Community Page
- www.jesusmanifesto.com/ Jump to website »
-
Subscribe -
Community
-
Top Commenters
-
Popular Threads
-
Recent Comments
- I see what you're saying Paul. As another possible perspective, it could be one of those things that just "creep up on you." Like, all the signs are there but you just don't see...
- No interest in this question? Maybe it would help if I was a little more explicit. Here's a piece from a journal entry on this subject, from several years ago, referring to a Methodist belief...
- I do not use twitter...sorry folks
- I think a few quotations from the ol’ Declaration of Independence may be in order: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator...
- I just put together an evening prayer that we will do here next week (answering the independence day rhetoric of this weekend). I used several Psalters songs, with us singing the "Home,...
the Jesus Manifesto
following the way of Jesus in the land of our captivity
There is a man. And we’re sitting on his back.
Not directly on his back; but the couch we’re on does sit on his back. And since we’re on the couch, we’re sitting on his back.
I’m not sure how he got to where he is. Maybe I put him u ... Continue reading »
Not directly on his back; but the couch we’re on does sit on his back. And since we’re on the couch, we’re sitting on his back.
I’m not sure how he got to where he is. Maybe I put him u ... Continue reading »
9 months ago
Are you talking about "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish he'll start his own profitable fishing business?"
9 months ago
The question is:
How do we change that?
Try to be respectful with any responses.
9 months ago
I like your parable. It reminds me of a script my friend once wrote which was about an evil Blofeld character who had invented the world's most powerful weapon - the armchair. Bond sat in the chair and was bombarded with images of pain and suffering, and ultimately was shaken but not stirred.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Sad but all too true.
How often people feel that throwing scraps of used clothing makes up for our ride.
It reminds me of a "reality show" that National Geographic had several years ago. A family from St. Louis was sent to live with a nomadic family in Mongolia. First thing the father did when he got back to his home was send a chain saw to the Mongol family. We have way too much stuff and so little wisdom.
9 months ago
The more I think about it, the more I think that there will always be people sitting on couches, and simply getting up off our butts may not be quite enough; we must find ways to help carry the load. And not just enable the people under the couch to get their own couches either. How does that happen? God help us find a way.
9 months ago
In what ways do I, sitting in Panera on a leather chair, typing on a laptop, ride on the backs of the third world? I have an infinitely better quality of life than 90% of the world's population, and I have not worked for over three years since I went back to school.
But how would they be better off if I were not sitting here? What could I actually be doing to make their lives better? What are the actual barriers to improvement over their lives?
Would buying fair trade coffee make that much of a difference, or does it merely misdirect scarce resources and perpetuate the poverty of others?
Would it be better for me to consume less? Would the reduction in demand help those who produce at the lowest levels, or take even the low-paying job they have now away from them?
My understanding at this point requires that we work not for equality in ends but rather justice in means. The most oppressive institutions are not market based but government based. The best possible aid to poor Hatians is to give them each a green card. Artificial barriers to participation in voluntary processes are better identified as FORCE.
That couch you are carrying has a name, it is THE STATE. When you ride the couch you rely on GOVERNMENT PRIVILEGE.
How can we best help these people? Work for open boarders, free markets, elimination of privilege (especially corporate), and invite or sponsor the oppressed to live with us.
Sitting on a couch implies no guilt.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Personally, I feel convicted -- I believe convicted by God-- to a life of compassion for the poor --those upon whom the wealthier of us rest our feet, whether we care to realize it or not. I do not, however, believe that everyone does or should share that conviction. Some are called, as it were, to "go as poor among the poor", while others are called to use their resources and position to do what they can in the hierarchies of power, be it the church, the state, or what have you. I think if you can honestly say that you are using the resources at your disposal for the good of humanity, to benefit people of all "worlds", then perhaps the man on whose back our couch is resting may well be cheering you on, gladly carrying you toward a better future.
As for the question of whether there is enough space on the couch for everyone, I think that may be an image of the "new earth" we are hoping towards as Christians.
9 months ago
The image of a new earth would most certainly be what we are hoping for.