Removing Qualifiers

When I was in grad school, my advisor used to tell me that I quibble in my writing to much. I use too many "near", "almost", etc wussy words. They just muddlied up my writing he said. Get rid of them and my prose will be be much tighter and more concise. So I did and people when from saying "hey you're a pretty good writer" to "hey why were you such a jerk in that email?".

You see those quibble words are important because they soften my language and make it acceptable to everyone isn't a hard ass like my old advisor. It has taken me years to deprogram this.

Unfortunately Rep Charlie Rangel hasn't had this lesson.

MATTHEWS: I mean, Charlie, Jesus didn‘t hang around with the swells, the rich people.

RANGEL: Well, he said the rich are going straight to hell.

Hmmm I don't recall that from the bible. In fact this is so doctrinally incorrect that Chris Matthews corrects him. Holy crap. The day Chris Matthews corrects my understanding of scripture is the day I hang it up.

Incidentally the biblical principle behind wealth is that it is a blessing by God to be used to further God's purposes. In a biblical world there may very well be rich and poor. Instead of distributing wealth uniformly, he will distribute it according to the capabilities of the servant similar to the Parable of the Talents. But the rich would use their wealth morally by helping the poor both with immediate needs and by bankrolling investments so that they can earn their own living.

The left doesn't seem to understand that second part. They get so hung up on the obligation towards charity they forget about teaching men to fish and lending them money so they can buy a rod and a boat. Investment is also the moral obligation of the rich and the rich do that in spades. The modern rich aren't misers who sit on their gold. They are investors.

But the modern left is too focused on socialism and economic class warfare to remember the policies of relative centrists like Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt. These were men who loved the market but also saw the ruthlessness in a system that both made men and broke men.

Not that the modern right is sinless here. They seem to be modeling themselves after the robber barons of the past. You know, the ones who hated TR. To quote another blog's commenter:

Whenever I hear that someone is "fiscally conservative and socially liberal" I immediately think that translates to "selfish and greedy."

Amen to that.

UPDATE: Someone emailed me asking "doesn't the camel and needle verse say the same thing as Charlie Rangel?" Allow me to elucidate from Matthew 24:23-26:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Theologically it is impossible for any man to enter the kingdom of God apart from Christ. The miracle of salvation is something even the angels rejoice over. The rich can be more hard-hearted than most and arguably require a greater miracle. Their wealth allows them to trust in themselves more and God less.

The idea that all rich people are going to hell without qualifiers is foolishness though. Much of the Proverbs are about the benefits of wealth and how it can liberate people from mundane earthly concerns and worries. Wealth allows the rich the freedom and free time to devote themselves more fully to God and his service. Wealth is a blessing from the Lord after all.