Entitlement Theology
casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 NASB
Cares – As America approaches a Presidential election, it might be worthwhile to reflect on the stark differences exhibited between the factions in today’s American culture. These differences are present regardless of party affiliation, social strata or economic condition. While I will not engage in political rhetoric about these differences, I do want to point out that they reflect a much deeper division in the religious heritage of the American culture. What are the two sides of this division? One is the belief that my destiny is up to me (with God’s help, perhaps) and that I am responsible for the outcome. This Protestant work ethic, as it has been called, was a fundamental element in the American experiment. It endorsed personal responsibility, community obligation and ethical integrity. One could effectively argue that the Protestant work ethic assumes the foundation of property rights, equitable trade and the use of God’s creation for human productivity. In the history of the nation, the American church, especially Protestant denominations, promoted this “hard work” mentality as a sign of spiritual development and the avenue to God’s blessing.
But there is also another strain at work in American Christianity. The other side of the equation is the belief that someone other than me is ultimately responsible for my circumstances and success. While contemporary politics labels this idea “entitlement thinking,” I believe there is evidence to show that it originates within the religious culture that underpins America. In the religious environment, Christianity teaches that the ultimate responsibility for my life lies with God. His sovereignty somehow overrides all human history. His plans come to fruition regardless of human choices. In fact, if I am His servant and attempt to follow His will, this theology asserts that He promises to take care of me and provide for my needs. As the culture looses its foundation in faith and becomes more humanistic, it is a very short step to move this obligation from God to government. In fact, the Bible recognizes this step, condemning those governments that usurp God’s role by assuming the power of control over the people through taxes, military expansion, food provision, social welfare or public health.
This verse from Peter’s letter demonstrates how different theological approaches affect social and political expectations. The Greek word, melei, translated “He cares,” might suggest the following: “If God really cares about me, and if He can do anything, then He will take care of me. Sure, I still have to work, but God wouldn’t let anything really bad happen to me. After all, He is my heavenly Father and if earthly fathers would do everything they could to protect their children, certainly God is more capable than they are.” Such an interpretation fosters the idea of spiritual entitlement. “I’ve done my part by accepting Jesus as my Savior. Now God has to do His part by making sure my life is good. My faith will be rewarded with positive signs of His protection.” These signs are usually thought to include health, wealth and happiness.
The other theological interpretation of Peter’s remark suggests that it is anxiety that God removes, not the concerns, trials and hardships of normal human life. This line of thinking, closer to the alternative of the Protestant work ethic, considers God’s sovereignty as the ultimate trump card, but played only if and when all human effort has been expended. With this view in mind, believers are encouraged to do everything they can for as long as they can, and then leave what remains to God. Knowing that God has the final word does not entail that God will fix things for me. It only means that no matter what happens in my life, God’s purposes prevail and I can rest in the fact that I have a part to play in those purposes.
Unfortunately, it seems as though the entitlement version has taken hold of most religious thinking these days. A religion that teaches God is obligated (or obligates Himself) to remove burdens and protect the faithful produces an expectation of divine obligation. And when God is removed from the equation, either by cultural shifts or by personal disappointments, it is very, very easy to replace God with the government. If God doesn’t come through, then I’ll elect a government that will take care of me. Alexander Tytler is claimed to have written that no democracy has ever survived once “the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse (generous gifts) from the public treasury.” The citation might not be correct but the thought seems to be. This pattern is a form of spiritual apostasy because it replaces the generosity and sovereignty of God with the role of the State. It is doomed to fail. A religion that espouses or supports such economic substitution is idolatrous.
My concern is deeper than what happens in the political arena in the next two weeks. Frankly, while I believe that one choice may delay the decline, unless there is a spiritual renewal that affects the ethos of this culture, the election only has the possibility of delay, not solution. Why? Because some elements of the religious culture have been preaching and teaching an entitlement theology so long that many now believe it is gospel. Many now assume that “God will take care of me,” as if I am no longer responsible for my choices and my circumstances. Historically the Church has made significant attempts to replace the sovereignty of God, perhaps subtly, with another power and authority. The aim of dictators is no different inside or outside the sanctuary. In an entitlement society, the focus of living is me, my welfare and my concerns. Loving my neighbor as myself is the polar opposite of an entitlement spirituality. Perhaps that’s why Yeshua reckoned this commandment on par with loving God.
In my view, Peter does tell us to cast our worries on God, but not because God will fix it all. We can cast our anxiety on Him because His plan prevails – even if that plan embraces hardship, agony and defeat for us. God does not offer entitlements. He offers comfort in the midst of tribulation. There is nothing in human history that should incline us to believe the tribulations of the righteous will somehow go away until the return of the Messiah – and if I were you, I wouldn’t be holding my breath on that one. Praying that the Messiah will return quickly so that I can escape the trials of life is just another version of entitlement theology. What is the biblical approach to this veil of tears? Work while there is daylight for the night comes.
Topical Index: entitlement, melei, care, 1 Peter 5:7, Alexander Tytler
Skip,
In one of your audio lectures on Apologetics you speak about the Sabbath, and how it teaches us that God is in control not man. If the Sabbath principle is extended to the Sabbath year, we would begin to see a much larger picture of God’s care. I don’t have to kill myself working seven days a week. Nor do I need to burn myself out, working year-after-year. A Sabbath rest teaches us that God cares and provides. The lack of Sabbath observance – day and year – means we are not reminded of the truth that God cares. And because we no longer believe God cares, we demand that government cares and provides for our daily needs.
It is this balancing act between God caring and my responsibilities that needs to be recovered, and your comments here help move things in that direction. Thank you.
Thanks, Ian. You have keen insights into the connection between Scripture, politics and economics and I ALWAYS appreciate your additions.
It seems as if ‘the church’ has been preached into submission to government by those well-meaning ones who continue to bring out Romans 13, each election cycle, in order to get the ‘right’ party in office.
A few months ago, I was disappointed to see that once again, a national group was able gearing up to focus on their own campaign of 2 Chronicles 7:14, the ever popular appeal for prayer groups to meet and plead for God to ‘heal our land.’ Forty days of prayer must be the ‘magic formula’ this time around.
And now, to top it all off: The organization of ‘America’s Evangelist’ has removed the name of one particular belief system from their list of ‘cults,’ because of a personal visit from the candidate. Amazing, after preaching and teaching this for so many years.
America definitely has an entitlement theology and entitlement mentality. It reminds me of when the Israelites were tired of the manna, and complained because they wanted meat. We are getting what we asked for, and it’s not good.
Though I admit the application may not properly fit OUR situation, I (like most believers) still look for comfort in God’s Word. When I came across the story in 2 Samuel 24, it was reassuring to me. I choose to fall into the hand of the LORD, rather than the hand of man.
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
The Sins of the Fathers
Monopoly Capital
Hi Skip,
For me the three books above are really key to understanding religion in “post modern” America
Aka “globalization” from a secular point of view
1. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
To grossly oversimplify, the Protestant Ethic implies its counterpart, the Catholic Ethic
The Catholic Ethic is an ideology created by Jews to serve as a kind of “glue” for the static model
Of Medieval Society
Which was hierarchical and in which everything had its proper place in The Great Chain of Being
With the rise of industrialization and capitalism, a new, more dynamic model was required
This more dynamic model was needed to support the rising merchant class
And its new form of individualism with its economic counterpart known as capitalism
Thus the need for Protestantism
2. The Sins of the Fathers
The Sins of the Fathers, which is book about American literature, deals with the impact of
Slavery in American culture and society
To serve the new form of individualism with its economic counterpart known as capitalism
Africans, who lived in a very communal culture, were kidnapped
And often separated from their families to serve this new form of “individualism” in Amerika
As slaves
Some of the descendants of these slaves in America probably feel they are entitled to something
But they probably don’t have much more than God to rely on
3. Monopoly Capital
In 1966, Paul Sweezy and Paul A. Baran made their contribution to economic theory
By shifting attention from the assumption of a competitive economy
To monopolistic aspects of giant corporations that dominate market life
Having worked in giant companies like the BofA, IBM, Siemens, and Cisco for last 30 years
I don’t mean to “bite the hand that feeds me”
But as they like to say “we are now in a global economy”
A global economy that is dominated by large and some fairly small companies
The game operates on two levels IMO
Whatever new business the entrepreneurial genius can create
The point is to “monopolize” it
And it is all about “capital”
One thing I was discussing with my friend David in up Berkeley on Saturday night was that
Most of the folks I work with are Indian, Jewish, Buddhist, or Muslim
And very few African Americans
Obama is looking out for the weak and the poor
Romney is looking out for big business and small
“Obama is looking out for the weak and the poor”
If that were true, he’d stop debasing the currency which drives prices up, restore genuine property rights to the citizens of America, encourage people to be self-governing through the local cities and counties, he’d encourage the teaching of Bible in the schools, and he’d abolish “eminent domain” and establish genuine federalism – limited government.
If he’s not doing these things, he’s merely using the economy to help his friends, as do politicians around the globe.
“Obama’s merely using the economy to help his friends, as do politicians”
Hi Ian,
I would agree that Obama is a politician and politicians use the economy to help their friends
But it was Bush and Cheney who destroyed our economy by starting wars we couldn’t win
And Ben Bernanke is in charge of monetary policy; A Republican whose credentials
Are impressive to say the least
Ben Shalom Bernanke is chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States.
Born: December 13, 1953 (age 58), Augusta
Party: Republican Party
Education: Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard College
Books: Principles of Economics
Regarding teaching the Bible in our schools, I’m afraid that without a national curriculum
It would turn into a national joke
Michael,
The USA economy got destroyed long before Bush or Chaney. It got destroyed once Torah was rejected as the source of legislative program. That rejection led to the introduction of fiat money – money out of nothing – through the development of fractional reserve banking. This is THE tool used for devaluing the purchasing power of money, and neither the politicians nor the believers who say they believe the Bible, have taken any attempts to establish Lev. 19:35ff in the economy.
It is this that is destroying the economies all over the world, since governments everywhere use monetary inflation as a more subtle means of taxation.
Preach it, brother. All you have to do is travel the world to see this collapse and manipulation in action.
While I echo Iam remark that if Obama really was looking out for the weak and the poor then he would stop devaluing the dollar, my real objection is deeper than monetary policy. Obama’s ideology of big government is precisely what the Bible objects to. Government that attempts to replace God is not government. It is idolatry. And that is precisely where the US government is heading. Why would we need God is the government can take care of our food supply, our health care, our welfare, our infrastructure and even our communication needs? The more government takes over the control of life, the more it replaces dependency on God and the more idolatrous it becomes. This is the real threat of an Obama ideology. Compassion for the poor does not come from forced redistribution. It comes from men and women who follow the real King.
Hi Skip,
So are you advocating only the rich folks get health care?
I’ve worked for companies that provide health care benefits
But if I didn’t have a job I would not be able to afford health care
For myself or my children
Years ago, I got very sick in Malaysia and received very good health care
Walked in off the street and paid a flat fee of $10
Seemed to work a lot better than our system 🙂
The operative word is “seemed” as in “seemed to work.” You didn’t pay, but someone did.
Most countries with some sort of free or reduced health care costs are not countries where someone can be sued over spilled coffee. If you want to reform health care in American, start with Tort reform. Obama’s plan, by the way, doesn’t even address that issue.
I am not advocating that only the rich get health care. I am advocating the government acknowledge that it is NOT GOD! Ian is right. As long as we think the government can solve the problems, we will have more problems. The solution is transformed hearts, not better surgeons. If you want to see where this is going, with or without Obama, read the history of all the empires that thought they could control their environments and populations. They all fell, not from invading hordes but from lack of internal economic conservatism and the greed for power. Just what we have today in the USA.
If you concentrate on what YOU get out of it without paying much, then you have already forgotten the biblical mandate. Do unto others. So, are you willing to give 75-80 percent of your income so that those who do not work, and perhaps are breaking the law, can have what you have? That isn’t biblical. “If a man does not work, let him not eat,” isn’t punitive. It is the basis of charity and restoration. Welfare is not good if it extends beyond the time needed to help a person become a contributing member of society. Welfare is NEVER supposed to be permanent.
Health care operates with the same model. If you need help and can’t afford it, let others help. But not so that you don’t repay. You become responsible for helping the next time. It isn’t free. There are moral, ethical and financial obligations when you lean on others. And any system that pretends this isn’t true is a lie.
Whatever “success” Christianity may have had in transforming Europe, despite some appalling theological issues, appears most attributable to its understanding of charity and the use of charity to reach out into the communities.
Once charity became a function of government, the churches shrunk into irrelevance, and will remain there until they they get the message: doing is more important than talking.
“As long as we think the government can solve the problems, we will have more problems.”
Hi Skip,
One attractive feature of Romney’s resume is his ability to “reach across the aisle”
Romney won the 2002 gubernatorial election in Massachusetts, and as governor helped develop and enact into law the Massachusetts health care reform legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, which provided near-universal health insurance access through state-level subsidies and individual mandates to purchase insurance.
I’m not sure that either Romney or Obama “think the government can solve the problems”
But it can help alleviate the suffering of the innocent children who are born in poverty
There are really just two parties in our system
And because they are both part of the “same system,” the majority in the center
Are really not that far apart IMO
At this moment, Romney is arguing that ObamaCare should be given the states to run
🙂
Not quite. He is arguing the Medicaid should be given to the states. He would repeal Obamacare.
But the real point is this. If YOU and I are willing to let the government take care of suffering without our involvement, then we are contributors to the problem. You read about Irene in South Africa. What are you going to do? Let someone else take care of it?
“Not quite. He is arguing the Medicaid should be given to the states. He would repeal Obamacare.”
Hi Skip,
I’m no expert on Obamacare or Medicaid, but they seem to be “of the same ilk” to me
“The 26 states that fought Barack Obama’s health-care reform in court challenged not just the individual mandate but the expansion of Medicaid, the public health programme for the poor.” (The Economist)
Regarding your point below, it seems a little bit like “abstract idealism;” I have a hard time worrying to much about the “rest of the world,” when my own family is not on secure ground, financially speaking
Skip: But the real point is this. If YOU and I are willing to let the government take care of suffering without our involvement, then we are contributors to the problem.
Mike: I don’t disagree with your point above, but then as the famous Texan billionaire Ross Perot once said, “the Devil is in the Detail”
Skip: You read about Irene in South Africa. What are you going to do? Let someone else take care of it?
Mike: Well to be very frank, and hopefully not disrespectful; it has been my experience in life that beautiful young blonds with exceptional athletic ability tend to find many males to support their cause 🙂
I think we have good dialogue on this up to the last comment. I found that remark disrespectful of women, suggesting that external beauty is the basis for success. And I doubt you really understand the conditions in South Africa. Irene will not find “many males” to support her unless you and I do something about it. She lives in a country that would rather kill beautiful blondes than offer them assistance. She is exposed daily to risk, disease, malnutrition and physical abuse in a place where no one provides security or sustenance. The fact that she has achieved some recognition as a runner is entirely because of her personal drive. No males came to her rescue in the last 14 years. As far as I can see, and this might be a bit to blunt, your comment is an excuse not to help.
Last week our study group was discussing Parsha Noach and the tower of Babel in Gen6:to11:9
The ark was built by Noah & family under God’s direction “to separate to God and His purposes,” while the Tower of Babel was built under man’s direction to unify man unto himself, in other words, “separate from God!”
Look at government and Babel, and you see the same story. God will confound the Tower of the Government of today, just as He confounded the Babel Tower situation. We need to have God show us how to build our ark – but wait a minute, are we “perfect” -or not corrupted by the society that we live in, as Moses was in God’s sight? Maybe we first have to extricate ourselves from relying on government and corporations for our security and benefits, and then start listening for Him. In Hebrew “faith” is an action word.
Well said.
“Maybe we first have to extricate ourselves from relying on government and corporations for our security and benefits, and then start listening for Him.”
Hi Antoinette,
That’s a great point and I think it is the one Skip alluded to above
At that moment I was trying to extricate myself from the Tower
Just came back from across town where I took my daughter to school
And Max was waiting at home for me to take him for his walk in the rain
Although I live on Abbott Ave North, I’m not quite ready for the life of a Monk 🙂
But I do see your point and think it is a good one, a great path to walk
At the same time, I think that medical doctors have been blessed with many great gifts
And maybe they shouldn’t charge an “arm and a leg” for their services
After all, the Master commanded the following:
In any house that accepts you
heal the sick
share their meal
and there
is the Kingdom of God
The question we all should ask ourselves (always) is this: ~ Who is on the LORD’s side? ~ Does “morality matter?” Does “character count?” We have three choices, -not two. In politics, (do you despise politics as I do?)- are these poly – meaning “many”, and tics- meaning “blood-sucking creatures”- also part of God’s larger plan? We must remember, lean on, rely on and return to the Word of God. “Through it all”- yes, “through it all” (have you been “through it?”-) Rode hard, hung up wet, and pulled through a knothole twice, -We (all) are learning something and are being instructed by Someone.
Today, I gladly, freely, fully announce to all who read these words, my “declaration of dependence.” It is not (contrary to popular belief) “in gold we trust..,” neither is it (a strange shudder goes down my spine)-” in government we trust”- need a good laugh? Listen to these words- “w’ere from the government and we’re here to help you!” – I believe my answer would be this word: “oy!”- Thanks.. but no thanx.
No, my friends.. we do absolutely, positively need, desperately need to return unto our roots. We need to dance with the ONE who brought us. Hear my declaration of dependence.. I will live this until I die, – “In God we trust.” Always and forever, I look unto no man, but will hear (yes, “shema,” y’all) what God (the LORD) will speak. This is how I roll, from this day forth and forevermore: ~ What do the scriptures say? ~ What Book has authority over my life? It is the God-breathed Word of God, our Bible.
Protestant roots? Sir, you need to dig a little deeper than that! My roots go deeper than Martin Luther or St. Augustine or even David, or Moses. All these are godly men and all are men whom God has used to form and to fashion my faith, but I look unto one Man, one Man who died in my place, one Man who died in my stead, one Man who gave His life’s blood for me, and that one Man is the Second Adam and the now living resurrected Son of God unto whom “all authority” in heaven and in earth has been given. I say again, has been given, “both” in heaven and in earth. We, (the clueless sheep) have no earthy idea “who” this Man is. He is the forgotten Christ. And worse yet, intentionally, willfully – forgotten. Our godless government’s “policy” today? – Nothing new.. It goes like this: “We will not have this Man to reign over us..” Sirs, – let me know how this works out for you. It will not. ~ There is NO wisdom, NO insight, NO plan that can succeed against the LORD ~ (Proverbs 21.30) None.
Godless Russia anyone? Godless North Korea? Oh yes.. please. Give us a godless nation- one in which we cannot even mention the Name which is (my friends) above every name. Oh, but we will remember tHis name when it comes to cursing.. Buddha dammit? Mohammed dammit? Why not? No, not at all. Why? Why is it the name of LORD which we speak so freely, attaching empty meaning to His holy Name? And then for some posing imposter “pastor” to proclaim “God damn America?” May God have mercy on us. Father forgive us, for we no not what we do. Oh, we are so clueless. There is (today) a famine for the Word of God.
The Word of the LORD is true. Get it? Got it? Good. The written word reveals the Living Word- Him who is called True and Faithful- The ONE whose Name is “the Word of God.” Listen again, (for the first time) and remember these words..
~ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His Name is the Word of God ~ (Revelation 19.13)
His words to His talmudim? “Remember Me.” And our response to His words? (this is faith). We have forgotten Him. He is the forgotten Christ, (still today) greatly despised and rejected by man. Why? There is nothing new under the sun.
(Are these “my” words?) NO. These words are written in a Book. These words have been written for “whosoever will.” “Whosoever will” also assumes “whosoever won’t”- “we will not have this man to reign over us”- these are the “whosoever wont’s”. These are the ones the scriptures say are “willingly ignorant.” These are the ones who hold their hands up unto the heavens and declare with impudent faces “NO God.” God does not have their “Yes, LORD”- For “self” has been enthroned rather than the Savior.
Have we come to the place (yet) where we know these words are true and faithful? ~ It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not ~ (Lamentations 3.22)
Or have we learned to take the place of the beggar and cry out to Him who sits upon heaven’s throne: ~ Yeshua, son of David, have mercy on us.
Are we ignorant of our prodigal Father who graciously, generously, lavishly opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing?
Have we forgotten the history of this (once great) nation? Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The once screaming eagle has become the feeble twittering sparrow. Friends, “humble yourselves or be humbled.” (and hallelujah- His eye is on the sparrow!)
~ Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain who build it. ~ and to whom much has been given, much shall be required. ~
Is God able to “chastise” an entire nation? Remember (the once mighty) Rome? Rome was not defeated by an exterior enemy. It imploded upon itself. Our (only) hope is for God to have mercy on us and for us as a nation and as individuals (for whom Christ died) to return unto righty-related living, for:
~ Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people ~ (Proverbs 14.13)
Why should He? Why should God have mercy on us? If it were up to me (and it is not!)- there would be smoking cinders everywhere! Oh- the deep, deep love of Jesus, our intercessor!
It is (only) for His Name’s sake.
~ Not unto us, not unto us O LORD- but unto Your Name be the glory, both now and forevermore- amen!
~ The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even for ever more ~ (Psalm 121.8)
~ Save Your people and bless Your inheritance; be their Shepherd and carry them forever ~ (Psalm 28:9) Again, -amen.
Carl, I liked your analogy of the eagle and the sparrow but a better metaphor might be Ben Franklin’s choice for national symbol, the turkey, fattened and ready for the feast. You may not know anything about poultry farming but my grampa raised turkeys for few years and hated it! He said they were stupid, vicious, cannibalistic birds. Mob mentality ruled, the strong picking on the weak (where pecking order comes from), destroying and consuming them.
Sound familiar? It should. Sounds a lot like Big Gov, Big Biz, Big Defense, Big Ag, Big Industry, Big Pharma, Big Banking, and sometimes, sadly, Big Church.
Joh 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. You are so right that we must “keep our eye on the Guy”, “come hell or high water” because there is no other refuge in Heavan or Earth.
Henry C. Link or Dan Gilbert, I can’t remember which right now, but they both wrote in the 30s and 40s. In one of their books, he shares some post-depression survey data that looks something like:
Who should care for poor people?
Local Individuals The city / Local Church The State Government The Feds
1935 50% 30% 15% 5%
1945 10% 20% 30% 40%
I’m sure I’ve exaggerated the numbers, and the data was actually taken over several years. But the trend was an increasing shift AWAY FROM PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY (for our neighbors / the poor).
Food for thought.
That didn’t format quite right, the percentages went under the headings “Local Individuals”, “The City/Local Church”, “The State Government”, and finally “The Feds”. Hopefully, you can still see the shift in locus of responsibility.
Actually, there are many studies that show that charity and care for others was most effective when it was handled by the local church and local organizations. The trend of the government has been for 50 years to take this away from local action and in the process we have created the Great Entitlement State where no one is really responsible for anyone else.
You are right, of course. However, as you know – many people see pleas for government action as synonymous with personal responsibility, not opposed to it.
It’s an easy trap to get into, we may think: “My personal responsibility as a Christian is to get government to _________________.” This was the mindset when I was involved in student government – Why help one or two people by yourself – when you can fight for hundreds or millions through the political system? A slippery slope to be sure, and I wouldn’t condemn Willliam Wilberforce for his political methods to abolish slavery in Britain – however, this seems to be more the exception to the rule.
Skip, It seems that you speak of “an expectation of divine obligation” as a negative thing which the modern church culture has invented under the banner of entitlement, (I well understand its false practice personally and have been working to rid myself of that leaven in my life) but what of hesed, hen and covenant? Doesn’t YHWH obligate Himself to a weaker party (us) in covenant? I understood your teaching on covenant was that He offers promises of grace, mercy, forgiveness, (and I’ll add Divine blessing -Deuteronomy 28 and all of Torah) and we obligate ourselves to keep our end of the contract (faithfulness), but what kind of “deal” are you suggesting is in place? If it is every man for himself in a dog eat dog world what kind of covenant and what kind of Father do we have when it comes down to it and where is His hesed directed- only to our forgiveness and someday heaven in the end if we persevere-which I know you don’t teach. While I know you can’t cover everything in one TW , your portrayal of YHWH in this post, in my opinion, needs something (development, detail, definition?) because as it stands now it is not an accurate reflection of Him, His covenant with us or His hen/ hesed. To me you threw the baby, the tub and the fixtures out with the dirty bathwater. Michael
On October 18, 1931, in an address which began a nation-wide drive to aid the private relief agencies, President Herbert Hoover stated:
“This civilization…which we call American life, is builded and can alone survive upon the translation into individual action of that fundamental philosophy announced by the Savior nineteen centuries ago.”
On September 15, 1932, to leaders of the “national drive” committee for voluntary relief agencies, President Herbert Hoover stated:
“We maintain the spiritual impulses in our people for generous giving and generous service – in the spirit that each is his brother’s keeper.”
and in another speech ….. at a reception on his 80th birthday in West Branch, Iowa, August 10, 1954, warning:
Their dogma is absolute materialism which defies truth and religious faith…
To this whole gamut of Socialist infections, I say to you…God has blessed us with another wonderful word – “heritage.” The great documents of that heritage are not from Karl Marx. They are from the Bible, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.
Within them alone can the safeguards of freedom survive.”
http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Oct–20—Herbert-Hoover-on-Tyranny-of-Government–Middle-East-crisis—Communism—.html?soid=1108762609255&aid=YcLZWaqcGac
Michael,
I am appalled and quite frankly offended by your reference (about Irene), to being blonde and attractive as somehow being a gold digger. Men like you that stereotype blondes is disgraceful and revolting. I work just as hard as men, brunettes, red heads, and any other color hair there is in this world. I put my self through college twice, paid off my loans with no government help, and supported myself and children while going through a divorce just to name a few.
I don’t know what universe you live in by NO ONE ever gave me a break or a check because of the color of my hair.
Interesting in-depth analysis, Mr. Moen. I applaud you! I think that the drive to socialism desired by many is doomed to fail, for without the Spirit of G-d, the evil inclination will rule any supposed unity of the masses under a tyranical government.
I believe the modern day entitlement theolgy comes from a (mis?)understanding of the Abrahamic covenant. In last week’s Torah portion G-d was obligated by his covenant with Abraham to offer escape to Lot (an extension of Abraham’s covenental faimily). “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?”
As partaker’s of Yeshua we have entered into this same covenant, but a covenant has responsibilities on both parties. Yeshua fulfilled those responsibilities for us, yet as his Body we are to live by the faith of the Son of G-d, dead to sin and alive to righteousness.
Sons who want dad’s car keys but never wash the car, check the oil, or clean out the interior soon lose their priveleges and are no longer treated as sons but children.
What you have touched on is the relationship between hen and hesed. I have written a great deal about hesed recently. It is the true expression of God’s heart and His expectation once hen has been released on the world. Yeshua did not “fulfill” this obligation since it can only be fulfilled in the expression of loyalty by both parties. What Yeshua did is guarantee that the covenant of grace would overcome all enemies. He is the sign of the promise, but we are still obligated to obey because we have accepted that promise.