It would be amusing, if it were not so tragic, that Conservatives, who love money and capitalism so much, imagine that they can love both God and Mamon, despite the teaching of Jesus, in whom they profess to believe.
According to Matthew 25; 13- 30, Jesus used this "Parable of the Talents" in his teaching:�Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour. For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The one who had received five talents went off right away and put his money to work270 and gained five more. In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. But the one who had received one talent went out and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master�s money in it.
After a long time, the master of those slaves came and settled his accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, saying, �Sir, you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.� His master answered, �Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.�
The one with the two talents also came and said, �Sir, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more.� His master answered, �Well done, good and faithful slave! You have been faithful with a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.�
Then the one who had received the one talent came and said, �Sir, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.� But his master answered, �Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn�t sow and gather where I didn�t scatter? Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received my money back with interest! Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten.
For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth��
There is a very similar version at Luke 19:12-27, except that its conclusion is
�I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.��
Are we to believe that Jesus was speaking of himself in this parable, and that if you want to avoid getting slaughtered in the next life, you had better be a very successful conservative Republican businessman in this life?
And to be such a success is that effort , according to the Republican reading of Luke 16: 1-13, Jesus recommended that you should follow the example of "the Dishonest Manager" :"He also said to the disciples, �There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, �What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.� And the manager said to himself, �What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.� So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, �How much do you owe my master?� He said, �A hundred measures[a] of oil.� He said to him, �Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.� Then he said to another, �And how much do you owe?� He said, �A hundred measures of wheat.� He said to him, �Take your bill, and write eighty.� The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world[ are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth,[d] so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings. �One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.�
"Acre of Diamonds" :
Russell Conwell is one of the most successful prophets of Capitalism. Before there was radio, between the Civil War and World War I, this American Baptist preacher made a fortune delivering one of the most famous lectures to paying audiences about 6000 times, Conwell then went on to use some of his wealth to found Temple University.
"Con well" lived up to his surname when he answered the following challenge put to him:
"I say that you ought to get rich, and it is our duty to get rich. How many of my pious brethren say to me, "Do you, a Christian minister, spend your time going up and down the country advising young people to get rich, to get money?" "Yes, of course I do." They say, "Isn't that awful! Why don't you preach the gospel instead of preaching about man's making money?" "Because to make money honestly is to preach the gospel." That is the reason. The men who get rich may be the most honest men you find in the community. "Oh," but says some young man here to-night, " I have been told all my life that if a person has money he is very dishonest and dishonorable and mean and contemptible."
My friend, that is the reason why you have none, because you have that idea of people. The foundation of your faith is altogether false. Let me say here clearly, and say it briefly, though subject to discussion which I have not time for here, ninety-eight out of one hundred of the rich men of America are honest. That is why they are rich. That is why they carry on great enterprises and find plenty of people to work with them. It is because they are honest men.
Says another young man, "I hear sometimes of men that get millions of dollars dishonestly." Yes, of course you do, and so do I. But they are so rare a thing in fact that the newspapers talk about them all the time as a matter of news until you get the idea that all the other rich men got rich dishonestly.
My friend, you take and drive me�if you furnish the auto-out into the suburbs of Philadelphia, and introduce me to the people who own their homes around this great city, those beautiful homes with gardens and flowers, those magnificent homes so lovely in their art, and I will introduce you to the very best people in character as well as in enterprise in our city, "
- There are now hundreds of funeral homes catering to those who want to have full-service funerals for their pets.
"I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. . . "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. . . "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. . . Why do you not understand what I say? You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father's desires.
And He also said to His disciples: "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. So he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'
Then the steward said within himself, 'What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.'
"So he called every one of his master's debtors to him, and said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' So he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe? So he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'
"So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
"He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteousness mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? "And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
(When "Christian Conservatives" are not ignoring what Jesus taught, they are distorting that teaching, quoting Jesus' parable of the Talents, for example, in defense of capitalism. Maybe, by the same token, dishonest accountants should take to quoting the parable about the dishonest manager in defense of crooked accountants!)
"Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they ridiculed him. So he said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others; but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God."
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
He (the beggar, Lazarus) said (to Abraham, the manager of heaven) , 'Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house - for I have five brothers - that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.' Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.' He said, 'No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'
Not even the persuasive powers of Jesus were powerful enough to separate the well-to-do from their riches. But the rich now have many churches that so twist the bible and the teaching of Jesus that well-to-do Americans imagine that they can safely enjoy their riches while being "saved". The teaching of Paul really comes in handy on this score, because of the way that it effectively neutralizes just about everything that Jesus said about what was required to please God and to be saved. If you want to continue ignoring Jesus' teaching in favor of Paul's, then don't read /www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/salvation , where we feature dozens of passages in which Jesus made it clear that what God is interested in is actions (i.e. "works) rather than words (i.e. professions of faith).
