Joseph was a tradesman, a small business manager, and a craftsman who paid taxes and had royalty in his ancestry.
That’s the whole reason they went to Bethlehem in the first place...to register for the tax in the City of David, because they were of the House of David.
Sheesh...and I’m not even an ordained minister, much less a Bishop, and even I knew that! (But I wish there had been a Holiday Inn for Mary and Joseph back then!)
Back then there wasn't an 800 number to reserve a room...nor did they have Priceline.com.
Pennyless? Carpenter is a skilled trade (still is) and I doubt Joseph worked for free.
The bishop needs to study another Bible, because the bible he has must be written by Satan.
Abraham was beloved by God and blessed with great wealth.
What does the sodomite “bishop” think of that?
Yup. And now they will say the usual. That the Christ was a liberal. My usual come back to that tripe is..did Jesus DEMAND the money from the well to do by the force of a tyrannical government?
They cant answer. Satanic people are like that.
In God’s Plan, the Roman occupation of the region allowed an immediate dispersion of the Gospel message to the entire Gentile world when Paul was taken there after the Resurrection and Ascension.
Evil is contagious.
Jesus came into this world just like all the rest of us: naked. Nothing is said about the level of wealth of his earthly parents. However, the gifts brought by the Wise Men were fit for a king, and would have be extremely valuable. I can only speculate that his parents held those gifts in trust until Jesus reached adulthood.
We see by several miracles that Jesus had command of any earthly resource that he needed to support his earthly ministry. He clearly provided for those who followed Him. Recall the miracles of feeding the large crowds. Jesus’s clothing at the time of his arrest was so valuable that the Roman soldiers cast lots for it.
But Jesus was the Creator and the whole universe was His. Hasn’t this moron read John 1 or 1 Corinthians 10:4? I would say being the Creator changes the whole concept of wealth And besides, what could a man give to God in return for eternal life?
God doesn’t want your money, He wants you to obey Him. And one of the points that Jesus makes about obedience is sexual morality. He says this in Revelation 22:15: those who practice sexual immorality do not qualify for His free gift of salvation. Maybe that is the real reason that this Bishop takes issue with Jesus.
The author left out the part where the Holy Family had to collect bottles and cans for their meager holiday repast of overdone hot dogs at 7/11. Either that or he’s smoking crack.
“....being sensitive to others’ religious beliefs ought to be the attitude of every Christian.”
.
And every Buddhist, Muslim, Shintoist and Hindu.
Of the five religions mentioned above, Christianity is, by far, the most tolerant and kind toward other religions.
Seen as many Muslim or Hindu charities throughout the world as there are Christian charities?
To be fair, the Bible says that when Jesus was dedicated in the Temple, they brought a sacrifice of two turtledoves (Luke 2:23-24), which implies that they were not well off.
Which of course is also not the same thing as saying they were either penniless or homeless. Every fool knows that “there was no room at the inn,” not that there was no money for an inn - and Mary and Joseph obviously had the means to live in Bethlehem for an extended time, since they didn’t return to Galilee immediately.
This heretic singlehandedly tore apart the Episcopalian church. Let’s all listen to his advice on how Christians should think and be. It’s opposites day.
The reason so many of us don't get it is because what others get is incorrect.
Mary and Joseph were not homeless.
Jesus was not poor.
Get it!