What does "fairness of a society" mean apart from coerced redistribution of property? The Deuteronomy passages in any social sense are to a theocracy that doesn't exist anymore. "Sharing" is an individual voluntary act, today and as Paul recommended it. Yes, we should be pretty fired about sharing as individuals, it is a mark of justification. But compelling another to share as we deem fit is nothing but a form of coveting. Again, "communal altrusim" is an individual voluntary act done in a corporate setting. In the early Church everyone had the right to walk away.
Coerced redistribution of wealth is a misguided effort at creating “a fair society”, it is not the definition. The USAmerica system of forced redistribution of wealth irritates the snot out of me because they have proven ineffective in everything but perpetuation of the problem. It supplies only for the physical need and ignores or minimizes the other basic needs of humans - identity, belonging and purpose - all of which are needs that the church has answers to. But the church has become too inwardly focused in most cases...
Without regard to the form of government - theocracy, monarch, republic, democracy, etc. - based on the Deuteronomy passages it is evident that God is concerned about those that can’t care for themselves...most of us believe in the unchanging nature of God, so I think it is a relevant question(s) for the church today: does God still have compassion on the needy today and does he expect his people to reflect that compassion?
Coerced redistribution of wealth is a misguided effort at creating “a fair society”, it is not the definition. The USAmerica system of forced redistribution of wealth irritates the snot out of me because they have proven ineffective in everything but perpetuation of the problem. It supplies only for the physical need and ignores or minimizes the other basic needs of humans - identity, belonging and purpose - all of which are needs that the church has answers to. But the church has become too inwardly focused in most cases...
Without regard to the form of government - theocracy, monarch, republic, democracy, etc. - based on the Deuteronomy passages it is evident that God is concerned about those that can’t care for themselves...most of us believe in the unchanging nature of God, so I think it is a relevant question(s) for the church today: does God still have compassion on the needy today and does he expect his people to reflect that compassion?