What does EGW write about...
Ellen Gould White über: "Social unrest and conflicts between the rich and the poor"
Answer
The increasing centralization of wealth and the simultaneous impoverishment of broad masses, according to the scriptures, lead to growing unrest and social tensions. This oppression awakens desperation and passions among the poorer classes, which demoralizes society and can lead to anarchy and bloodshed. Only the application of divine principles of justice and selflessness could peacefully resolve these conflicts and avert the looming ruin.
Danger of Anarchy through Social Injustice
At the same time, anarchy seeks to sweep away all laws, not only the divine but also the human. The centralization of wealth and power; the massive alliances to enrich a few at the expense of many; the alliances of the poorer classes to defend their interests and demands; the spirit of unrest, upheaval, and bloodshed ... all of this tends to involve the whole world in a struggle resembling that which shook France.
God-Ordained Limits against Oppression
The Lord wishes to place a barrier before the boundless love of property and power. Great evils would result from the continued accumulation of wealth by one class and the poverty and degradation of another. Without a certain restraint, the power of the rich would become a monopoly, and the poor ... would be regarded and treated as inferior to their wealthier brothers. The feeling of this oppression would awaken the passions of the poorer class.
Divine Principles as a Solution for Social Conflicts
The principles embedded by God would prevent the terrible evils that have arisen in all ages from the oppression of the poor by the rich and the mistrust and hatred of the poor toward the rich. ... They would bring about a peaceful solution to those problems that now threaten to fill the world with anarchy and bloodshed.
Contrast between Luxury and Poverty in the Cities
In the great cities there are many people who live in poverty and destitution, almost without food, shelter, and clothing; while in the same cities there are those who have more than the heart could desire, living luxuriously ... The cries of the starving humanity rise before God, while people, through every kind of oppression and extortion, amass colossal fortunes.
The Social Situation before the Second Coming of Christ
The Holy Scripture describes the condition of the world immediately before the Second Coming of Christ. The Apostle James depicts the greed and oppression that will prevail. He says: “Well then, you rich... You have gathered treasures in the last days. Behold, the wages of the workers who have harvested your fields, which you have withheld from them by fraud, are crying out; and the cry of those who have been harvested has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.”
🔍 Related Searches
- Accumulation of wealth and anarchy
- Biblical principles of social justice
- Condition of the world before the Second Coming
Original Sources (English)
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