Glenn Beck, social justice and the Bible

Posted // May 5,2010 -

Glenn Beck is calling on Americans to run from religions that preach social justice, and the Republican Party has answered the call. The party, which promotes catchy slogans such as “Monsanto Is a Person, Too” and “Exxon: A Company with a Heart of Gold,” is now almost completely justice-free.

There is but one thing that stands between Beck and victory and between Monsanto and all the Lebensraum a corporation could desire: an insidious book that long ago should have been banned, and would have been if Beck’s predecessor in the Ministry of Truth had been successful. Let me draw Group Leader Beck’s attention to a few of its more dangerous passages, every one of them cause for a book burning.

“Blessed are the poor.” People who say things like that obviously haven’t visited the Utah Legislature’s lobbyist love nest.

“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him … If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.” Sounds like the redistribution of wealth to me.

“O Lord … thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress.” Is it any wonder the poor are always with us? This book encourages them in their sloth. It’s time they stood on their own feet.

“Trust ye in the Lord … for he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low ... The foot shall tread it down, even the foot of the poor.” That’s revolution, Group Leader Beck; social revolution, and it’s not good for business.

“Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.” An unstoppable flash flood of social justice? Scandalous!

“The Lord will judge the elders of his people and the princes thereof, for ... the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that beat my people to pieces and grind the faces of the poor?” Bleeding-heart liberal, if you ask me.

Of the almost numberless ways this book undermines the profit motive and the God with the Invisible Hand, this one, however, is the worst. This one, all by itself, should condemn the book to the pyre: “But the Lord of Hosts shall be exalted in justice, the Holy One of Israel sanctified in righteousness.” The effrontery of saying that God is exalted by social justice and not by superpower! Do you see, Group Leader Beck, how this undermines America’s claim to be God’s favorite empire?

Hail, Group Leader Beck! And Hail to the Christians who staunchly refuse to disown him!

Ed Firmage Jr.
Salt Lake City

REPLY TO THIS COMMENT

S. Jackson

Posted // December 8,2010 at 12:19

Since Mr. Firmage seems to believe Beck is against the Bible, and Mr. Firmage seems to think he is on firmer ground to spout religous phrase, he must then focus on the Book of Exodus where it says...The weathly man may not give more, and the poor may not give less. It is clear that Social Justice is not in the Bible, rather it is spiritual guidance for each to help the poor and needy. The Bible does not state to give to Ceasar only, it states give to Ceasar that which is Ceasar's, and give to God what is God's. No where does it state to give to the governing to re-distribute to others...In fact it stays far away from this type of Economic Egalitarianism!!!

Ed Firmage, Jr.

Posted // December 9,2010 at 08:48 - In this comment, Mr. Jackson illustrates how superficial his knowledge of the Bible is, In his ignorance, he is typical of the Beck crowd, who proclaim their Christian credentials despite massive ignorance of the text they claim as their own. The verse Jackson refers to, Exod. 30:15, has nothing at all to do with charity for the poor. It is what we'd call a census fee.

Richard

Posted // May 12,2010 at 12:26

A follow up for Ed Firmage, Jr.

“Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?

(Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount, Luke 6:39 Bible Gateway on line)

One of these statements comes from Karl Marx…

A. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

B. “And distribution is made to every man according to his need”

...and the other comes from St. Paul, Book of Acts: 32-35 (KJV online Gateway Bible)

32. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

34. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35. And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

How did we get so confused? Let’s see if we can put some light on this. In the beginning was the Word. Then man came along, ate of this tree giving him the knowhow of “good and evil”, and so began making his own words. Soon he found himself in a state of anarchy all in competition with everyone else, alone, in the darkness, blinded by self-made ignorance.

Look at the origin (etymology) of the word communism. Take it apart, and you have common, and –ism. Common comes from the Latin communis which means “sharing common duties”, and it also breaks down to com- and -immune: com- is the prefix meaning “with” or “together”, and -immune means “exempt” or “protected” as in “not subject to an obligation imposed on others; not affected by a given influence.” Then you have –ism, which is a suffix denoting “action or practice, a usage or characteristic (Dictionary.com)

Now look at the root meaning of the word socialism. Take apart the word; you have social and –ism. Social comes from the Latin socialis, which means “united, living with others”. And again, you have –ism, denoting “action or practice”, etc. (Dictionary.com and Online Etymology Dictionary.)

I love this root meaning for socialism: “united, living with others”. Hey, wait a second. Where have we heard this before? Oh, yea, that’s right….daahh: The “United” States of America, as in “We the People…”

The “action and practice” of the The Golden Rule (found in all cultures around the world), materializes into the original (in the beginning) meaning of “social-ism” and “commun-ism”. Notice how these two words connect with each other in the cooperative relationship between people.

Now look into our old friend “capital-ism”. It breaks down to: Latin capitalis "of the head," hence "capital, chief, first," (gen. capitis)…"head" (see head). Ok, let’s see “head”: O.E. heafod "top of the body,"…" also "chief person, leader, ruler," (Online Etymology Dictionary).

What! Hold on…”chief person, leader, ruler”…RULER? Whoa, look at the hidden meaning here. To rule over people can bring out the “good” or the “evil” of the person who rules, which in turn brings out the same of those being ruled. If the ruler succumbs to “the dark side”, you have “Me, the people” (tyranny, dictatorship, oppression, etc.), and the oppressed become “We, the People” (freedom, liberty, rights, etc.)

Somehow “capitalism” corrupts The Golden Rule into “He who has the gold, makes the rules.”

Is this the deep psychological meaning and motivation inside this word that subliminally sets the stage for “capitalist slavery”, where money becomes the “ruler” over people? Could Marx have been right? Wouldn’t that be embarrassing?

But then, every time we salute our flag with “The Pledge of Allegiance”, we are reciting the words written by a Christian Socialist in 1892, named Francis Bellamy. (The Pledge of Allegiance, A Short History, by Dr. John W. Baer 1992).

And all American’s who work the 8 hour work day owe a great debt of thanks to the only two American activist parties to fight for Labor Rights and put the current law of the 8 hour work day into effect in the 1880s: the communist and socialist parties of The United State of America – “united, living with others”. (Labor Rights historical research)

And, all the women who have won the right to vote in America owe tribute to Susan B. Anthony, a socialist, with all those American citizens, both men and women, of the socialist and communist parties fighting for civil rights, and champions of the suffrage movement. (Woman and American Socialism 1870-1920 Books.Google.com)

Then we have one of the Seven Wonders of the World, our Statue of Liberty given to us by the socialist government of France with the plaque for the Sonnet of those famous (forgotten, ignored) words:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

…written by Emma Lazarus, who with “…her strong humanitarian spirit led her to readings in socialism…” (Novelguide.com). She was also sympathetic to the socialist ideas of her close friend, William Morris, who was “an important figure in the emergence of socialism in Britain”. (Wikipedia)

Isn’t it curious, that “we” have the only statue like it in the world with that Sonnet which is titled The Colossus of Rhodes, the Greek statue of the “god” Helios, a classical pagan character for a classical Roman pagan god Libertas, the ancient goddess of freedom from slavery, oppression, and tyranny.

The Statue is also known as “Liberty Enlightening the World” because of Her “torch” symbolizes what that Jewish Rabbi told the multitude in His Sermon, “You (the people) are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)

We The People – ALL the people - are the “light” of the world, and yet part of a greater Light that was “In the beginning” with the Word. The Light that dispels the darkness so we can all see the truth, then take “action and practice” our right to be set free from our shared (united, living with others) ignorance, hatred, fear of the dark, and the blindness of intolerance and hypocrisy.

“For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.” (Mark 4:22)

de Vlieg

Posted // October 20,2010 at 10:59 - PS: forgot, let's face it. The President IS a constitutional scholar, a Professor actually. But you and yours don't want to admit or grant credit for his various and many accomplishments before and since he began as our Duly Elected President. He has NOT warped,bent folded, spindled or mutilated the Constitution. And you, like that buffoon Christine "Palin" O'Donnell would be hard-pressed to identify a single supreme-court case that has harmed you. EXCEPT, maybe the notorious Citizens United case. Face it. You are angry that a black man sits at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Just say it. Your denial will not convince me ... DdV

Posted // October 20,2010 at 10:41 - Matt must be what is known as a "true" or "real"Christian. You know - my way, the only way! Aside from the obviously idiotic concept of total anarchy that he describes so he can either keep his pile of greenbacks (far-easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of god [Odin, right?]), every transaction involving moving $$$ from one person or institution to another always involves tax. Cradle to grave. While he would like to blame 70% of federal budget on "social programs" he forgets two things. 1st is that this can't be true because 50% of the budget is "defense". Simple math. Add things used and not easily glossed over, like US and Interstate highways, national parks, etc. and fuzzy math gets worse. The other thing is the impact of social programs. I see jughead after jughead rail about them. They would be totally unnecessary for all but the disabled if for one thing. That is if we abandoned the minmum wage in favor of a"living wage". Everytime you go through the drive-through at Burger King, or buy that American Invented, Chinese made, Korean or Japanese branded product at your local Wal-mart you increase pressures for more social spending. These are all things it would be reasonable to assume a worker, working full time at honest, productive and apparently necessary work would need to support their families and survive to serve YOU another day. Truth of the matter is that every Double Whopper with cheese, large fries and 55 gallon drum of Pepsi "Extra Value Meal" you buy has to be subsidised by the taxpayer. Probably to the tune of 100%. Candidly, I am not sure. But it is THE ugly topic around our Thanksgiving dinner table as my parents own substantially, one of America's largest fast food chains. My dad can't even conceive paying a living wage, EVEN if Wendy's does. Face it, wealth doesn't materialise from thin air. We don't require businesses to pay FULLY for the workers, their subsistence, use of publically constructed transportation systems, the workers public education, etc. David Stockman (Stockton?) and Arthur Laffer (invented "Laffer Curve" and "Trickle Down") both have said that trickle down belongs in the same dustbin as Soviet style central planning. They say it does not work (as good as it sounds in sloganeering) except to give the wealthy huge windfalls at the expense of middle-class and lower-class workers! I would add, let "Economic Darwinism" find a cozy spot in the same dustbin. Let's stop the free ride the wealthy get by not paying workers for producing profits. As Colonel Potter used to say on M*A*S*H, "you better wise up." I say this because unless you have a vested interest in all this by being wealthy, you are being screwed too! If that be so, it makes you a shill for rich people, like for instance "grass roots populist" and multi-millionaire Glen Beck! Shoes for industry, comrade! - de vlieg (tybd weth thubs - nawt proffred!)

Matt

Posted // May 17,2010 at 17:50 - Hey, my ideological rant is nothing new, it is a rant that his been ranted about since the founding fathers, namely Jefferson, Madison, Washington have been ranting about it. I know you progressives hate and despise the founding fathers, but this ranting is what made our country the most free and greatest on earth. But anyways, who said I hated just Obama? Obama, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, FDR, Hoover, Coolidge, Harvey and Wilson were all enemies of freedom and Liberty. The progressive cancer started with Teddy Roosevelt and the Knife was thrust into Americas Heart with President Wilson and thrust even deeper with FDR. I despise all of them.

BlackMamba

Posted // May 17,2010 at 17:08 - Going off on an idealogical rant does not lend any credence or credibilty to your position. It just means you're a little too fond of hearing your own internal voice. I get that you don't like our president, but I couldn't care less. He'll be in office until 2016 so I'm going to sit back and relax and watch you and your Bircher-ilk heads explode. "People will just have to learn personal responsibility again." Like I said, your simple answers don't work in real life.

Posted // May 13,2010 at 12:16 - First off, what is a constitutional scholar? Someone who is an expert in Court precedence? Court precedence is what is destroying our country. The founding fathers wrote the constitution so it could be understood fully even by the common farmer as the constitution is the peoples document. Barack Obama is a Court precedence scholar in the guise of a constitutional scholar so he can use all the years of unconstitutional court rulings to further his anti liberty agenda. Second, no one said abolish social programs, I said abolish them at the federal level. States can create or abolish their own social programs. Social programs at the federal level are unconstitutional. Did we forget that the constitution is the Law of the Land? Let me ask you this since you seem to be a little inept regarding history. How do you think we survived as a country for 150 years before FDR's socialist policies? We had no theft and redistribution social programs. We were the most productive nation with the most individual responsibility and largest middle class on earth. After FDR, we started falling economically. Before social programs, people relied on hard work, families, churches, communities. No one ever thought of having the government steal money from their neighbors to give to them. That was something that was completely unheard of. So yes, we as a country can survive just fine when theft and redistribution is abolished. People will just have to learn personal responsibility again. I want you to read a great story. Google "How to catch a pig" it will open your eyes. Once you read it, get back to me.

Posted // May 13,2010 at 09:36 - So, Matt, after you're through cutting every conceivable social safety net at the altar of the Flying Spaghetti Constitution (funny how we have a president who is actually a Constitutional scholar and the hillbilles in the outback now know more than he does about it)how will your grandmother pay for her meds? How will the single mother down the street with two jobs keep her kids in school? How will the armless and legless in VA Hospitals survive, get around and hold jobs? You have such cushy, convenient answers that only run in one direction and that is 180 degrees away from reality. "Cut everything." Perhaps Freedom Ain't Free, you idiot, and our social programs are the price. You know as well as I do that if you "gave" all that decision-making and policy creation to the states, our Legislature woulde have a field day in a death camp.

Posted // May 12,2010 at 12:53 - Great blather. Fact is, no matter how much you want to espouse your elitist snobbery, you cannot escape the fact that the only country in the last 250 years to rise above all others in both prosperity and freedom is the United States. No Matter how much you hate that and wish it was not true, Capitalism is the only recipe for prosperity. Every country that has ever come into existence and has chosen to live under the communist and socialist cancer has fallen or has been taken down. Look at Cuba, Look at USSR, look at Venezuela. China realizes that in order to survive, it must rely heavily on Capitalist principles. The United States was the greatest, most free and most economically advanced country in the world. As we started implementing Theft and redistribution social programs, Our prosperity and economy has been slowly falling apart. Look at Greece, even the Leftist New York Times and The International Monetary Fund are saying that Greece's socialist redistribution and entitlement programs are what is destroyed it, even telling them to end their government involvement in healthcare to survive. Italy is soon to be next. No one is entitled to the fruits of my labor except those whom I choose to give it to willingly.

Posted // May 12,2010 at 10:23

I don't know where to start. First off, when it is talking about giving to the poor, it is referring to giving your own money freely to the poor. It does not mean steal money from your neighbor to give to the poor, nor does it mean have your fellow countrymen in government steal from your neighbors to give to the poor.

Posted // May 12,2010 at 17:52 - The only way we as a country can fix our problems is to force the federal government back into it's severely limited enumerated powers under article 1 section 8 of the constitution. First off, Social programs at the federal level are not only destroying us, they are blatantly unconstitutional. Social programs only came into being in this country due to FDR's threats and intimidation of the Supreme court to implement his socialist new deal theft and redistribution policies in 1937. In 1936, the supreme court ruled FDR's New deal policies as unconstitutional. We must abolish the 16th amendment and the IRS and move back into a form of census and enumeration tax as was originally intended or to a national sales tax where every American pays the exact same percentage rate whether rich or poor, that way every American has a stake in what the Federal government chooses to do because if the Federal gov decides to raise taxes, it affects everyone, not just half of Americans who pay income taxes . We also need to abolish our ties with the United Nations, Abolish all foreign aid, Abolish the dept. of education, dept. of agriculture, department of energy, and all federal government grant programs. We also need to sunset and abolish Social security, Medicare and medicaid at the Fed level and give all that power back to the states to decided if they want to abolish them or not within their state. Welfare, S.N.A.P, Food stamps and federal housing also needs to be abolished. If we adhere to the constitution 100%, we can rid ourselves of the vast majority of our financial problems. Adhering to the constitution would also mean we no longer borrowed money from foreign sources including China like we have been. Federal social theft and redistribution programs account for 70% of federal spending and is another reason why we are being destroyed from within.

Posted // May 12,2010 at 16:56 - I posted a reply to Matt, but it seems to have gone into cyberoblivion. Here it is again, more or less. Matt, it wasn't Greece's socialist government per se that was its downfall but simple overspending, which is something endemic to all governments today, not least our own. But for the fact that our economy is already being propped up by massive foreign investment, especially from the Chinese, WE'D need a bailout. But I forget. We are being bailed out--by Chinese billionaires who made their billions on American overconsumption. Sieg Heil, Matt! Give Glenn Beck a goose step for me when you next see him. Better yet, just goose him good and hard.

Posted // May 12,2010 at 16:39 - Gruppenfuehrer Beck wasn't talking about government handouts but about RELIGIOUS organizations, which, presumably are voluntary associations giving voluntarily according to their religious mandate. You, Matt, are free, however, to form your own religion of non-giving. Just don't call it Christian.

jana

Posted // May 7,2010 at 08:36

Bravo, Ed! I loved this letter - now, any chance you could get it published in the Deseret News? Would love for that audience to have the opportunity to read it (Lord knows, most are NOT going to see it in City Weekly).

Keep it up - I love reading your opinions, whether here in SL Weekly, or the Trib..

Posted // May 12,2010 at 10:28 - First off, when it says to give to the poor, it means to give at your own free will your own money to the poor. It does not mean to steal your neighbors money and then redistribute to the poor nor does it mean have your fellow countrymen in government steal from your neighbors and then redistribute to the poor. It is about charity, not forced theft and redistribution.

Posted // May 7,2010 at 19:43 - Thanks, Jana. I think the odds of seeing this in the News are probably on par with those of seeing Glenn Beck in the City Weekly, other than in the Deep End, which of course is where he belongs.

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Glenn Beck, social justice and the Bible