Well, for what its worth, these are my thoughts on the matter. Bear in mind this is a personal conviction so I'm not for a moment suggesting it be imposed on others.
I would agree that dumpster diving is illegal and therefore not a legitimate activity for a follower of Christ to be engaged in. I'm an activist but I'm not an anarchist. I think that secular law needs to be respected in as much as those in authority are there with God's consent. If we begin to break the law on the grounds of an alternative subjective moral conviction we open ourselves up to a plethora of potential problems (where would you draw the line?).
As far as I can see, Jesus and the first disciples respected and submitted to the secular authority of their day (consider the issue of the Temple tax, which could be argued was an immoral and unnecessary additional burden on the people or the fact that history shows us that the early church was willing to honour Rome's right to put them to death for refusing to worship Caesar).
I love the idea of redeeming food but would rather see an attempt to negotiate an arrangement with the retailers concerned that would allow for the collection and distribution of products past their sell-by-date (which we all know is not the same as a genuine use-by-date). I have seen this approach successfully implemented in South Africa, principally through an organisation called 'Robin Good'. Obviously context is an important factor in this equation and I have no idea if Australian authorities would be as open to the idea as South African authorities have been, given that the socio-economic situation in the two countries are vastly different.
That said, the intention and motivation behind the action can't be faulted. I wholeheartedly support doing whatever we can (within the boundaries of reasonable civil law) to break the stronghold of poverty over people's lives.
that's certainly true. valid point - the idea that we're commanded to live at peace requires finding creative solutions for these problems. I guess we're always faced with the question of what is good, where does the line appear and where we cross it.
for example - it was illegal to hide jews in the holocaust, at times under Roman government it was illegal for people to convert to christianity or judaism.
How cool would it be to say you have a criminal conviction for trying to help the poor? I mean, if you get arrested for something, it might as well be something cool :P
Well, for what its worth, these are my thoughts on the matter. Bear in mind this is a personal conviction so I'm not for a moment suggesting it be imposed on others.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that dumpster diving is illegal and therefore not a legitimate activity for a follower of Christ to be engaged in. I'm an activist but I'm not an anarchist. I think that secular law needs to be respected in as much as those in authority are there with God's consent. If we begin to break the law on the grounds of an alternative subjective moral conviction we open ourselves up to a plethora of potential problems (where would you draw the line?).
As far as I can see, Jesus and the first disciples respected and submitted to the secular authority of their day (consider the issue of the Temple tax, which could be argued was an immoral and unnecessary additional burden on the people or the fact that history shows us that the early church was willing to honour Rome's right to put them to death for refusing to worship Caesar).
I love the idea of redeeming food but would rather see an attempt to negotiate an arrangement with the retailers concerned that would allow for the collection and distribution of products past their sell-by-date (which we all know is not the same as a genuine use-by-date). I have seen this approach successfully implemented in South Africa, principally through an organisation called 'Robin Good'. Obviously context is an important factor in this equation and I have no idea if Australian authorities would be as open to the idea as South African authorities have been, given that the socio-economic situation in the two countries are vastly different.
That said, the intention and motivation behind the action can't be faulted. I wholeheartedly support doing whatever we can (within the boundaries of reasonable civil law) to break the stronghold of poverty over people's lives.
that's certainly true. valid point - the idea that we're commanded to live at peace requires finding creative solutions for these problems. I guess we're always faced with the question of what is good, where does the line appear and where we cross it.
ReplyDeletefor example - it was illegal to hide jews in the holocaust, at times under Roman government it was illegal for people to convert to christianity or judaism.
But good thinking Tman.
anyone else?
How cool would it be to say you have a criminal conviction for trying to help the poor? I mean, if you get arrested for something, it might as well be something cool :P
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