No, you are mistaken. Why? Because you do not include all the verse you quoted. Thus you infer an interpretation that is not there. Again you are being liberal.
Thats funny! You completely ignore what a verse is saying, then say I am being liberal! :laugh:
Note it says :with quietness they work, and eat their own bread," They are to work with quietness and eat their own bread. There is nothing here about not feeding those who are not working or cannot work. Sure, everyone who can work should work. But that is not the discussion here. Like others, you cannot take part of a verse, chop out what you do not like, and say "Oh, this means............" what it does not mean. Again that is being liberal.
No, wrong again. You are REALLY trying hard to redefine what this verse is clearly saying. Look at the whole set of verses.
2Th 3:10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
So, there is this group of people. Paul, the apostle, filled with the Holy Spirit, and granted authority by God himself, said if ANYONE (not just specific persons at a specific time) is not willing to work, you don't let them eat. Ignore it if you wish, but that is what it is saying.
2Th 3:11
For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies.
Notice the "for"? Yeah, he is saying, "in light of that commandment", "remembering that commandment"... "there are these people now that are not working, and I need to address the issue."
2Th 3:12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
"Such" persons. Which persons? Why, the ones refusing to work. Well, what should they do, Paul? He says, by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, that they should #1 Work quietly and #2 Earn their OWN living. Note that the construction, with the reflexive pronoun, is written just like that in the Greek. Not "let someone else earn their living" or, "eat someone else's bread." Paul commands them to WORK, and to "eat their OWN (earned) bread!" And he says this ALL in light of the commandment he already gave them, that the one who doesn't work, doesn't eat.
As I said in another post if we select portions of verses and ignore the entire verse or passage the Bible become chaos.
You are completely ignoring the context, on purpose, because you are by all appearances pushing a socialist, unbiblical agenda. The context is clearly that the command of God is that people who don't work, don't eat, and that everyone should earn and eat their own bread.
I have no problem with programs such as the CCC that gave many young men, including my father, a job during the Great Depression. I assume from you comment you would not oppose a similar program in these hard times.
Yes, actually I would. I am in favor of making those who are already getting food stamps, work for them. Not inventing new programs we cannot afford.
No, I am putting it it its proper context by including it in the entire verse. You are being liberal in chipping the rest of the verse out after gentleness and saying it means what it does not mean. [This is gently said.]
[This next comment is very gently said] I am becoming convinced by posts on this BB that many who call themselves fundamental or conservative are not really so. Why, because they take widely held beliefs and chop-up scripture to support their beliefs and ignore, as we have seen in several posts here today, that such verses do not say when we look at them in their entirety or when we look at the entire passage to gain an understanding of the context of the passage. Many here say they take the Bible as it says, but do just as I have said above and thus are in error on that passage. It may mean their belief is in error or it may not mean their are in error but just not using scripture correctly.
No chopping up of scripture. This is clearly what it says. You ignore it because you have an agenda.
