Luke 14:13-14 "But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Not that I believe in this shit, but if he claims to follow scripture, he should follow it.
I’m unfortunately surrounded by these people, and want to strengthen our side, so I’ll give a steel man of their response:
Jesus was talking at a privately hosted banquet about what the hosts should freely do. He wasn’t suggesting that they should be forced by law to do so. I support giving to charity as Jesus taught, just don’t force me to via taxation.
Another fun response is to ask about the things the do support taxes paying for, like the death penalty, and bringing up the way Jesus talked about those things.
An auntie was recently telling me Sai Baba said something to the effect of “poor people are starving because they wasted food in a past life”. Vilifying poor people to feel better about not doing anything to actually help is a tale as old as time.
Why is religion permitted in politics?
Sin is the root cause of homelessness, but it isn’t the sin of the homeless, it is the sin of those who withhold housing.