Announcement

Collapse

Apologetics 301 Guidelines

If you think this is the area where you tell everyone you are sorry for eating their lunch out of the fridge, it probably isn't the place for you


This forum is open discussion between atheists and all theists to defend and debate their views on religion or non-religion. Please respect that this is a Christian-owned forum and refrain from gratuitous blasphemy. VERY wide leeway is given in range of expression and allowable behavior as compared to other areas of the forum, and moderation is not overly involved unless necessary. Please keep this in mind. Atheists who wish to interact with theists in a way that does not seek to undermine theistic faith may participate in the World Religions Department. Non-debate question and answers and mild and less confrontational discussions can take place in General Theistics.


Forum Rules: Here
See more
See less

The Poor Laws of Moses

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • The Poor Laws of Moses

    I need to start this thread here. Although there is a similar thread about 'the Poor' in Bible Ethics I've just realised that I cannot post in that section. My posts left there are a mistake.

    Apart from the sacrificial and ceremonial laws of the OT, clearly redacted by Jesus (Matthew 9:13) he was insistent that all other laws should be upheld (Matthew 5:17). All the OT laws were written because they all helped to build a strong, successful, invincible, healthy people, and whereas previous nations had fallen because they didn't bother (Lev 20:22-24) the Israelites were clearly shown the way to success. (Exodus 18:20). These laws all produced a people that would survive and flourish.
    The only reason that the Baptist and Jesus held against the Temple ceremonies and sacrificial laws is because they had descended in to total corruption, greed and hypocrisy and so sadly were of no value any more.

    Every care was taken to avoid illness, accident, loss, defeat or insecurity whatsoever. There is a reason for every single (unredacted) law within these parameters. Whether the risk was a high roof that could be fallen from, a food that could have collected bacteria or sickness or lack of care for the less able leading to sickness or death, there were laws to protect from these losses.

    I wanted to focus upon the Poor Laws here. If I show a single law maybe we could discuss how it could work today? If I could feature just one law per post and slowly build upon these, maybe that could work to make things more interesting? Here we go:-

    Leviticus {19:9} And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.

    How delightful is that! So there were disabled, dysfunctional folks back then who did not fit in to a community with regular trade or job, who needed to subsist as best they could, and the laws of Moses provided for these people.

    Today, commerce, industry, travel, agriculture and retail chucks away condemned products and goods all the time and I know that retail tends to have a rule to smash completely everything that is thrown out or to soil foods that are discarded. The old laws would not have tolerated that.

    Commerce, industry etc should adapt the above rule to fit with their environs, maybe?

    This the first of many poor laws!

  • #2
    This rule, among many, is an example of things that should be done today everywhere IMO. Even just taking a small percent of the amount of crops and making sure it can be given to those in need would help tremendously, if not put an end to issues with starvation.

    Comment


    • #3
      A story about that:

      https://www.businessinsider.com/why-...e-2014-10?op=1

      and another about restaurants:

      https://www.huffpost.com/entry/resta...b0344d514dd20f


      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Cerebrum123 View Post
        This rule, among many, is an example of things that should be done today everywhere IMO. Even just taking a small percent of the amount of crops and making sure it can be given to those in need would help tremendously, if not put an end to issues with starvation.
        Absolutely!
        I totally agree.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Sparko View Post
          Really good articles, both.
          A good community looks after everybody imo.
          We all have abilities, and disabilities. So we all need assistance in some areas......
          These poor laws are the business .....

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by eider View Post

            Really good articles, both.
            A good community looks after everybody imo.
            We all have abilities, and disabilities. So we all need assistance in some areas......
            These poor laws are the business .....
            Here is a site that lists various groups that collect wasted food for homeless people:

            https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-mana...-united-states

            And here is one organization called Feeding Forward that has an app that let's restaurants alert them to having extra food and they will come pick it up and distribute it to homeless shelters. http://feeding-forward-node.herokuapp.com/

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Sparko View Post

              Here is a site that lists various groups that collect wasted food for homeless people:

              https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-mana...-united-states

              And here is one organization called Feeding Forward that has an app that let's restaurants alert them to having extra food and they will come pick it up and distribute it to homeless shelters. http://feeding-forward-node.herokuapp.com/
              Thanks for adding these links.

              Comment


              • #8
                Moving forward>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

                Although this verse follows the last, it has a quite different aspect to it, as shown:-

                {19:10} And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather [every] grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I [am] the LORD your God.

                How should our communities translate this verse, from just a vineyard to the complexity of our Commerce, Industry, Travel, Retail and other services/products? That is for each company, body and service to decide for itself, I expect, but the most simple and easy way might be a % of profits. In some countries this already does happen in as much as National Taxation provides for the homeless, poor, the sick, the hungry, the helpless and the very old.

                But this verse is powerful and I don't think that any civilised community should overlook it.

                One point. Please notice that The God of Moses does not mention charity in these verses, these are laws, requirements....... in my opinion.


                Comment


                • #9
                  Moving Forward.........>>>>>>>>>>

                  Exodus {22:25} If thou lend money to [any of] my people [that is] poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.

                  When I think of how far back in distant time that these laws were written, and they as perfect for the needs of our communities today.

                  Young couples cannot afford mortgages where I live. Homes are too expensive for them now and many rely on their parents for accommodation after marriage. And the young are tied to rental accommodation all their lives, high monthly rents sapping away their chances of ever saving for a deposit.

                  Education for under graduates can cost £19,000 per annum before food and lodging costs, and a three year degree course can leave many graduates with a £40-75,000 loan to be paid off as soon as possible. A young person with a modest education might need to buy a vehicle in order to become a delivery driver for one of the many IT retail outlets that are springing up. This the beginning of an endless list of needs that enshackle the poor of our countries who want to build on something.

                  Our governments should provide for interest loans in all such cases rather than just a few.

                  Exodus {23:3} Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause

                  Wow! Whilst I can see that lenders do need some idea about where their loans may be directed, they should not be too quick to dismiss or refuse applications just because they themselves do not understand them. Every care should be taken to obtain good advise about trades and other work as necessary.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    An offering for Tuesday morning....!

                    How about this?

                    Deuteronomy {15:1} At the end of [every] seven years thou shalt make a release. {15:2} And this [is] the manner of the release: Every creditor that lendeth [ought] unto his neighbour shall release [it;] he shall not exact [it] of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’S release.

                    I don't expect that the Levites ran a mortgage co-operative back then, and I don't expect that it was needed. An itinerant people would have been more interested in goat-hair tents, and even in early 1st century Palestine the goat hair tent featured highly amongst any itinerant trades people and labourers etc.

                    But the idea of a fixed term for a loan, or a maximum term for a 'hire/purchase' agreement makes great sense, and where a person falls in to difficulties then the interest should be frozen. This has been happening for many years in the Credit Card World, where, if a lender appeals for assistance due to lost income (whatever) the Credit Company will freeze the amount, apply no more interest and set a payment plan in to place that can eventually clear the debt. But this '7 years and finish' law shows how brilliant the whole legislation plan was, so far back in time.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by eider View Post
                      Moving Forward.........>>>>>>>>>>

                      [B]Exodus {22:25} If thou lend money to [any of] my people [that is] poor by thee....
                      I like that "poor to thee".

                      Mrs CP and I often refer to "poor" being a relative term.
                      To some people, they can't buy a new car this year because they are "poor".
                      When we had our first child, we had to scrape up quarters and dimes from the couch cushions or wherever to buy a gallon of milk.

                      Poor is relative.

                      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

                        I like that "poor to thee".

                        Mrs CP and I often refer to "poor" being a relative term.
                        To some people, they can't buy a new car this year because they are "poor".
                        When we had our first child, we had to scrape up quarters and dimes from the couch cushions or wherever to buy a gallon of milk.

                        Poor is relative.
                        Amen,

                        When you go globally, poor in America is probably still richer than poor in the rest of the world.

                        Not that this excuses us from ministering to the poor.
                        "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6

                        "Theology can be an intellectual entertainment." Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Thoughtful Monk View Post

                          Amen,

                          When you go globally, poor in America is probably still richer than poor in the rest of the world.

                          Not that this excuses us from ministering to the poor.
                          Even in this hemisphere, when we did our mission trips to Haiti -- I remember my first trip vividly...

                          We were doing work in Cap Haitian, and a "suburb" thereof. It was, by far, the poorest area I had ever been in at that time.
                          Then, our host told us one morning, "today, we're going to visit what is called 'the Shadows" - the poor region of Cap Haitian".

                          I thought, "wait, WHAT? This isn't 'the poor region'"??? Sure enough, it was downright heartbreaking.
                          But you know what? The children were running and laughing and playing --- maybe nobody told them how poor they were.
                          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post

                            Even in this hemisphere, when we did our mission trips to Haiti -- I remember my first trip vividly...

                            We were doing work in Cap Haitian, and a "suburb" thereof. It was, by far, the poorest area I had ever been in at that time.
                            Then, our host told us one morning, "today, we're going to visit what is called 'the Shadows" - the poor region of Cap Haitian".

                            I thought, "wait, WHAT? This isn't 'the poor region'"??? Sure enough, it was downright heartbreaking.
                            But you know what? The children were running and laughing and playing --- maybe nobody told them how poor they were.
                            At this risk of going off topic, I've noticed that the poorer the neighborhood, the more likely you are to see children. Maybe it's as simple as the poorer you are, the less you can afford all the structured activities the richer children have. Maybe the poor have more children. It does seem if you want a culture to continue, you need the poor to provide the next generation.
                            "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6

                            "Theology can be an intellectual entertainment." Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Thoughtful Monk View Post

                              At this risk of going off topic, I've noticed that the poorer the neighborhood, the more likely you are to see children. Maybe it's as simple as the poorer you are, the less you can afford all the structured activities the richer children have. Maybe the poor have more children. It does seem if you want a culture to continue, you need the poor to provide the next generation.
                              We now return to your regularly scheduled thread.
                              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                              Comment

                              Related Threads

                              Collapse

                              Topics Statistics Last Post
                              Started by whag, 03-27-2024, 03:01 PM
                              39 responses
                              198 views
                              0 likes
                              Last Post whag
                              by whag
                               
                              Started by whag, 03-17-2024, 04:55 PM
                              21 responses
                              132 views
                              0 likes
                              Last Post Hypatia_Alexandria  
                              Started by whag, 03-14-2024, 06:04 PM
                              80 responses
                              428 views
                              0 likes
                              Last Post tabibito  
                              Started by whag, 03-13-2024, 12:06 PM
                              45 responses
                              305 views
                              1 like
                              Last Post Hypatia_Alexandria  
                              Started by rogue06, 12-26-2023, 11:05 AM
                              406 responses
                              2,518 views
                              2 likes
                              Last Post tabibito  
                              Working...
                              X