liberation theology: God sides with the oppressed; critique: less emphasis on gospel; false guilt in godly & wealthy Christians (<-> some seems to be genuine guilt); prosperity theology -> wrong; stewardship -> only individual, privatized view; no single biblical model; theology of enough: voluntary commitment to minimum income & maximum consumption; first century Christians: full scale from poor to wealthy (not only poor); material world initially good (<-> Hellenism); patriarchs: wealth tied to God’s promise lands, not an end in itself; patriarchs were very generous; liberation from Egypt: holistic (not just spiritual); manna: daily dependence on God’s provision (~daily bread); Canaan: allotment of property proportional to tribe size (<-> neighboring kingdoms); temptation on the land: covetousness; private property never used to oppress the neighbor/get more but to welcome guests & help the poor; law against usury: difference between business world (with other people) and God’s people (internal loan); Deut 15: there should be no poor (idealistic) -> there will be always poor (realistic); year of jubilee: once in a lifetime chance for every family to start afresh; it challenges all major modern economic models; tithing: even for Levites (full time religious workers); gleaning: rights of the poor, not voluntary acts of the rich; aliens: all of them were “illegal” in a sense -> Christians should support efforts to provide basic human services even for illegal immigrants; reverse discrimination can be immoral too!; Proverbs: middle-class ideal, avoid extremes, contentment; prophets: theological + ethical errors go hand in hand (idolatry ~> injustice); never call to revolt (<-> liberation theology); Rome: no organized welfare system (<-> Israel); Jesus: might not have been poor throughout whole life; Lk 6,30/Mt 7,7: God doesn’t specify what to give!; Zaccheus: Jesus didn’t tell him to give up anything (<-> rich man); chief tax collector (vs Matthew only middle man); rich (plousios, Mk 10,25): wealthy enough to support themselves from capital without daily work; rich people can be disciples but show generosity; lavish feast are ok but not as norm just as exception; Ananias & Sapphira ~ Achan; donation ~ Essene initiation (can be reclaimed); Acts 8: Simon doesn’t repent; other half of Marx’s manifesto: “each according to their ability” (Acts 11,29); 1Cor 7,29-31: “worldly ascetic” handle material possessions very loosely; financial support through working: least honorable option (low view of manual labor) <-> Paul chose that many times; graduated tithe: the more you make, the higher percentage you give; Rom 13,7-8: no biblical excuse to avoid taxes because we disagree how the government spends it; Rom 13,8: not against debt but you should pay it back promptly; Eph 4,28: motive for work: not individual profit but communal well-being; 1Tim 5,3-16: church support only those who have no one to provide for them and cannot work; working age adults responsible to care for elderly relatives; Paul challenges conventional Hellenistic system of patronage & reciprocity; Luke: focus on poor & outcasts: tax collectors, sick, Samaritans, women; Acts: more references to rich Christians, often positive -> Luke doesn’t idolize poverty but shows how the Jesus movement started and how it transformed (and should still transform) later on; Heb 13:5-6: sexual & financial ethics go hand in hand (cf. 7th and 8th commandment); John 2:1-11: point of miracle in Cana: new wine in new wineskins; feeding of 5000: only miracle in all 4 gospels; Judas’ anger at Mary waisting oil: social activism sometimes masks hypocritical spirit, even if it meets real needs; lust of flesh, lust of eyes, pride of life ~ Adam & Eve’s + Jesus’ temptation; SUMMARY: wealth is inherently good (-> try to gain it) but it’s also seductive (-> give some away; giving is a sign of a redeemed life; some extremes of wealth and poverty are inherently intolerable; salvation is holistic (-> give to those who minister holistically)