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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 13, 2023

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A perfect Christian with knowledge of who needs more than they do, should probably give away everything except what they need to live and support their families. Christ being the exemplar.

I mean, where is that in the Bible? I think it's pretty silent on the topic of what the carpenter did with his carpentry wages. Obviously, he sacrificed his life (thus relinquishing all possessions in death), but I don't think it ever says much concerning his interaction with material goods. He advises the rich man to give up all of his possessions, but that was for a specific purpose - to follow him.

I think it unlikely that Christ was sneakily sitting on a trove of material treasures. I think he gave freely of his special power to help others in terms of healings, multiplying food, etc. But I think it's pretty silent on Christ's actual possession or non-possession of any material goods. There is the example of the widow's two mites, but it is noticeable that this was not billed as a direct example of Christ giving up every last item. Plenty of parts about being generous, probably more generous than most anyone would like today, but I'm not sure Christ actually did set an example as an ascetic monk, and perhaps that's part of an argument against the extreme of becoming one.

Christ and his followers were gleaning from fields on the sabbath and eating from other peoples houses out of their charity. Their is plenty in the Bible about how Jesus and his apostles were broke ascetics who had given up their productive jobs to preach.

Jesus explicitly gives up his job as a carpenter and his disciples as fishermen to become fishers of men. A job that doesn’t pay outside of the charity of others.

Also when Mary annoints Jesus’ feet with ointment his disciples say they should have sold it to give to the poor.

There are countless explicit and implicit passages in the Bible that suggest Jesus and the apostles were medicants.

That there is a group of "priests" who do not have otherwise productive jobs does not imply that all Christians should live as such. Hell, even the Israelites had an entire tribe of Levites. Maybe Christ/disciples were broke, but where does it say they were ascetics? Where they specifically cast off all their material goods specifically for the purpose of casting off material goods rather than, "Yeah, preachin' don't pay so good, but we're called to preach, sooo..."

Also when Mary annoints Jesus’ feet with ointment his disciples say they should have sold it to give to the poor.

I mean... the passage actually says:

But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, who would betray Him, said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for [b]three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.

7 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; [c]she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always.”

I mean, yeah. Reallly not quite what you say it says.

This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it

That's from John and a shorter version of the original. The synoptic gospels are very divergent from whatever the hell John is. If we go back to Mark we see an entirely different story.

"Jesus Anointed at Bethany

14 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you,[b] and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11 They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over."

It is multiple disciples here not just Judas. It is what I said.

I don't think that changes the calculus much in any case. Lets say he was only "much more generous than most anyone today" that would just change the question to, does a good Christian have to match that in order to be a good Christian?, and i think the answer is still no.