The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Remember... when you read the Law of Moses... you're reading the constitution and civil law of an ancient nation. Now... let's take a look at just a FEW details that illustrate that the Bible is distributist in economic philosophy....

In biblical economics the Law forbade landowners from harvesting the edges and corners of their fields. These were to be left for the poor, widows, orphans, and strangers to glean from. God sent prophets such as Amos to rebuke the nation when land owners and magistrates colluded to deny the poor their gleaning rights to increase profits.

Every third year the poor tithe was gathered from land owners. The poor tithe stocked the "storehouse", a central hub of grain and produce storage for the poor, needy, orphans, widows, and strangers. God sent prophets such as Malachi to rebuke the nation for neglecting the storehouse.

Usury was forbbiden by God... yet the national leaders colluded with lenders to steadily empliment and increase usury. God rebuked the nation through the prophets repeatedly for this also.

Every 50 years, the Israelites were supposed to celebrate a year long festival called the Jubilee. As part of those festivities, all land reverted back to its original owners and all Hebrew slaves were freed. Thus, Jubilee prevented economic hardships from being hereditary. Even if a family fell on hard times, it could start over in less than 50 years. As one might expect, this was a popular holiday for the poor. No doubt it was VERY unpopular for the wealthy who had aquired said lands during the 50 year period. God rebuked the nation for not observing His statutes of justice.

Distributism was the social economic structure of the Middle Ages and widely enforced by the church for centuries. Papal Encyclicals have been repeatedly made down through history on the side of Distributist economics based on biblical precedent. Leo XIII's encyclical, Rerum Novarum is an excellent example. It was this encyclical that inspired Hilaire Belloc to go looking for a new solution to economic woes of his day. These biblical principles have inspired the Catholic Workers Movement and the works of G.K. Chesterton.

Imagine if we had a political party in power today that required land owners to allow the poor to glean their fields.

Imagine if we had a political party in power today that required land owners and business owners to set aside 10% of all income to specifically fund a national program that served the needs of the poor, widows, strangers, and needy (the Storehouse Fund).

Imagine if we had a political party in power today that stood hard against preditory lending practices and held banks and lenders accountable.

Imagine if we had a political party in power today that sought to break up monopolies and massive corporate enterprises to decentralize production, and stimulate competition. Imagine if this party also believed in generational reparations for social injustices and inequities.

That would be a biblical government... as God designed government in the Law of Moses...

...but Republicans would be crying "SOCIALISM!!!". LOL

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Most religious conservtives will not touch this.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Most liberal wouldn't touch stoning either.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

BTW definition of truely poor would have to established. A lot of "poor" today are not really poor.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

One would have to consider income (if any) against the cost of living. For example, a person making $100 is making far more money than millions of people in the third world. However, due to cost of income... $100 is virtually nothing.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Most liberals would legalize "stoning". lol

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

This is a liberal Catholic construct. It is a fringe interpretation of the Bible. The vast majority of Christendom reject this legalistic Old Testament interpretation.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Are you real?

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Go read your history.

Another brainwashed conservative that forces over 4,000 years of culture and Biblical history into his own personal political paradigm.

As for legalism... the position doesn't apply a strict adherence to the letter of the law, but rather an evaluation of principles embodied in the Mosaic Law as applied to the ancient agrarian society of Israel to weigh social policy in todays world. God never changes.... the Law of Moses exemplifies what God expects of a nation.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Jesus fulfilled the Law. It is finished. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor. He didn't command nations to take care of the poor. The Body of Christ clothes the naked, feeds the hungry, visits the prisoner, the sick, invites the stranger in. Human government fails, always fails. Jesus doesn't. He is bringing justice to the world through His Church. Secular government will never fulfill the purpose of the Church.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Further, God commanded that the Israelites do this, because He was their King. You do not find him authorizing the Davidic dynasty to confiscate food, land, or property from the rich to give to the poor. It remained a command for the people to obey willingly without oppressive policies from the rulers.

Further, it this nation, the people are the rulers, not our elected officials in our state and federal capitals. We often lose sight of this fact, but that was what our Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Articles of Confederation were based on.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Very well said Jay. We aren't under a theistic monarchy.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

The point is... when God crafted a Government... HE chose a distributist model.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Actually you're wrong. God sent prophets to rebuke the entire nation for neglecting these precepts all the way up to the time of Amos and Malachi. Duh. Amos clearly draws out that leaders and land owners were in collusion to deny the poor their rights... just as God repeatedly rebuked the nation for usury. Study up.

I know. I'm simply saying that when GOD crafted a nation... HE chose a distributist model.

If we are to have a righteous Christian society... we do well to look at how God defined national righteousness and social justice.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

You are incorrect. I said that He did not give the human government the authority to enforce this command. It was to be done on the part of the people in obedience to Him. The Davidic dynasty had no authority to enforce that law.

Usury is the charging of interest on money that is lent. God did not approve of this policy occurring between Israelites as they were not to profit from at their brother's expense. That is the direct opposite of a redistributionistic outlook.

Further, just because the grain was there on the ground or in the corners of the field, meant nothing if the poor were not harvesting. Essentially, they 'helped' the farmer in the field, and what they harvested was their wages. This is also not redistribution of wealth. It is mandated seasonal employment.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Jay, then why do we see the prophets rebuking the entire nation and leaders in collusion with land owners NOT to grant the poor their rights??? It is a national code. It was an agrarian distributism. It wasn’t uncommon either. We see it in other ancient cultures. Notice also the poor were being turned away in the gates. The “gates” is where civil cases were often brought up before magistrates. The poor were bringing up the case that they were being denied their rights… and the elders and magistrates were simply turning them away. This is a corruption in an ancient civil law code.

Not so… in fact, if you study distributism, you’ll notice that notable distributists started credit unions in effort to reduce the cost of interest (usury) on loans, in addition to decentralizing banking, and keeping it local. To the distributist all things belong to God. If God orders one to leave the corners and edges of their crops, if God orders one to pay a poor tithe, if God demands that lands be returned to their family line… these things are God’s to distribute as He so desires. It is up to man to see to it that God’s will is done with God’s resources. It’s a concept known as STEWARDSHIP. So, in distributism… no one is profiting off their brother. They are profiting of God’s blessings and demands for justice regarding His creation.

For some, it was seasonal employment. I see it a lot like this… in Ohio those receiving public assistance (food stamps) must work a certain number of hours a week or they are “sanctioned” and cannot receive benefits that month. If they drop from the work program, their enrollment is dropped from the food stamp program.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Video about Distributism...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRtyOkfpvSI

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Seems to me that I read somewhere that if you would not work you should starve.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Interesting aquilla wants government to enforce giving to poor but not enforce morality suchas same sex marriage only.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

That so legalish! That's my thing a lot of the poor here are not truely poor, they have lifestyle issues or chararcter ones. To me a poor person is one who truely not able to take care of themselves.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Well I do agree with your assesment of the economics of Israel. Tithes, offerings, giving to the poor was all a part of it. Yet for the most part it seems they were free to try to "get ahead" or to have private property.

Many of us think a little redistribution isnt a bad thing. God had a "safety net" for his people. Yet we see through Pauls teaching if one refused to work we should not enable him by feeding him.

Remember Jesus teachings were a bit radical to us. If one takes your shirt give him your coat. Give to those who ask (except those refusing work) asking nothing again. Give to the ministry, give to the poor.

Americas socialist system is collapsing because we are giving out money we dont have. It would seem the system can only go as far as there is money to pay for it.

Going in debt to give to others? How foolish. We cant solve all the problems EVERYONE has. The poor generally have more faith and hope in Jesus than the rich, they NEED him more. They long for a paradise of happiness and joy as Jesus has promised.

Blessed be the poor for yours is the kingdom of God.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

The early church provided for those in need among their number. This was in addition to any gleaning rights, storehouse rights, etc. that those needy classes might have been entitled to. However... if one wouldn't work... the church wouldn't assist them. Let them go glean or turn to the storehouse.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

I never said that I wanted it... I found it intriguing that GOD chose that model. I see very little wrong with common sense welfare, unemployment, and social security programs. I am for universal health care... but I see issues with how to make it happen. I have friends and family in Canada that I talk to quite a bit. So I do have my leanings towards a single payer system. But all of this in my opinion is best on the state level... IF it is attempted.

As for sex... it's a free country. What people do with regards to their private behaviors and associations is entirely between themselves and God. I do believe that Christians should seek to follow God's Word and the guidence of their elders.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Amen. Distributism isn't Socialism or Communism. However, it's closest realizations have been among agrarian socialists in the third world.

Amen. I believe the church should provide immediate assistance to prevent one from becoming a habitual charity case in the system. However, if one will not work... the church shouldn't have to support them. Let them glean or turn to the storehouse.

Amen.

Amen.

I agree. However, here's an article that explains what I think about it...

JUSTICE
Holman Bible Dictionary

The order God seeks to reestablish in His creation where all people receive the benefits of life with Him. As love is for the New Testament, so justice is the central ethical idea of the Old Testament. The frequency of justice is sometimes missed by the reader due to a failure to realize that the wide range of the Hebrew word mishpat, particularly in passages that deal with the material and social necessities of life.

Nature of justice Justice has two major aspects. First, it is the standard by which penalties are assigned for breaking the obligations of the society. Second, justice is the standard by which the advantages of social life are handed out, including material goods, rights of participation, opportunities, and liberties. It is the standard for both punishment and benefits and thus can be spoken of as a plumb line. “I shall use justice as a plumb-line, and righteousness as a plummet” (Isaiah 28:17, REB).

Often people think of justice in the Bible only in the first sense as God's wrath on evil. This aspect of justice indeed is present, such as the judgment mentioned in John 3:19. Often more vivid words like “wrath” are used to describe punitive justice (Romans 1:18).

Justice in the Bible very frequently also deals with benefits. Cultures differ widely in determining the basis by which the benefits are to be justly distributed. For some it is by birth and nobility. For others the basis is might or ability or merit. Or it might simply be whatever is the law or whatever has been established by contracts. The Bible takes another possibility. Benefits are distributed according to need. Justice then is very close to love and grace. God “executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and… loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18, NRSV; compare Hosea 10:12; Isaiah 30:18).

Various needy groups are the recipients of justice. These groups include widows, orphans, resident aliens (also called “sojourners” or “strangers”), wage earners, the poor, and prisoners, slaves, and the sick (Job 29:12-17; Psalms 146:7-9; Malachi 3:5). Each of these groups has specific needs which keep its members from being able to participate in aspects of the life of their community. Even life itself might be threatened. Justice involves meeting those needs. The forces which deprive people of what is basic for community life are condemned as oppression (Micah 2:2; Ecclesiastes 4:1). To oppress is to use power for one's own advantage in depriving others of their basic rights in the community (see Mark 12:40). To do justice is to correct that abuse and to meet those needs (Isaiah 1:17). Injustice is depriving others of their basic needs or failing to correct matters when those rights are not met (Jeremiah 5:28; Job 29:12-17). Injustice is either a sin of commission or of omission.

The content of justice, the benefits which are to be distributed as basic rights in the community, can be identified by observing what is at stake in the passages in which “justice,” “righteousness,” and “judgment” occur. The needs which are met include land (Ezekiel 45:6-9; compare Micah 2:2; Micah 4:4) and the means to produce from the land, such as draft animals and millstones (Deuteronomy 22:1-4; Deuteronomy 24:6). These productive concerns are basic to securing other essential needs and thus avoiding dependency; thus the millstone is called the “life” of the person (Deuteronomy 24:6). Other needs are those essential for mere physical existence and well being: food (Deuteronomy 10:18; Psalms 146:7), clothing (Deuteronomy 24:13), and shelter (Psalms 68:6; Job 8:6). Job 22:5-9,Job 22:23; Job 24:1-12 decries the injustice of depriving people of each one of these needs, which are material and economic. The equal protection of each person in civil and judicial procedures is represented in the demand for due process (Deuteronomy 16:18-20). Freedom from bondage is comparable to not being “in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and lack of everything” (Deuteronomy 28:48 NRSV).

Justice presupposes God's intention for people to be in community. When people had become poor and weak with respect to the rest of the community, they were to be strengthened so that they could continue to be effective members of the community—living with them and beside them (Leviticus 25:35-36). Thus biblical justice restores people to community. By justice those who lacked the power and resources to participate in significant aspects of the community were to be strengthened so that they could. This concern in Leviticus 25:1 is illustrated by the provision of the year of Jubilee, in which at the end of the fifty year period land is restored to those who had lost it through sale or foreclosure of debts (Leviticus 25:28). Thus they regained economic power and were brought back into the economic community. Similarly, interest on loans was prohibited (Leviticus 25:36) as a process which pulled people down, endangering their position in the community.

These legal provisions express a further characteristic of justice. Justice delivers; it does not merely relieve the immediate needs of those in dire straits (Psalms 76:9; Isaiah 45:8; Isaiah 58:11; Isaiah 62:1-2). Helping the needy means setting them back on their feet, giving a home, leading to prosperity, restoration, ending the oppression (Psalms 68:5-10; Psalms 10:15-16; compare 107; Psalms 113:7-9). Such thorough justice can be socially disruptive. In the Jubilee year as some receive back lands, others lose recently-acquired additional land. The advantage to some is a disadvantage to others. In some cases the two aspects of justice come together. In the act of restoration, those who were victims of justice receive benefits while their exploiters are punished (1 Samuel 2:7-10; compare Luke 1:51-53; Luke 6:20-26).

The source of justice As the sovereign Creator of the universe, God is just (Psalms 99:1-4; Genesis 18:25; Deuteronomy 32:4; Jeremiah 9:24), particularly as the defender of all the oppressed of the earth (Psalms 76:9; Psalms 103:6; Jeremiah 49:11). Justice thus is universal (Psalms 9:7-9) and applies to each covenant or dispensation. Jesus affirmed for His day the centrality of the Old Testament demand for justice (Matthew 23:23). Justice is the work of the New Testament people of God (James 1:27).

God's justice is not a distant external standard. It is the source of all human justice (Proverbs 29:26; 2 Chronicles 19:6,2 Chronicles 19:9). Justice is grace received and grace shared (2 Corinthians 9:8-10).

The most prominent human agent of justice is the ruler. The king receives God's justice and is a channel for it (Psalms 72:1; compare Romans 13:1-2,Romans 13:4). There is not a distinction between a personal, voluntary justice and a legal, public justice. The same caring for the needy groups of the society is demanded of the ruler (Psalms 72:4; Ezekiel 34:4; Jeremiah 22:15-16). Such justice was also required of pagan rulers (Daniel 4:27; Proverbs 31:8-9).

Justice is also a central demand on all people who bear the name of God. Its claim is so basic that without it other central demands and provisions of God are not acceptable to God. Justice is required to be present with the sacrificial system (Amos 5:21-24; Micah 6:6-8; Isaiah 1:11-17; Matthew 5:23-24), fasting (Isaiah 58:1-10), tithing (Matthew 23:23), obedience to the other commandments (Matthew 19:16-21), or the presence of the Temple of God (Jeremiah 7:1-7).

Justice in salvation Apart from describing God's condemnation of sin, Paul used the language and meaning of justice to speak of personal salvation. “The righteousness of God” represents God in grace bringing into the community of God through faith in Christ those who had been outside of the people of God (particularly in Romans but compare also Ephesians 2:12-13). See Law; Government; Poverty; Righteousness; Welfare.

Stephen Charles Mott

Amen!

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

The soundness of the article I posted above is enough to make any sincere Christian consider being at least a little more Liberal.

Here's the deal... we must have faith... if God desires for a nation to care for "the least of these"... will He not bless said nation and sustain them with His right hand??? Did not judgment fall on Israel for not strengthening the hands of the poor and the needy??? Why not trust God to bless the nation that blesses it's poor, widows, orphans, and strangers???

We can do a study and see what God promises the nation that cares for it's poor... I think many might be surprised.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

So its a free country, how is it free when forced to pay for others? Why can't giving to others be between them and God as well?

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

So we gonna use scripture to say nation is to give to poor but then seperate nation from demands of scripture to legislate morality?

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

Free means that all are brought into community, without leaving anyone behind. Allowing absolute destitution is not being a free country. For in that kind of society "freedom" only exists for those who can pay in cold hard cash.

Re: The Bible: Distributist Economics
 

See... I'm not being as unreasonable as some people presume. :thumbsup