I am certain that my opinion to the question title of this blog entry will not find total agreement. In fact, I recall when we discussed this point at the law firm where I was supplying contract services during the Fall 2008 presidential election, it is fair to say that my view was in the minority. Not only was my opinion not the majority, but those who professed to be Christian there (as well as those who called themselves either atheist or agnostic) disagreed strongly with my point of view. But since the issue is directly or indirectly behind many of today’s current national issues, it is worth repeating here.
           I concluded then (and I still believe) that the Bible would say that man will never come close to eliminating poverty without God. Therefore, today’s American body politic (where God is being blocked out of the Public Square) have never succeeded and will never succeed in its’ “War on Poverty.” Many who believe that the Bible says otherwise will point out to what Jesus said to his disciples as to the Final Judgment at the End of the Age found in Matthew 25:31-46. But in order to place these words in Biblical context (as Jesus himself said that nothing will change in the Law until all is accomplished. (Matthew 5:18), let us first analyze what God said to Israel in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 15:11, God said to Israel (thru Moses) that:

                      “For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hands
                        to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor in your land.”

            God clearly said to “theocratic” Israel (i.e. a nation under Rule of God) that differences in wealth and income will always exist. But since Israel was at that time a theocracy, God was able to instruct them to take care of the less fortunate thru the Rule of Law, which under a theocracy is the same as the Rule of God. God did say to Israel that it is possible to eliminate poverty from the land, but only if they made a free will decision to follow Him as a nation:

                      “But there will be no poor among you, for the Lord will surely bless you in the land which the Lord your
                       God gives you for an inheritance to possess— If only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your
                       God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today.” Deuteronomy 15:4-5

           During Jesus’ public ministry, He did have occasion to teach on the issue of poor. But He also confirmed that the poor will always be present among the people, when He said (to His disciples): “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” John 12:8 But there was a big difference between the Israel of Jesus’ day and the nation that entered the Promise Land after 40 years with Moses in the desert. Israel in Jesus’ day was no longer a theocracy, there was a complete separation of church and state. After all, Jesus did say to the Pharisees (who were the religious leaders of the day: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Mark 12:17
           It was not the responsibility of the Romans to care for the poor from the taxes collected in the name of Caesar. It was the responsibility of those who felt led to follow the Rule of God that were exhorted by Jesus to care for those less fortunate. In that context, it becomes very clear that Jesus was neither exhorting government (in general) nor government that wants no mention or reference to God in its body politic to be responsible for the poor. Now lets look at Matthew 25:31-46:

                         “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne
                          in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people
                          from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his
                          right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who
                          are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the
                          creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and
                          you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and
                          you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
                          Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty
                          and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing
                          clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King
                          will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine,
                          you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed,
                          into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me
                          nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did
                          not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you
                          did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty
                          or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply,
                          ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.
                           Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’

              As long as there is a government that does not want to acknowledge the presence or commandments of God, and wants to determine how to help the poor without following the Rule of God, poverty will never cease to exist in that land! It is the responsibility of communities of faith to look after the poor. It is their responsibility to teach the poor “How to Fish.” And that cannot be done in a manner that is separate from learning of the Rule and Word of God. So any effort of a secular government to end poverty as we know it is bound to fail.