tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632746619833314949.post5782215138313741283..comments2024-02-27T02:16:26.237-06:00Comments on the post-karmic stream: the redistribution of wealth and the legacy we claimKyle Burkholderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00319162146102629239noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6632746619833314949.post-31850977413360736442008-12-03T15:55:00.000-06:002008-12-03T15:55:00.000-06:00Interesting post. In full disclosure, I am by poin...Interesting post. In full disclosure, I am by point of reference a political conservative, but I appreciate your argument. I'm currently getting my Master's in Political Science, so really any of the "hot topics" snatched up by the media are raised to a deafening roar on essentially a weekly basis for me. Wealth, to me, always seemed like a much more complex concept than we often imagine. It's like "sweet," or better yet, "evil." We cannot really place a finger on what the former is without the "bitter" and certainly not on the latter without an understanding of the "good." Wealth, to me, is also a term defined by its association. We know we are wealthy because there is so much poverty.<BR/><BR/>So what am I getting at? The kind of redistribution someone might advocate depends on their understanding of wealth. Pastor Harris' message was great on this. God doesn't ask that you get rid of everything, only that you care for the least among you, for the "FHBs," as some call them.<BR/><BR/>What is so frustrating about wealth is that those who seem to have the most of it seem to do so little with it outside of themselves. This is certainly true. The reason it makes such a great impression when people like Warren Buffet or Bill Gates give away a huge amount (but small percentage) of their money is because most of their peers don't think twice about giving.<BR/><BR/>The frustrating part for Christians is that we would all love to live in a world where "redistribution" can happen, but at the same time, we have all grown in a system founded on the virtues of individualism. There is a duality to political development, particularly in America, where the morality of religion and the perceived virtues of selfishness are constantly at odds. And in the end, which side really wants to topple the system? Reform is a far cry from redesign. As Christians, we can push for all believers to give, but how can we truly change the system?<BR/><BR/>Perhaps I am too pessimistic. Maybe that's the conservative in me. But I don't think that we are likely to see changes on anything close to the scale of redistribution until we can find a perfect system. Charity is a wonderful, vital thing for our society. But our society is a secular one. We can interact with it and work to change it. But our goal is to save souls, not society. It is what Christians do to meet the needs of the poor that reaches them. There is no relationship in governmental redistribution, no connection.<BR/><BR/>Here, there seems to be a disconnect between what Jesus advocated and what current politicians are speaking about. If the system could become more human, we would all advocate redistribution, but this is just not the case. In a year where candidates spent more than a billion dollars just on trying to convince people to like them, I do not see too much hope for change, to use two overused words this election season. Christianity changes the world through relationships; governments don't. That's why redistribution remains a promising, but ultimately elusive concept in politics. Christians redistributed; Rome did not.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com