Thursday, July 21, 2005

Parable of Capitalism

The Parable of the Talents
"It will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one - to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more. His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back. His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, wher there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
Matthew 25:14-30
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The Parable of the Ten Gold Coins
While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, "A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.' His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.' But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, 'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional one.' He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.' Then the second came and reported, 'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.' And to this servant too he said, 'You, take charge of five cities.' Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.' He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.' And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.' But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.' 'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.' "
Luke 19:11-27

The Bible is ...

Bible is The Word of God written in a language I understand. Like most Catholics, Bible reading was not part of my catechism and practice until Vatican ll and Pope John Paul. I bought New American Bible (NAB) at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the ‘70’s. Never read, meditate or memorize the words until my then 7 yr old apo asked ‘How many Psalms are there in the Bible, Lola?’. She memorized Psalm 23 already. I did not know. I opened my still shiny, white leather bound Bible to find out and it is not shiny and white anymore today. That's the start of my bible study, the beginning of my critical thinking process, the beginning of my creative thinking process. NAB has copious footnotes in every page, as well as relevent history of Bible time frame.
I read the bible to start my day, then I read my favorite blogs and news source – Powerlineblog.com, Michellemalkin.com, Hughhewitt.com , Realclearpolitics.com, foxnews.com, bloomberg.com, bworld.com.ph, gov.ph.
Matthew Chapter 13, Verse 12 in NAB is titled ‘The Purpose of Parables’. "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
NAB, footnote - ‘God gives further understanding to one who accepts the revealed mystery; from the one who does not, he will take it away.’ Additional footnote explains that ‘a parable is a figurative speech that demands reflection for understanding, only those who are prepared to explore its meaning can come to know it. To understand is a gift of God, granted to the disciples but not to the crowds.’
This ongoing experiment called the United States of America Trust God. ‘In God We Trust’ are posted in court rooms, engrave in US currencies (coins & paper), on the last verse of the chorus in the national anthem: Star-spangled Banner and in the first two paragraph of the Declaration of Independence – ‘When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’
(For history of American motto ‘In God We Trust’ link to: http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.shtml
and how religious principles heavily influenced the founding fathers of America article by Michael Novak that at this site: http://www.hooverdigest.org/002/novak.html )