"Consider the Good Samaritan. He wasn’t a government bureaucrat. He helped people voluntarily — with his own money. The man in the ditch undoubtedly thanked the Good Samaritan. But here’s the
secret of Christian charity: A Christian Samaritan answers the injured man, “No, thank you, for giving me the opportunity to serve a brother in Christ.”
Thank you — thank you.
Has a government bureaucrat ever thanked you?
Christian charity is a theological virtue — as St. Paul says.
And like all virtues, charity and justice are voluntary.
On the other hand, today’s ideological brand called “social justice” is mandatory. It isn’t justice at all, because it is not voluntary.
“Social justice” always requires government force. Even if they call it “charity.”
So “government charity” is an oxymoron. The government can’t love — it can only command.
The very notion of something called “mandatory charity” is Doublethink.
But it is also a dagger aimed at the heart of true, voluntary charity.
After all, we can hardly call it virtuous to take money from a man by force, give it to a third party, and pat ourselves on the back for our generosity. But that’s what “social justice” does. All the time.
In his Through the Eye of the Needle, a brilliant history of charity in the late Roman Empire, Princeton historian Peter Brown explains.
Briefly put, Rome’s wealthy nobility vied with Caesar to give more “corn” (wheat) to the masses. These secular leaders did so because, in return, they would be rewarded with “glory, honor, and gratitude.
The politician gets the “glory, honor, and gratitude.”
And no politician gives away our money for nothing.”LifeSite
.....and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
Thank you — thank you.
Has a government bureaucrat ever thanked you?
Christian charity is a theological virtue — as St. Paul says.
And like all virtues, charity and justice are voluntary.
On the other hand, today’s ideological brand called “social justice” is mandatory. It isn’t justice at all, because it is not voluntary.
“Social justice” always requires government force. Even if they call it “charity.”
If you’re good at math, look at it this way:
“Social Justice minus government force equals zero.”
So “government charity” is an oxymoron. The government can’t love — it can only command.
The very notion of something called “mandatory charity” is Doublethink.
But it is also a dagger aimed at the heart of true, voluntary charity.
After all, we can hardly call it virtuous to take money from a man by force, give it to a third party, and pat ourselves on the back for our generosity. But that’s what “social justice” does. All the time.
Voluntary charity.
Mandatory “social justice.”
These two opposing visions of virtue are in conflict today.In his Through the Eye of the Needle, a brilliant history of charity in the late Roman Empire, Princeton historian Peter Brown explains.
Briefly put, Rome’s wealthy nobility vied with Caesar to give more “corn” (wheat) to the masses. These secular leaders did so because, in return, they would be rewarded with “glory, honor, and gratitude.
The politician gets the “glory, honor, and gratitude.”
And no politician gives away our money for nothing.”LifeSite
.....and there is no new thing under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9