Parables 101

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But if I have all the necessities of life, including a useful ass, but still have my eye on my neighbors ass, then coveting applies.

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Not necessarily. This dogma is frequently used to justify privbate property, itself extracted by violence. This is a reactionary dictum against the poor, who may seek to reposses those things of which they have been disapropriated by the wealthy.

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Jesus says you will always have the poor.

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I'm well aware of that. It is frequently cited as justification for grossly disparate levels of wealth, or for the futility of anti-poverty programmes. Like the commandment about the ox, its is a statement of oppression.

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If you can't do the bible quote, then you can explain in your own words why property=violence. How can one reposess what they did not have?

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Thucydides says, "As piracy indcreased and capital reserves came into being..." The Israelites, like other local peoples, were all about killing their neighbouring tribes, enslaving their women and children, stealing their chattels and slaughtering their males. So, having stolen an ox from the Moabites by violence, they certainly do not want any Moabite slaves coveting that ox.This is religion used to justify theft and disapropriation by force.This message has been edited by contracycle, 10-29-2004 08:13 AM