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Click the photo! As the saying goes, "He who does not learn from the mistakes of history is bound to repeat them." My major at the University of Colorado was Central and East European Studies, including the rise of the Byzantine Empire and its fall due to the encroaching Muslim armies. The article Seek the Welfare of the City, Part 2 illustrates how the Byzantine state gradually usurped the Church's responsibility for philanthropic work.
It began when sincere and well-intentioned emperors and bishops cooperated in works of charity to build hospitals, orphanages and homes for the elderly. More and more often, however, a good Christian emperor was followed by a corrupt or pagan emperor who abused his power over these charitable institutions. And sometimes venial aristocrats bribed Church officials to buy the office of bishop so they could control the vast finances from the state for philanthropic works. One pagan aristocrat is even recorded as saying, "Make me a bishop, and I will become a Christian!
Eventually, the Byzantine Empire, because it was spending so much on welfare, was unable to finance its military to defend against the encircling Muslim Turkish forces. We must end the corruption and inefficient bureaucracy of our welfare system and restore true works of charity to churches, synagogues and other charitable groups. Too much double-dipping and vote-buying takes place in our current welfare state!
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