is seen as a time when "the social order will be overturned and... the poor will be truly blessed."
Thomas Aquinas wrote, "Greed is a sin against God, just like all mortal sins, just as human beings condemn eternal things for worldly things."
David Miller states that this view is similar to the views of the third century Manissanans who see the spiritual world as good and the material world as evil with both in conflict that can not be reconciled to one another. So, this Christian chain urges Christians to abandon the worldly pleasures and material to follow Jesus. For example, Miller cites Jesus' command to his students to "take nothing for that journey." Mark 6: 8-9
The Catholic Workers Movement advocates voluntary poverty. Christians, like the New Monastic, may choose to deny personal wealth and follow the ascetic lifestyle, partly in protest against "the church and the public that embraces a wealth of wealth, luxury and strength."
Wealth as an obstacle to faith
According to David Miller, Martin Luther views Mammon (or desire for wealth) as "the most common idol in the world". Miller cites the meeting of Jesus with the rich ruler of Mark 10: 17-31 as an example of wealth that is a barrier to faith. According to Miller, it was not the wealth of the rich man himself who was an obstacle but the man's reluctance to surrender the wealth to follow Jesus. Miller quotes Paul's observations in 1 Timothy that, "those who want to become rich fall into temptation and trap and into many foolish and dangerous desires that plunge men into destruction and destruction." 1 Timothy 6: 9. Paul goes on to observe that "the love of money is the root of all evil." 1 Timothy 6:10 Miller emphasizes that "it is the love of money which is an obstacle to faith, not the money itself."
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" The students were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to enter through a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. "The disciples were even more impressed, and said to each other," Who can be saved? "Jesus looked at them and said," With this man is impossible, but not with God; everything is possible with God. "
Kahan cites Jesus' command to collect material wealth as an example that "good [Christian] life is one of poverty and charity, treasures in heaven and not on earth.
Do not store your own treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves enter and steal. But keep to yourself a treasure in heaven, where moths and rust do not spoil, and where thieves do not enter and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6
Jesus counseled his followers to remove from their lives the things that caused them to sin, saying "If your hand causes you to sin, stop it.It is better for you to enter a defective life than to go with two hands to hell, where fire is never out. " Mark 9: 42-49 . To eliminate the desire for wealth and property as a barrier to faith, some Christians have taken the oath of poverty. Christianity has a long tradition of voluntary poverty manifested in the form of asceticism, charity and alms. Kahan argues that Christianity is unique in that it triggers the beginning of a phenomenon which he calls the "Great Exhaust" in which "millions of people will abandon sex and money in God's name."
In Roman Catholicism, poverty is one of evangelical counsel. Pope Benedict XVI distinguishes "selected poverty " (poverty of spirit proposed by Jesus), and "poverty Wealth as a result of faith
One line of Protestant thought sees the pursuit of wealth not only acceptable but as a call or religious duty. This perspective is generally considered Calvinist and Puritan theology, which views hard work and a frugal lifestyle as a spiritual act within them. John Wesley is a strong proponent of wealth creation. However, to avoid wealth being a barrier to belief, Wesley urged his audience to "get everything they can, keep everything they can and give them everything they can." Among those who see wealth as a result of faith are modern preachers and authors who put forward prosperity theology, teaching that God promises wealth and abundance to those who will believe in him and follow his laws.
The prosperity of theology (also known as "the health and wealth of the gospel") is a Christian faith that its proponents claim the Bible teaches that the financial blessing is God's will for Christians. Most prosperity theology teachers argue that a combination of faith, positive speech, and donation to a particular Christian ministry will always lead to an increase in material wealth for those who do this action. Theology of prosperity is almost always taught along with continasionism.
Theology of prosperity first became famous in the United States during the Healing Rise of the 1950s. Some commentators have linked the genesis of prosperity theology with the influence of the New Thought movement. It then became prominent in the Word of Faith movement and the 1980s televangelism. In the 1990s and 2000s, it was accepted by many influential leaders in the charismatic movement and has been promoted by Christian missionaries around the world. It has been strongly criticized by mainstream evangelical leaders as a non-biblical doctrine or as an outright heresy.
Maps Christian views on poverty and wealth
Precursors for Christianity
Professor Cosimo Perrotta describes the early Christian period as one who saw "the encounter and clash of three great cultures: Classical, Hebrew (Old Testament) and Christian." Perrotta described the culture as having a very different view of money and wealth. While the Hebrew culture values ​​material wealth, Classical and Christian cultures hold them in humiliation or teach indifference to them. However, Perrotta suggests that the motivations of Classical and Christian culture for their attitudes are very different and thus the logical implications of attitudes produce different results.
Jewish Attitudes in the Old Testament
Perrotta characterizes the attitude of the Jews as stated in the Old Testament as "totally different from the classical view." He pointed out that the work of slaves and labor was not derided by the Jews of the Old Testament as did the Greco-Roman thinkers. Instead, such work is protected by biblical command to pay the workers on time and not deceive them. The poor are protected from being exploited when they are in debt. Perrotta asserted that the purpose of these commandments is "not only to protect the poor but also to prevent the accumulation of excessive wealth in some hands." In essence, the poor are "protected by God". However, Perrotta shows that poverty is not admired or considered a positive value by the writers of the Old Testament. The poor are protected because the weak must be protected from exploitation.
Perrotta shows that material wealth is greatly appreciated in the Old Testament; The Hebrews looked for it and God promised to bless them with it if they would follow his commandments. Joseph Francis Kelly wrote that the biblical writers did not doubt that God enabled humans like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Solomon to attain wealth and that this wealth was a sign of divine mercy. However, Kelly also points out that the Old Testament insists that the rich help the poor. Prophets like Amos blaspheme the rich for suppressing the poor and destroying those in need. In short, Kelly writes that, "The Old Testament sees wealth as something good but warns the rich not to use their position to harm those who are lacking." The rich have an obligation to alleviate the suffering of the poor. "
New Testament
Blessed are you who are poor, because you are the kingdom of God.
The Gospels
Jesus explicitly condemns the excessive love of wealth as an intrinsic crime in various parts of the Gospels, especially in Luke (Luke 16: 14-15 being a very clear example). He also consistently warned of the dangers of wealth as an obstacle to supporting God; as in the Parable of the Sower, where it is said:
- "And the cares of this world, and the deceit of riches, and the lusts of other things that enter, it chokes the Word, which bears no fruit" - Mark 4:19.
Jesus made Mammon a personification of wealth, contrary to God, and who claimed one's service and faithfulness as God did. But Jesus rejects the possibility of double service on our part: because, he says, no one can serve both God and Mammon.
In the story of Jesus and the rich young man, the wealth of the young ruler prevented him from following Jesus and thus reaching the Kingdom. Jesus commented on the young man's disappointment as follows:
- "How difficult it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to enter through a pinhole than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard this were astonished, "Who can saved? ", they asked. Jesus replied, "What is impossible with man is possible with God." - Luke 19: 23-27
In the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus advises his listeners to sell their worldly goods and give to the poor, and thus provide themselves "a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes and there is no crushing moth "(Lk 12:33); and he added, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Lk 12,34).
In the Parable of a Rich Rich One Jesus tells the story of a rich man who decides to rest from all his work, saying to himself:
- "And I'll say to myself 'You've got plenty of grains for years, Enjoy life easy, eat, drink, and have fun.' But God spoke to him, saying 'You're stupid! Tonight your life will be demanded from you, and who will get everything you have prepared for yourself?' "- Luke 12: 16-20.
And Jesus added, "This is what will happen to anyone who keeps things for himself but not rich in God" (Luke 12.21).
Jesus and Zacchaeus (Lk 19.1-10) are examples of storing heavenly possessions, and becoming rich with God. The repentant tax collector, Zacchaeus, not only welcomed Jesus into his home but joyfully promised to give half his belongings to the poor, and to pay more than fourfold if he deceived anyone (Luke 19.8).
Luke strongly links the proper use of wealth to discipleship; and securing the heavenly treasure associated with caring for the poor, the naked and the hungry, for God should have a special interest in the poor. This theme is consistent with the protection and care of God for the poor in the Old Testament.
Thus, Jesus cites the words of the prophet Isaiah (Is: 61,1-2) in proclaiming his mission:
- "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to preach to the captives, and to the blind to the blind, to regulate their liberty which is crushed, to declare an acceptable year of God. "- Luke 4: 18-19
Luke, as it is known, has a special concern for the poor as the subject of Jesus' mercy and service. In his version of the Beatitudes, the poor are blessed as the heirs of the kingdom of God (Lk 6.20-23), even when the same curse is uttered to the rich (Lk 6.24-26).
God's special interest for the poor is also expressed in the theme of the "great reversal" of eschatological luck between the rich and the poor in The Magnificat (Lk 1.46-55):
- He has shown the strength of his arm:
- and have spread the pride, in the arrogance of their hearts.
- He has lowered the strong from their throne,
- and start low.
- He has filled hunger with good things;
- and the rich has sent blank.
- - Luke 1: 51-53
and in Jesus repeating the use of the sign "many must first be last, and the latter must be the first" (Mt 19.30, Mt 20.16, Mk 10.31 & Lk 13.30) and similar figures (Mt 23.12, Luk 14.11 & amp; 18:14).
In the Parable of the Feast of Marriage, it is "the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame" who are the distinguished guests of God, while others reject the invitation because of their caring and treasure on earth (Lk. 14.7-14).
Acts
Luke's concern for the rich and the poor continues in the Acts of the Apostles with a greater focus on the unity of newborn Christian communities. The two well-known sections (2.43-45; 4.32-37), which have drawn throughout history as the "normative ideal" of the Christian community of goods, further illustrate the level of fellowship (coin? Nia) in the Jerusalem community as part of a distinctive Christian identity. The story also illustrates the use of positive and negative riches: those who practice charity and generosity to the poor (9.36, 10.2, 4) and those who put money on the needs of others (5.1-11; 8.14-24).
Epistles
For Paul, wealth primarily shows the character and activity of God and Christ - spiritual blessing and salvation - (eg Rom 2. 2. 9, 9.23, 2 Cor. 8.9, Eph 1.7, 18, 2.4, 7) although sometimes he refers to Jewish piety and the Greco-Roman moral teachings of the day, such as generosity (Rom 12.8, 13; 2 Cor. 8.2; Ef. 4.28; 1. Tim 6.17) and hospitality (1 Tim 5.10) with warning of pride (1 Tim 6.17) and greed (1 Cor 5.11, 1 Tim 3.8). 1 Tim. 6.10 seems to reflect the popular Cynic-Stoic moral teaching of that period: "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Paul's focus of generosity is devoted to the gathering of the church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2.1, 9.15, Rom 15.25-31) as an important symbol of unity between Jews and Gentiles with an appeal to lead material and spiritual turning. It is also worth noting that Paul's teaching in 1 Tim 6:17 implies that there are many believers in the Early Church.
A concept related to the accumulation of wealth is Worldliness, which is condemned by the letters of James and John: "Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility to God? Therefore anyone who wants to be a friend of the world makes himself the enemy of God" (Ja 4.4). The first letter of John says, in the same vein: "Do not love the world or the things of the world, if anyone loves the world, the Father's love is not in Him" ​​(1 John 2:15).
The letter of James also stands out because of the harsh criticism of the oppressive rich, who may be outsiders to the Christian community, which is primarily composed of the poor. Adopting the conventions of the "evil-rich" and "pious poor" people and adopting his voice, James accused the rich with sin accumulating wealth, fraudulently withholding wages, corruption, pride, luxury, greed and murder; and denouncing the foolishness of their actions in the face of an imminent Judgment Day.
Revelation
Finally, the Book of Revelation treats worldly wealth and commercial activity with great ambivalence. When Jesus discloses the true poverty of the prosperity of the Laodicean church of wealth (3.17-18), it presents itself as the source and distribution of true wealth (see 2 Corinthians 8.13-15). Later, worldly wealth and business activity are associated with the sins of Babylon, the worldly evil forces with the glory and luxury given themselves, whose fall is near (18.1-24). However, Revelation also depicts the New Jerusalem with a fancy materialistic description, made of pure gold emblazoned with "every kind of precious stone" (21,18-19).
Early Christianity
Early Christianity seems to have adopted many of the ethical themes found in the Hebrew Bible. However, the teachings of Jesus and his apostles as presented in the New Testament show "acute sensitivity to the needs of the disadvantaged" whom Frederick sees as "adding a critical side to Christian doctrine in which wealth and the pursuit of economic gain are of concern.
Alan Kahan points to the fact that Jesus is a poor man as a symbol of "a revolution in the way poverty and wealth are seen." This is not to say that Christian attitudes do not borrow anything from Greco-Roman and Jewish precursors. Kahan acknowledges that, "Christian theology absorbs the Greco-Roman attitude toward self-sufficient money." However, as Kahan said, "There has never been a god conceived as a poor man." He characterizes Christian charity as "different in terms of the generosity that is praised in the classical tradition."
Kahan compared the early Christians' attitude with those of classical thinkers like Seneca. The New Testament urges Christians to sell their possessions and give money to the poor. According to Kahan, the purpose of Christian charity is equality, an idea that does not exist in the Greco-Roman attitude to the poor.
Cosimo Perrotta characterizes Christian attitudes vis-a-vis poverty and works as "closer to Old Testament traditions than to classical culture." However, Irving Kristol points out that Christianity's attitude to wealth is very different from the Hebrews in the Old Testament. Kristol asserts that traditional Judaism has no precedent parallel to the Christian claim that it is difficult for the rich to enter heaven.
Perrotta characterized Christianity as not underestimating material wealth as did classical thinkers such as Socrates, Cynics and Seneca, but did not want it as did the writers of the Old Testament.
Patristic era
Many of the Father's Church condemns personal ownership and encourages communal ownership of ownership as an ideal for Christians to follow. However, they acknowledged from the very beginning that this was an impractical ideology in everyday life and viewed personal ownership as "the necessary evil resulting from the fall of man." American theologian Robert Grant noted that, while almost all Church Fathers condemned "love for money for their own sake and demanded a positive deed of charity", none of them seemed to have suggested the general application of Jesus' advice to wealthy young people, to give all his earthly possessions to follow him.
Augustine urged Christians to turn away from the desire for material wealth and success. He argues that the accumulation of wealth is not a worthy goal for Christians.
Clement of Alexandria advises that property is used for the good of society, it approves private ownership of property and accumulation of wealth. Lactantius writes that "property ownership contains both evil and virtuous matter, but communism has nothing but permission to charge."
Medieval Europe
At the beginning of the medieval era, Christian paternalist ethics "was fully embedded in Western European culture." Individual and materialist pursuits such as greed, greed, and accumulated wealth are denounced as non-Christian.
Madeleine Gray describes the medieval social welfare system as a system "organized through the church and supported by ideas about the spiritual value of poverty.
According to Kahan, Christian theologians regularly condemn merchants. For example, he quotes Honorius from Autun who writes that merchants have little chance of going to heaven while farmers are likely to be saved. He further quotes Gratian who writes that "the one who buys something so that he can get it by selling it does not change and when he buys it, that person is the buyer and seller who is expelled from the temple."
However, the era of the Middle Ages saw a change in the attitudes of Christians toward the accumulation of wealth. Thomas Aquinas defines greed not only as a desire for wealth but as a rich desire for wealth. Aquinas writes that it is acceptable to have "external wealth" as far as they need for it to maintain its "living conditions". It is argued that the nobility has more wealth than the peasants. What is unacceptable is for a person to seek more wealth than one is fit for one's station or aspire to a higher station in life. The period witnessed a heated debate about whether Christ owns property.
The Church evolved into one of the most powerful institutions in medieval Europe, stronger than any single ruler. The Church is so rich that, at one time, it had 20-30% of land in Western Europe in an era when land was the main form of wealth. Over time, these wealth and power lead to abuses and corruption.
Monasticism
At the beginning of the 6th and 7th centuries, property issues and the transfer of wealth in terms of outward aggression have been discussed in the monastic community through agreements such as the Consensoria Monachorum. In the eleventh century, Benedictine monasteries became rich, thanks to the generous donations of kings and nobles. Monasteries of larger monasteries achieve an international advantage. In reaction to this wealth and power, a reform movement emerged that sought a simpler and more violent monastic life in which monks work with their hands rather than acting as slave lords.
At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the beggar's orders like the Dominicans and Franciscans departed from the practice of existing religious orders by taking extreme poverty oaths and maintaining an active presence of preaching and serving the community rather than withdrawing to monasteries. Francis of Assisi viewed poverty as a key element of Christ's imitating "poor at birth in a manger, poor as he lived in the world, and naked when he died on the cross".
The visible public commitment of the Franciscans to poverty gives the laity a sharp contrast to the wealth and strength of the Church, provoking "weird questions".
Initial attempt to reform
Widespread corruption led to calls for reforms that questioned church relations and interdependent state power. The reformers sharply criticized the luxurious wealth of the church and the mercenary behavior of the 'ulama. For example, reformer Peter Damian works to remind the church and lay hierarchy that love of money is the root of many evils.
Riba
Riba was originally the charging of interest on the loan; This includes charging for the use of money, such as in office change. In places where interest becomes accepted, usury is interest above the level permitted by law. Today, usury is usually an unreasonable charging or a relatively high interest rate.
The first of the scholastics, Saint Anselm of Canterbury, led a shift of thought labeled charging interest equal to theft. Previously usury has been seen as a lack of charity.
St. Thomas Aquinas, the eminent theologian of the Catholic Church, contends that the imposition of the flower is wrong because it means "double filling", which weighs both the object and the use of it.
This is not, as some people think, prevent investment. What is set is that in order for the investor to share the profits, he must share the risk. In short he should be a joint venturer. Just to invest the money and expect it to be returned regardless of the success of the business is to make money simply by having money and not by taking risks or by doing any work or with any effort or sacrifice at all. It's usury. St. Thomas quotes Aristotle as saying that "life with usury is very unnatural". St. Thomas allows, however, fees for actual services are provided. So a banker or lender can charge you for the actual job or business as he did for example. any fair administration fee.
Reform
The rising middle class of capitalists hates the disposal of their wealth to the church; in northern Europe, they support local reformers against the corruption, greed, and arrogance they see as coming from Rome.
Calvinism
One school of thought connects Calvinism with the setting of the stage for the development of capitalism in northern Europe. In this view, the elements of Calvinism represent an insurrection against the medieval ritual of usury and, implicitly, of the benefits in general. Such a relationship advanced in influential works by R. H. Tawney (1880-1962) and by Max Weber (1864-1920).
Calvin criticized the use of certain passages of the scriptures prompted by those who oppose the filling of flowers. He reinterpreted some of these passages, and suggested that others of them have been given irrelevant to the changing conditions. He also rejects the argument (based on Aristotle's writings) that it is wrong to wear flowers for money because the money itself is barren. He said that the walls and roofs of the house are also barren, but are allowed to charge someone for letting them use it. In the same way, money can be fruitful.
Puritanism
For Puritans, work is not just the hard work necessary to sustain life. Joseph Conforti describes the Puritan attitude to work as "the character of the vocation - the call through which one fixes the world, redeem the time, glorifies God, and follows the pilgrimage of life to salvation." Gayraud Wilmore characterizes Puritan social ethics that focuses on "the proper acquisition and management of wealth as an outward symbol of God's blessing and individual consequent salvation." Puritans are urged to be producers rather than consumers and to invest their profits to create more jobs for diligent workers who will make it possible to "contribute to a productive society and an important and wide-ranging church." Puritans are offered to seek sufficient comfort and economic independence but to avoid pursuing the luxury or accumulation of material wealth for their own sake.
The rise of capitalism
In two journal articles published in 1904-05, German sociologist Max Weber proposed a thesis that the Reformed (ie, Calvinist) Protestantism has given rise to the characters and values ​​that are under modern capitalism. The English translation of this article was published in book form in 1930 as the Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Weber argues that capitalism in northern Europe evolved because Protestant ethics (especially Calvinists) influenced large numbers of people to engage in work in the secular world, develop their own businesses and engage in trade and the accumulation of wealth for investment. In other words, the Protestant work ethic is the power behind unplanned and uncoordinated mass action that affects the development of capitalism.
Weber's work focuses scholars on the question of the uniqueness of Western civilization and the nature of its economic and social development. Scholars have attempted to explain the fact that economic growth has been much faster in Northern and Western Europe and its branches abroad than in other parts of the world including where Catholic and Orthodox churches are more dominant than Protestants. Some have observed that explosive economic growth occurred at almost the same time, or soon after, these areas experienced a revival of Protestantism. Stanley Engerman asserts that, although some experts may argue that the two phenomena are unrelated, many will find it difficult to accept such a thesis.
John Chamberlain writes that "Christianity tends to lead to a capitalistic way of life whenever the siege conditions do not apply... [Christianity] is not Christian in and of itself; it is simply to say that capitalism is a by-product of the Mosaic Law."
Rodney Stark puts forward the theory that Christian rationality is the main driving force behind the success of Capitalism and the Western Awakening.
John B. Cobb argues that "the economy that governs the West and through it much of the East" is directly opposed to traditional Christian doctrine. Cobb calls Jesus' teaching that "man can not serve God and Mammon (riches)". He asserts that it is clear that "Western society is organized in the ministry of wealth" and thus wealth has triumphed over God in the West.
Social justice
Social justice in general refers to the idea of ​​creating a society or institution based on the principle of equality and solidarity, which understands and respects human rights, and which recognizes the dignity of every human being. The modern term and concept of "social justice" was coined by Jesuit Luigi Taparelli in 1840 on the basis of St. Thomas Aquinas and given further exposure in 1848 by Antonio Rosmini-Serbati. The idea is expounded by the moral theologian John A. Ryan, who initiated the concept of a living wage. Father Coughlin also used the term in his publications in the 1930s and 1940s. It is part of the Catholic social teaching, the Social Gospel of the Episcopal and is one of the Four Pillars of the Green Party supported by green parties around the world. Social justice as a secular concept, distinct from religious teachings, arose chiefly in the late 20th century, influenced mainly by philosopher John Rawls. Some principles of social justice have been adopted by the people on the left of the political spectrum.
According to Kent Van Til, the view that wealth has been taken from the poor by the rich implies that the redistribution of wealth is more a matter of redress than theft.
Catholic social teaching is a doctrinal body developed by the Catholic Church on poverty and wealth, economics, social organization and the role of the state. The foundation is widely considered to have been laid by Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical letter Rerum novarum, which advocated the distribution of the economy and condemned socialism.
According to Pope Benedict XVI, his aim "is only to help refine the reason and to contribute, here and now, to the recognition and accomplishment of what is just.... [the Church] must play its role through rational argument and he must revive spiritual energy without the justice... can not prevail and prosper ", according to Pope John Paul II, his foundation" rests on three basic human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity. " This concern echoes the elements of Jewish law and the prophetic books of the Old Testament, and remembers the teachings of Jesus Christ recorded in the New Testament, as he states that "whatever you have done for one of my youngest brothers , You have done for me. "
Catholic social teaching differs in its consistent critique of modern social and political ideology from left and right: liberalism, communism, socialism, libertarianism, capitalism, Fascism and Nazism have all been condemned, at least in their pure form, by several popes since the end of the century Nineteenth.
Marxism
Irving Kristol argues that one reason that those who "experience the Christian impulse, the impulse toward imitatio Christi," will incline toward socialism... is the attitude of Christianity to the poor. "
Arnold Toynbee characterized the Communist ideology as a "Christian heresy" in the sense that he focused on some religious elements to set aside the other. Donald Treadgold interprets Toynbee's characterization as an application to Christian attitudes contrary to Christian doctrine. In his book, "Moral Philosophy", Jacques Maritain echoes the viewpoint of Toynbee, characterizing Karl Marx's teachings as "Christian heresies". After reading Maritain, Martin Luther King, Jr. commented that Marxism had emerged in response to "a Christian world unfaithful to its own principles." Although the King criticized the sharp Soviet Communist-Leninist regime, he continued to comment that Marx's devotion to a classless society made him almost a Christian. Tragically, the King said, the Communist regime created "a new class and a new lexicon of injustice."
Christian socialism generally refers to politically and socialist Christians and who see these two philosophies intertwined. This category may include liberation theology and the doctrine of the social gospel.
The Rerum novarum the encyclical of Leo XIII (1891) was the starting point of a Catholic doctrine on social issues that had been expanded and renewed during the 20th century. Although the introduction of social thought as the object of religious thought, Rerum novarum explicitly rejects the so-called "principal principle of socialism":
"Therefore, it is clear that the central principle of socialism, the community of goods, must be totally rejected, for it only harms those who seem to be beneficial, directly opposed to the natural rights of mankind, and will cause confusion and disorder into the commonwealth The first and most basic principle, therefore, if one is willing to do to reduce the condition of the masses, must be inviolable of private property. "
, paragraph 16.
The encyclical promotes a kind of corporatism based on social solidarity among classes with respect for the needs and rights of all people.
In the November 1914 edition of The Christian Socialist , Episcopal bishop Franklin Spencer Spalding of Utah, USA stated:
"The Christian Church exists for the sole purpose of saving humanity, so far it has failed, but I think that Socialism shows him how he can succeed, insisting that man can not be justified until his material conditions are true, even though man can not live with bread alone, he must have bread, therefore the Church must destroy a system of society that inevitably creates and perpetuates unequal and unjust living conditions.This unequal and unjust condition has been created by competition, so competition must stop and cooperation takes its place. "
Apart from the explicit refusal of Socialism, in more Catholic countries in Europe, the encyclical doctrine is an inspiration that leads to the formation of Christianist-inspired Socialist parties. A number of Christian socialist movements and political parties around the world group themselves into the International Socialist League. It has member organizations in 21 countries representing 200,000 members.
Christian socialists draw parallels between what characterized by some as an egalitarian and anti-establishment message of Jesus, which - according to the Gospel - speaks against the religious authorities of its day, and egalitarian, anti-establishment, and sometimes anti-clerical messages. the most contemporary socialism. Some Christian Socialists have become active Communists. This phenomenon is most common among missionaries in China, most notably James Gareth Endicott, who became a supporter of the Chinese Communist Party's struggle in the 1930s and 1940s.
Michael Moore's film Capitalism: A Love Story also features a religious component in which Moore checks whether capitalism is a sin or whether Jesus will become a capitalist, to highlight the ideological contradictions among evangelical conservatives in favor of free-market ideals.
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology that interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of liberation from unjust economic, political or social conditions. This has been described by supporters as "the interpretation of the Christian faith through the suffering of the poor, their struggles and hopes, and the criticism of Catholic and Christian society and faith through the eyes of the poor," and by critics as Christianized Marxism. Although liberation theology has evolved into an international and inter-denominational movement, it began as a movement within the Roman Catholic church in Latin America in the 1950s-1960s. Liberation theology arises primarily as a moral reaction to poverty caused by social injustice in the region. The term was coined in 1971 by Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutià © à © rrez, who wrote one of the most famous books of this movement, A Theology of Liberation . Other notable exponents were Leonardo Boff from Brazil, Jon Sobrino of El Salvador, and Juan Luis Segundo of Uruguay.
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