If you are a Christian, why aren't you a revolutionary Communist or Socialist?

Christ never worked, never touched money and he and his disciples had all goods in common. He had some unpleasant things to say about the wealthy and those concerned with material benefits. bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qyklOne group of those who belived this were called Anabaptists, and adherents of it founded a 'kingdom of God' in Munster,Germany in 1545.(There is typing error on the link that says M A or something.

Click on it anyway. )http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qyklYou can also Google 'Jan of Leyden', their leader and 'Anabaptists' and 'Munster' Asked by spikejones 25 months ago Similar questions: Christian revolutionary Communist Socialist Society > Religion & Spirituality.

Similar questions: Christian revolutionary Communist Socialist.

Christianity and Communism / Socialism are radically different things, the similarities are superficial, the differences ... vitally important! The goal of Marxism was the creation of a new man in a classless society. The simplest key to Marxism is the Communist Manifesto.

Marxism can be summarized in four statements (pillars of Marxism). Marx had no intention of doing or founding theology, he was stubbornly atheistic and had a distaste for religion. He rejected Christianity and his Jewish upbringing and he thought in doing so he was delivering mankind from a baneful illusion.

He felt that humanity needed to be relieved of two burdens: 1. The illusion of God 2. The fiction of private property.

The four pillars of Marxism are: 1. Class struggle (he saw the world in terms of class struggle) 2. Private property (this he saw as THE GREAT EVIL) 3.

The only cure to these problems violent rebellion A. Capitalism must be smashed B. The Dictatorship of the proletariat C.

Finally the state would wither away 4. The New Man - man makes himself new through revolution and a classless society This last pillar betrays the radical difference between Biblical Christianity and Marxism In fact all of this is DIFFERENT! Christ starts with a different diagnosis of man's PROBLEM!

To Marx humanity's problem was external / relatively superficial / man is basically good / class struggle and private property were THE PROBLEM (s) In Christ's Biblical view the problem with humanity was a heart problem - Matthew 15:19 19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. Jeremiah 17:9 9 " The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Humans needed to be changed from inside out and in such a radically way that it is IMPOSSIBLE for a human being, no matter what he might do to CHANGE HIMSELF or make himself new - Jeremiah 13:23 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?

Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil. This according to Jesus was / is a change ONLY GOD can make. That is why in John chapter 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus "You must be born again."

Yet, if you read the chapter you realize Jesus does not tell Nicodemus "How to be born again" but rather He tells m it is the mysterious work of God's Spirit. Something humanly impossible, something God alone CAN DO! Something radically different than atheistic Communism.

Not only this but if you look at the passage (MOST USED BY COMMUNIST / Liberation Theologian types) Acts 2 --- you have to read the entire context ---- Acts 2:42 - 3:1 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people.

And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Note this passage mentions they had all things in common, etc... and Communism lovers jump on this "It's communism! It's communism!

" Let if you read ALL OF ACTS 2 you will realize: 1. The Holy Spirit fell on these folks 2.It was the Spirit that changed their hearts 3. They willingly gave and shared their possessions How is this different from communism?

1. The Holy Spirit is the agent of change not guns, violence, force, excessive taxation or revolution 2. Hearts are changed not merely outward actions (this is true even today, Christians are generous, giving to each other and the needy, even though not all are true Christians) 3.

In Communism, Socialism the government takes possessions by force, history has shown mass murder, in practical matters Marx has never achieved his coveted new man status. Yes, revolution, yes, dictatorship --- no to change, why? He misdiagnosed the PROBLEM like a poor doctor he was trying to lance of the symptom of class struggle but what humanity needed was HEART SURGERY!

Ezekiel 36:26-28 26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. See according to Christianity humanity's problems are not primarily economic but rather they are HEART PROBLEMS, sin problems, moral / internal problems --- The problem was not capitalism rather it is GREED!

And more than greed ---- Matthew 15:19 19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. It is rebellion against God, sin! The solution is not one humans provide for themselves but ONE God provided, Jesus Christ, dying for our sins and sending s Spirit to RENEW and REMAKE our hearts!

The New Man is not made by violent human revolution (killing, taxation) Rather a new man is made by God's Spirit Zechariah 4:6 6 So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' Says the LORD of hosts. Liberation theology is just communism in sheep's clothing, it is not Christianity! Forced giving vs. Free giving!

Man changing himself (attempting to) vs. God changing a person's heart! .

Love of Money is the ROOT of all evil What a great question! A superficial reading of scripture might indeed give us the impression Christians should be communal. But is it so?

Relying on NT scripture as my source for this discussion, let’s look at where some of these ideas might have germinated. We see in the book of ACTs, the very essence of communal living. Acts 2:42-47 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

They had all things In common. They were selling their possessions and distributing the proceeds to all. The inference is certainly they were working as a community to support each other.

We also read in of Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5:1-3 They sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledgev he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 Unfortunately, when confronted by the apostles about their deceitfulness, they paid the ultimate price, death.

Acts 5:4-6 Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God. " 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last.

And great fear came upon all who heard of it.6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. Lying to God was a severe crime and cost them both their lives. The punishment was NOT because they had held some of the money back.In fact, they are told this directly.

The question is, of course, whether or not communal sharing is a “one off” or a prescription for Christian living. As we read further in the NT, we find Paul giving us a “formula” for giving. Notice too, Paul refuses to take anything from the people he visits.

Paul says “be a cheerful giver” and “give according to how God has blessed you. ” There are further instructions to give regularly. And finally Christians are admonished to not love money.

We are told the love of money is the “root of all evil. ” Further reading of scripture suggests the apostles earned money as they went around sharing the gospel. We see instances in Acts of women who are entrepreneurs and commended for their industry.

There is nothing in scripture suggesting communal living was the norm. Instead, we find exhortations to be generous to the widows and orphans.It would be difficult, based on my reading of scripture to find any hardline support for communism or even socialism. While the Bible does not specifically mention economic systems, discernment suggests the opposite.

To be generous, one has to have money in the first place.To give regularly, believers must be earning enough money to give. We are told to give of our first fruits. In other words, don’t spend everything and then give from what is left.

Give cheerfully, joyfully, in the Greek hilariously, of the first part of your earnings. Nowhere does it suggest we should give all of our money away. I would have to think, if one of the strongest admonishments is to NOT love money, then there inherently must have been some hoarding or accumulating going on.So to rely on your money, to set aside large sums and place your faith in your money instead of God was a sin.

We see this when the rich man comes to Jesus and asks how to be saved. Jesus tells him to sell everything and give it away. The rich man goes away sad because he cannot bear to part from his riches.

At first blush, it might be presumed Jesus is tell all rich people to sell the wealth and join the commune. But upon further reading, the issue was NOT the wealth, it was the love of money. The rich man had placed his faith in the wrong thing.

Jesus tells the disciples it is harder for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Logic would say Jesus was acknowledging there are rich people and that they are so in love with their money, they will find it very difficult to focus on God instead. We do not read of Jesus condemning wealth for wealth’s sake.

Politically speaking, my reading of history suggests socialism and communism are about the power of the few over the many. But we see no political hierarchy in the Bible. The pastors and teachers are no better than their flock.

They are given honor (in fact double honor) because they are held to a higher standard. But not because of their political power. They are given honor because they are teaching the word of God to others.

Socialism and communism are manmade conventions designed to redistribute the wealth of the few among the many. And while this may sound good on paper, the disincentive to build wealth is so strong it destroys the fabric of the community. Man’s inherent nature is to compete (hence the teachings on jealousy and covetousness).

Man has a God-given desire to achieve. Communism and socialism destroy incentive. The flaw is there is no reward for doing well.

In summary, I see no evidence in scripture supporting communism and socialism. What is taught and encouraged is generosity and love for each other. We see a strong exhortation to take care of the widows and orphans, to feed those who are on hardtimes and reach out to those in prison.

But certainly nothing suggesting the successful believers must give all that they earn away.

Communism was not being preached In any political arena in the world there is a ruling class and a working class and that is evident even in Communism. What Christ was preaching was to give up the love for money and physical gratification and seek a spiritual love for God. Christ had told a person inquiring how to gain the Kingdom of God,that to gain the kingdom give up all that you own and follow me.

That it is easier for a camel to go through an eye of e needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven. This is to emphasize that if you have riches (monetary)your mind will be more occupied by your investments and that would be your priority rather than if God loves you or not,even if you donate to charity which Christ viewed as a gesture rather than true love. Christ made an example when the widow put only 2 pennies for an offering as opposed to the wealthier person who put a large ammount.

The widow put all she had for offering! GET IT? NOW for the form of government you describe:It does resemble Communism but it is not.

This was what Christ preached:If you have two goats give one to the one that has none. THINK ABOUT THIS STATEMENT! If someone slaps you offer the other cheek THINK ABOUT THIS STATEMENT ALSO!

If someone steals your shirt,give him your cloak(coat also) THINK ABOUT THIS STATEMENT ALSO! If all the supermarkets and all the people in the whole world would give 1 ea. Of whatever you have 2 of in food or materials NO ONE WOULD BE HUNGRY.

Would not need any money to buy food because I am receiving something from someone that has more and I and I also am giving 1 of something I have 2 of. If someone slaps me I turn my face and offer the other and in turn the one I slap turns the other and so on either we would all get tired of slapping uselessly with no response from the person being slapped or we are all dead. If everyone would contribute a coat to someone who wanted one there would be no need.

FINALLY:LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF! NO POLITICAL PLATFORM (Communist or otherwise) PREACHES THIS DOCTRINE OTHERWISE THERE WOULD BE NO WARS! Sources: :) .

" (Matthew 13:55) Jesus didn't have that reputation for sitting around. He worked from near or before that lost-in-the-temple incident to about 30 years old, as a carpenter like his dad had trained him. He probably built crucifixes for the Romans, too.

To your question, I'm an ambassador for a foreign power, a king who will soon move into this planet and take over by violent force (Revelation 19:21). I am already a citizen of THAT government. I would have to first surrender my ambassadorship to be able to then join up with some other governments, which is what those "Christian" revolutionaries are.

They are, like the Roman Catholic "church," wholly politically motivated, using the Bible as an excuse for their idea of what government should be (themselves in power, of course. ) .

1 Oh well,I guess we are all going to hell and burn forever cause I didn't live up to your expectations of Christianity. :( .

Oh well,I guess we are all going to hell and burn forever cause I didn't live up to your expectations of Christianity. :(.

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, and spirituality is for people who have been through it. " comments? " (10 answers) "can we grace ourselves out of obedience?

Religion and Spirituality" "Spiritually speaking, there doesn't seem to be a lot of activity in the Religion & Spirituality section, does there? " "Since the Universities and most major colleges have been taken over by Socialist and closet Communist professors what..." "Which religion is healthier for kids if they have a jordanian muslim dad and a lebanese christian mother? " "Is it possible for a Christian, atheist, Moslem, Buddhist and Jew to sit down at a table and not argue about religion?" "How would you define spirituality?

" "Is there a christian religion that is pro homosexuality but anti abortion? " "Why isn't Religion & Spirituality listed under Main categories? I didn't realize the category existed.

" "Religion & Spirituality.

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, and spirituality is for people who have been through it. " comments? " (10 answers).

Since the Universities and most major colleges have been taken over by Socialist and closet Communist professors what...

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.