Biblical Responsibility for the Poor: Individual or Communal?

From Huffington-

In response to criticisms of new tax regulations passed by Congress, conservative writer and radio host Erick Erickson wrote on Twitter: “The Bible teaches it is an individual responsibility to help the poor. Shame on those who’d pass off their personal obligation to the government.” In other words, Erickson, like many other conservatives, believes that the Bible rejects government programs to help alleviate poverty. As Jack Jenkins has shown, over the past half-century prominent conservative evangelical Christians adopted free-market economic principles as a core principle of their faith. This new free-market fundamentalism has fast become a central tenet of the Republican party.

Unfortunately for them, it’s a sentiment that God has promised to judge harshly (Exod 22:21-27). One of the Bible’s most pervasive and defining claims is that the community is responsible for the welfare of all who reside in it—particularly the poor and vulnerable. The Bible’s idea of justice doesn’t ignore individual responsibility. It goes far beyond it.

More here-

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/biblical-responsibility-for-the-poor-individual-or_us_5a24ef7de4b0545e64bf94c2