Wednesday, March 09, 2011

God of the rich...and poor

“In the religions of the surrounding cultures, the gods identified particularly with the kings and others at the top of society It made sense—the rich could build the gods magnificent temples and give sumptuous offerings. Why wouldn't they be considered the favorites of the gods? But the Biblical God is not like that at all. He does not call everyone to bring sacrifices of the same kind and value, for that would have automatically make [sic] it easier for the rich to please God. Instead, God directs that each person should bring what they can, and if their heart is right, that will give them access to his grace.”— Generous Justice, page 40

<idle musing>
On the money. In the Odyssey, Odysseus repeatedly petitions Zeus and the gods to remember all the times he sacrificed to them. He basically bought his way home—granted that it took him 20 years—but in the end his do ut des mentality was justified. Not so the biblical God. If anything, the tables are turned with the poor having preferential treatment at his hands.

What does that say about the current economic system, built as it is on greed?
</idle musing>

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