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To: RobbyS
You are offended by the term panhandler, but you will note that when he sent the disciples away, he commanded them to depend on the generosity of others.

I don't think you will find an example of either Jesus or the Apostles begging anyone for money. God provided. A panhandler is someone who holds a pan in their hand begging money from productive citizens. Jesus may have lived off donations from followers, but I don't think he ever begged or complained that he needed anything. And when the disciples were sent out without any means of support, Jesus knew that they would be provided for. They did not need to beg. God provided.

179 posted on 07/03/2010 10:10:25 PM PDT by P-Marlowe (LPFOKETT GAHCOEEP-w/o*)
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To: P-Marlowe
God forbid that Jesus do anything that offends bourgeois propriety! /sarc But if you don't like the word "beg", then certainly "expect" is the operative term. Sort of like a preacher "expects" the congregation to support him, as Paul did expect the same kind of help given the other apostles.

IAC, what has you I suspect, the plain truth that the ministry of Jesus was conducted more like that of mendicant friars than that of a settled ministry depending on a tithe. There is always the problem that a settled ministry leads to the accumulation of wealth and clerical luxury. Jesus' criticism of the Temple was in part a criticism of the great wealth of the temple. That, of course, was only incidental to his real complaint, which was their unwillingness to to accept his authority, his claim to interpret Torah.

During medieval times, the wealth accumulated by the Church except the envy of the nobility and the disapproval of many of the laity of moderate means. The ability of the papacy to tax the wealth of their kingdoms finally led the national kings to seize or effectively control the distribution of that wealth. Luther was able successfully to lead a spiritual rebellion against Rome by enlisting the long standing German resentment of church taxation for the Crusades and other purposes. The Reformation ended up giving the state power over the Church and its wealth. the same strain of radicalism that had once opposed Rome now took the form of opposition to state churches. Evangelicalism, which developed out of this opposition to world power nonetheless has more often focused on appearances as reality. Capitalism may not be a product of evangelical Protestantism, but the two have always sat comfortably together. Poverty has often be taken as a sign of divine disfavor. This is how we get the Gospel of prosperity preached in many big-box churches today.

181 posted on 07/03/2010 11:02:22 PM PDT by RobbyS (Pray with the suffering souls.)
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