“Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger. Woe to you laughing now, for soon you will mourn” (Luke 6:24-25)
“The first shall be last and the last shall be first” (Mathew 19:30)
“How hard it will be for the wealthy to enter the Kingdom of God”. (Mark 10:23)
“Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry for you shall be fed. Blessed are you who mourn for you shall be comforted” (Luke 6:24-25).
Just in case you don’t know, all the above are quotes from Jesus of Nazareth.
Wasn’t there also something about rich men and the eye of a needle?
Unknown (apparently) to themselves the christian right in America are supporting a fire-brand revolutionary, a sort of early nationalist, a “neo-communist” (shudder!), who was intent on throwing the Romans out, along with their fellow travelers. He championed the poor, not the rich, and would have deplored the existence of the black underclass, not starved them of education, opportunity and even the vote. Which is why these Americans are not christians, but worshippers of …..what? Money?
Epicureans have nothing against Jesus of Nazareth; it is the hypocrites they find tiresome.
Christianity is a construct of the apostle Paul and the good ole boys at Council of Nicea (who sidelined the female christians). It would not have been espoused by the great, the good and probably corrupt if too much stress had been laid on the radical teachings of the real Jesus. However, it is what it has become, and in many parts of the United States it has become a tribal belief of white people with their economic backs to the wall and resentment against government and any help given to the very poor and hope-less that Jesus championed.