Does James really say to force people to give to a specific government program?
Giving or not is not what was being addressed there.
It was you who suggested that voting for someone who allows abortion is tantamount to committing murder, then added James 2 which says, “whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one [point], he is guilty of all.”
I was responding to your use of that verse.
If you are going to apply it that way, it must work both ways. You can vote for every pro-life candidate on the ballot – but if the same principle applies and they fail to follow even one command, they are also guilty of failing to keep the whole law. By the extension
you applied, that makes you guilty as well.
That's the point of the verse, you/we don't get to pick and choose which commands to follow and which ones to ignore.
Is it the role of government to give to the poor?
The role of government is to provide for the general welfare of all of its citizens. That can mean addressing issues that impact society at large including the poor, elderly, widows, orphans etc. as well as crime and punishments.
In none of that did he (Jesus) say to forcefully take money from some through the government to give to the poor.
Jesus addressed taxation point blank. He did
not call it theft. Calling taxes theft is a political mantra that has nothing to do with the teaching of Christ.
We are if we first obey Jesus' commands. He taught his apostles how to judge righteously--by first removing the plank from their own eyes. He taught the hypocrites how to be genuine--by not neglecting the weightier matters of the law (like abortion, perhaps)..
Let's pause right there for a moment.
I consider myself thoroughly pro-life, which for me includes the issues of abortion, capital punishment and euthanasia, but also overlaps into issues of poverty, health care, war, guns, immigration, and protection of minorities. I try to look at every issue through the lens of life being sacred,
all of it.
Records concerning abortions in the USA have only been kept since the Roe decision in 1973.
Fact: the number of abortions in the USA peaked in the late 70s
Fact: the number of abortions in the USA have been in steady decline since peaking in the late 70s (with one exception, which I will mention momentarily)
Fact: the rate of decline has been faster under democratic leadership than under GOP leadership
Fact: the abortion rate in the USA has only increased under one administration since Jimmy Carter; that was the Trump administration.
Those are facts.
Now if you are really serious in trying to discern the weightier portion; why does GOP leadership not perform better in this area? If the policies are under performing, then what changes are in order?
What democratic policies have a direct affect on reducing the number of abortions in the USA?
It is my opinion that democratic leadership performs better because they address the front and center cause(s) of abortion such as healthcare and economics better than the GOP does. It is also my opinion that the goal of the current GOP policy on abortion is not to reduce/eliminate abortions, but to sweep them back under the rug as they were prior to Roe. That is opinion, ymmv
“When someone steals another’s clothes, we call them a thief.
Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not?
The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes; the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.”
-St. Basil the Great-
Lord have mercy on me the sinner.