Give and take

Roger Olson is pushing back, and I think he's right. He is asked for biblical passages to defend his stand and his response is, well, scriptural:

To those who ask where the Bible commands us to “take” rather than “give,” I ask: Where does the Bible command us to do many of the things we do routinely (and claim are “biblical”)? Where does the Bible command us to create denominations? Where does the Bible command us to protest at abortion clinics? Where does the Bible command us to promote constitutional amendments banning gay marriage? Where does the Bible even mention ordination of ministers? Where does the Bible….? The list could go on forever. It’s a specious argument from silence and fallacious insofar as we Christians all do and support things that are not specifically commanded in Scripture.

For better or worse, he is on the money. But, as long as it agrees with our preconceptions, we don't object, do we? He goes on to explain what the real issue is:

The real question is about justice. Scripture clearly commands God’s people to show compassion for the poor. Now that many of God’s people have political power insofar as they do not use it to show compassion for the poor they are disobeying God...

...redistribution of wealth does not have to mean taking money from some people and simply handing it unconditionally to others. It can (and should) mean taking money from the wealthy to create social systems that create real equal opportunity and that meet basic human needs for everyone. The best redistribution of wealth is job creation.

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Amen! Good preaching! May his tribe increase.
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