Originally Posted by mhill0531
I equate my freedom to how little my natural rights are violated. Those natural rights, inherent to me from conception, given to me by my Creator are life, liberty and property (the right to own it and not have it taken from me by force and do with it as I choose). Medicaid, like all welfare, takes from me by force, at gunpoint and against my will, and gives it to another. For that person to benefit, I must suffer, and I have no choice. In effect, I am the recipient's slave by virtue of nothing more than being more productive.
The less that happens, the less my natural rights are violated, thus the more free I become.
Easily. Find me the verse in the Four Gospels or any letter written by St. Peter or St. Paul that says if I am not willing to be charitable, the Lord will send tax collectors and centurions to enforce His vision of taking from the rich and giving to the poor.
I am called by my faith to charity. Government welfare is not charity. It is theft. The good Lord forces us to do nothing. He asks us to do things for our fellow man. That's what that whole free will thing is about. Did He say to his disciples that they should cast off their earthly wealth to follow Him? Sure, but did He force them at the tip of the centurion spear? Did He enlist Pilate as his regional tax collector to force his Apostles to properly redistribute their wealth, just in case they weren't charitable enough? No.
The slaves who made bricks for Pharaoh's pyramids were not being charitable. Seems to me they were forced by the lash to make and move those bricks. And as I recall, G-d the Father sent Moses to liberate them from forced labor to the benefit of the state.
I do give to charity. Every week to my parish, every payday to Catholic Charities of Cleveland, and every year to St. Judes. In my adult life, I have either given or helped raise over $80,000 for St. Judes alone. I don't need a lecture on being charitable.
Acquiescing to a mugger who robs me is not something I am commanded to do according to faith, and I could care less how corporate religious bureaucrats of any faith wish to define the abomination called social justice, the Holy Father included. I can read the Four Gospels, and I'll trust the word of the Lord over the word of a man.
basically, my stance makes more sense BECAUSE of my faith, not independent of it.
Someone's survival relies upon harm being done to me. They survive solely through the fruits of my involuntary servitude, which are taken from me by force. I am forced to toil for the benefit of others, and have no choice in the matter. There's a word for people like me in this scenario, and the 13th Amendment is supposed to have outlawed the practice.
PS - I don't post my thoughts on this forum seeking approval, admiration, or agreement. I post them because a) the fine folks of IB and CF allow me to, and b) because I feel like. Your disappointment is noted, but totally irrelevant to me. As a libertarian, I am used to the shock and horror people express when I do nothing more than remain consistent, regardless of ends/means appeals to emotion.
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