Nancy E. Bailey notes that Betsy DeVos says she is a religious person.
In this post, she gives DeVos some Christmas gifts, drawn from the Bible.
She begins:
Betsy DeVos seems to believe she is doing God’s work when it comes to education in America.
So, I thought this Christmas I would gather some of my favorite Bible verses for her to mull over. He is the reason for the season after all.
Merry Christmas, Betsy DeVos!
The New Republican Tax Bill and Poor Kids
James 2:15-16
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
There are so many Bible verses indicating that Jesus loves the poor. He doesn’t seem too keen on the wealthy. What seems certain, is that he expects much from them.
She asks, What would Jesus think of the new tax bill?
Read on.
De Vos is a Calvinist, which to me seems like Satanism in disguise. We must work vigorously to discredit it.
DeVos’s views of religion seem to omit any notions of ethics, morality or a sense of right and wrong.
In Canada i hit right wing Christians with Matthew 6:24 You cannot serve both God and money. The Sermon on the Mount including the Beatitudes “meek inherit the Earth …blessed are peacemakers… are enough.
I tell them the Bible is left of Bernie Sanders.
On Twitter, there is a meme circulating. Apparently, some Congressional Republicans referred to TAX-mas instead of Christmas.
The meme said, “This is the true spirit of the times. Taking ‘Christ’ out of Christmas and replacing it with Taxes.”
Make American Greedy Again.
This administration is not an administration for the American children. Make cooperate America great again and who cares about its children. They are not for the majority of children in public schools, they are willing to not fund 9 million children for health care, they will not approve DACA, they will not admit children who are under siege from war torn areas. Someone needs to clue them in –in order to make America Great again you need to START with the children.
DeVos and the right wing free market Christians never learned that Jesus loved and protected children. “Suffer the little children not to come unto me.” They should brush up on their New Testament.
Jesus said a couple of things, which all of us should remember:
“The poor will be with you always” – Matthew 26:11 . Since LBJ’s “War on Poverty” was lost, and $5+TRILLION dollars poured down that rat-hole, there are more people living in poverty, than before his “war” was lost.
and
“Render unto Caesar” – Matthew 22:21
@retired teacher: It is you who needs to study up your New Testament, because you flubbed this verse.
From the King James Bible,
-King James Bible
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:14
==================
“And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:24
Hi . Great translation. This is the right way though,
+ 24 Again I say to YOU, It is easier for a camel to get through a needle’s eye than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God.”+
Every dollar bill reads, “In God we trust”, so Betsy must think she’s being faithful to God by worshipping money. She’s one arm of the Kochtopus that’s twisted in knots.
The religious right-wing answer to this is that Jesus commanded individuals to do these things. He did not command governments to do them or to coerce the people into doing them through the government. DeVos, I believe, would argue that she herself gives to charity out of duty to God (whether or not and to what extent she actually does, I don’t know), but being coerced to give to the poor through governmental redistribution of wealth is not Christian. God gives to each of us what He intends us to have as a sign of His favor (and as evidence of our Protestant work ethic). It is then up to only the individual to decide what to do with that gift.
Please note, I’m not espousing any of this myself (as I should hope that my thousands of posts on this blog would prove). That’s simply the explanation as I’ve heard it.
Insightful, Dienne. I’m no expert on Christianity, but as a Jew, I would point out to Betsy that God commanded the all of the children of Joseph to be charitable, including the judges and kings of Israel and Judah. And since DeVos is now part of the government, it should be her responsibility to be charitable through her work, not instead of it. She wouldn’t listen, but that’s what I would tell her.
Governments do not exist to serve as a “feeding trough” for individual citizens. God never gave me one cent. Every penny I have , is the result of my personal effort. I believe that God has other things to do, besides worrying about my personal problems.
Nevertheless, I sincerely believe, and the facts will bear me out: If a person is truly desirous of helping the less fortunate, there are other ways and better ways, than channeling your charitable donations, through the hands of government bureaucrats.
All people who wish to be charitable, should do through private entities. There are many (my favorite is the Shriner’s hospitals), who will be more than glad to accept your donations, and get the funds to the deserving, with very little lost in transit through handling fees, and “friction”.
I cherish public television (I used to work for WKYU-TV) and I donate every year to our local stations.
There are many websites, like Charity Watch, which publish the financial records of various charities, and document how much of your donations actually make it to the recipients.
There are many worthy charities, and this is the season of giving, I hear. Give much. …And make the rich pay taxes.
Y’know, Charles, some day you should actually get around to reading that book you claim to believe in.
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?”
–Matthew 6:26-27
I think Jesus is making it pretty clear that you as a mere human have very little to do with it. You are nothing more than a bird that God feeds.
Incidentally, “overhead” is a rather poor measure of what actually makes it to the recipient of a charity: http://nonprofitaf.com/2017/12/how-the-concept-of-effectiveness-has-screwed-nonprofits-and-the-people-we-serve/
Open your heart and your mind, Charles. You’ll feel better for it.
Matthew25:40-“The King will reply,Truly I tell you, whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for me.’
Just because I read the Holy Bible, does not necessarily mean that I believe the Holy Bible. I also ready the Holy Qu’Ran, the Bhagavad-Gitas, the Upanishads, etc. I read the Book of Mormon, and other religious texts.
I have my charities, and other people have theirs. Charity and giving are terrific concepts. I believe in them thoroughly.
Charity is a wonderful thing but it can never take the place of a federal safety net.
Diane . Critical times hard * to deal will be here ( Charters supporters as well ANWAY
Devi’s fix here )
2da Timothy 3:1-5
But know this, that in the last days+ critical times hard to deal with will be here.+ 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty,* blasphemers,* disobedient to parents,+ unthankful, disloyal,+ 3 having no natural affection,+ not open to any agreement,+ slanderers,+ without self-control, fierce,+ without love of goodness,+ 4 betrayers,+ headstrong, puffed up [with pride],+ lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God,+ 5 having a form of godly devotion+ but proving false to its power;+ and from these turn away.+
We must warning the parents to wake up and stay away from people’s like Devi’s .
Good Job Diane . May God bless you as well anyone in the world( Press )
Blessing new 2018 Diane for u 4 US.A
Warren Buffett, in his autobiography, said:
I’ve had it so good in this world, you know. The odds were fifty-to-one against me being born in the United States in 1930. I won the lottery the day I emerged from the womb by being in the United States instead of in some other country where my chances would have been way different.
Imagine there are two identical twins in the womb, both equally bright and energetic. And the genie says to them, “One of you is going to be born in the United States, and one of you is going to be born in Bangladesh. And if you wind up in Bangladesh, you will pay no taxes. What percentage of your income would you bid to be the one that is born in the United States?” It says something about the fact that society has something to do with your fate and not just your innate qualities. The people who say, “I did it all myself,” and think of themselves as Horatio Alger – believe me, they’d bid more to be in the United States than in Bangladesh. That’s the Ovarian Lottery.
Trump and his entire Cabinet should read Matthew 25:34-46, as should anyone who calls him/herself an “evangelical Christian.”
Finaly my favorite area wow 😮
How should we treat each student we meet in our schooll sistem ( include Choice or Chaters Schooll )? What bearing do Jesus’ words recorded at Matthew 7:12 have on our preaching activity?
Matthew 7:12
“All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must do to them.m This, in fact, is what the Law and the Prophets mean.
Matthew 7:12
“Jesus said that “, Devos should read and apply this to her agendas !