The Rich Oppress the Poor

What do the U.S. and Haiti have in common?  Also in common with NT times?  That the rich oppress the poor.  There may be more about the rich in the NT than about the poor.

The rich create and maintain systems of oppression.  The evil rich are predatory, corrupt, and demonic.

NT Times:

Jesus, himself, declared, "Woe to the rich."  Jesus also said, "You cannot serve both God and Money."  And Jesus said the religious rich ran the Temple as a 'den of robbers'.  James 2 asserts the rich oppress the poor.  James 5 vividly describes the oppression of agricultural laborers.

The whole NT is fiercely anti-rich.  Why?  Because the rich oppress the poor.

Haiti:

Haitian peasants suffered from French slavery for about one hundred years.  Then they suffered from French debt slavery for one hundred plus years.  They experienced two hundred plus years of extreme oppression.

The U.S. was an ally of the French during debt slavery.  At the same time, the US exploited Haiti.  For about twenty years, Haitian dictators, Papa Doc and Baby Doc, ruthlessly ruled Haiti.

From 1987-2018, supposedly ruthless dictators were gone and a semblance democracy reigned.  But in reality, a small rich Haitian elite ran the country.

So in reality, Haiti has suffered from three hundred years of extreme oppression and three hundred years of extreme poverty.

The U.S.:

Our founding fathers were a rich, white, male elite--a slave holding elite.  They were not a democracy, government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Flash forward to the year 2018, according to Matthew Stewart, (June 2018 The Atlantic), the US is currently being run by a largely rich, white, male elite.  10 percent of the population controls the other 90 percent.  The other 90 percent are oppressed to one degree or another.  The poor, through predatory lending, the rest of us through a predatory taxation system, and a predatory government spending system, both of which are rigged to favor the rich.  This is not a democracy.

Back to our founding father, Jefferson, who wrote, "All men are created equal."  But in practical terms it translated into 'only men are created equal.'  Women were not treated as equal citizens, the poor were not treated as equal citizens, neither were Native Americans nor African Americans.  As second class citizens, they were oppressed by the rich, white, male elite.

Conclusion:

If we understand clearly the NT teaching on rich and poor, oppression and justice, these NT teachings will apply directly to Haiti and to the US.

The next blog will be built around the Spirit, the kingdom of God, and Justice.  These three concepts are the Biblical answer to the rich oppressing the poor.  But for the most part, the Western Church has put these three important concepts in their back pocket and seldom preached or practiced them.  So the next blog will talk about the biblical solution about the rich oppressing the poor.

A final quotation from the book, An Unbroken Agony:

"Haiti is arguably the Carrabean's most racial segregated and class-riven society.  Even element of the international community who defend the unseemly excesses of Haiti's wealthy, were often shocked by the breadth of the divide that separates Haiti's rich from its poor.  Paradis said, "the rich are so rich there. . . .but the poor is unbelievable."  In other words, "Extreme riches, extreme oppression, extreme poverty."