Raw Story’s Travis Gettys says that prominent Virginia teabagger Jonathon Moseley took issue with Pope Francis’s claims that unfettered capitalism is hurting the world. Moseley wrote an essay titled “Jesus Christ is a capitalist” that tries to take the Pope on using scripture.
Moseley, a Virginia business and criminal defense attorney, supports his claim with a verse from the Book of Luke in which Jesus declines to act as arbitrator when someone asks him to compel a brother to divide their family inheritance.
“In just one verse, we see that God rejects the left-wing ‘Jesus Christ supported socialism’ heresy,” Moseley writes. “When Jesus was asked to support redistribution of wealth — to tell one brother to share the family inheritance with the other — Jesus refused…Jesus Christ is weeping in heaven hearing Christians espouse a socialist philosophy that has created suffering and poverty around the world,” Moseley writes. “It is impossible to love one’s neighbor as yourself without fighting against socialism, meaning government meddling in private lives.”
As an atheist, I don’t usually play this scripture game. But this is too easy:
Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.
…we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.
I could go on. Meanwhile, other Republicans are arguing against Francis’s comments by saying that unfettered capitalism doesn’t exist. I don’t know which argument is more divorced from reality.
Or there’s the good old Matthew 19:21: If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast , and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: then you may follow me.
Or Deut. 15:7. If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.
Or Luke 3:11. “Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise.”
It’s too easy…
Oh no Pope Francis is forcing them to think about their actions and rethink their lives. OMG the catastrophe.
Jesus Christ *is* weeping in Heaven, but it’s because the Holy Ghost talked Him into chopping all the onions for ParadiSalsaFest 2013.
Also, I thought it was “render unto Caesar the salad which is Caesar.” And a margarita.