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Current issues page.
A thumbnail outline of the history of poverty
Jesus is reported in John 12:8 to have said that we would always have the poor with us. This passage attributes to Jesus that common wisdom about poverty, that poverty would always be a natural part of human society.
In the
Agricultural revolution of ancient Mespotamia and the industrial
revlution of the 1700s, it was commonly accepted that every society would
be made up of three classes:
-the
ruling wealthy,
-the
middle managers and skilled servants,
-the poor
low income meniel voicless workers, soldiers and slaves and beggers.
Even today in the electronic information revolution it is generally accepted as normal that society has these three classes. Specifically, it is normal always to have poverty. The poor will always be with us.
The Bible supports this by declaring that wealth is a blessing God gives to the righteous.
In this day and age we are coming to a time when many social groups and religious bodies are joining their efforts to bring that "always" to an end.
For many centuries poverty was seen as normal. From ancient classical civilizations throgh the agricultural and industrial revolutions it was thought to be normal that many many families would exist in poverty. In fact, it probably can be said that that view is still very prevalent.
The bible expresses three attitudes toward poverty.1 One is the simle acceptance that some are rich and others are poor. Jesus tells parables which assume this (Lk. 12:41f) Onother view is that to not be poor is a sign of God's favour (Ps. 1). On the other hand, psalms and Job are perplexed by the sucess and prosperity of the wicked (Ps. 37, 49,73; Job 21). Amos sees poverty as the result of dishonesty and abuse of the neighbour (ch 6).
Thirdly, there were the holy poor. They were those who did not lust after riches but lived simply, trusting in God. Alan Richardson sees Jesus as
Poverty is not exactly the same in all countries, or for all who are poor. In Canada for instance, the poor are those who spend over 50% of their money for the bare essentials of shelter, food and clothing. Many of them receive social assistance. Others of these poor have jobs that pay very little. A high number of children grow up in this poverty with little hope.
They are the people who suppliment their grocery budget with free food at food banks, and buy clothes for as low as a dollar at used clothing stores.
In Canada and many othere places places in the world, there are families and individuals who are even more poor than these. They are the ones who are destitute and are reduced to begging or doing the most meanial of jobs and may eat less than one meal a day. Children in these families often scavenge for food, work almost as slaves in sweat shops, or prostitution.
For centuries we have considered this situation to continue as normal. This may be because those who are not poor benefit from the labour of the working poor. But now, a new idea is capturing the imagination of a growing number of hopeful people. That idea is: let's make poverty history.