Interesting it'd be nice to read up more on said religious communism. Not exactly enough detail was provided in this post, it still could've been consensual by Jesusists rather than a forced economy.
What makes communism the direct route for a Christian? Whether or not it is ethical is an entirely different debate. I don't understand how you can draw such an extreme belief from Jesus who seemed to be more than not apolitical and more philosophical.
Communism demands public ownership, Jesus did not demand it it is simply an act of virtue apparently.
16 And behold, one came up to him, saying,
“Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good.
If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him,
“Which?” And Jesus said,
“You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him,
“All these I have observed; what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him,
“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22)
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24)
19
“There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. 20 And at his gate lay a poor man named Laz′arus, full of sores, 21 who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Laz′arus in his bosom. 24 And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Laz′arus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25
But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Laz′arus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ 2 (Luke 16:19-26)
31 “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35
for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? 39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ 40 And the King will answer them,
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:31-40)
God gives His reasons for destroying Sodom and Gomorrah:
49
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, surfeit of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty, and did abominable things before me; therefore I removed them, when I saw it. (Ezekiel 16:49-50)
6 There is great gain in godliness with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and[
a] we cannot take anything out of the world; 8 but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:6-10)
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common; 45
and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. (Acts 2:44-45) (I.e.
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need; sorry, Marxists but Christians had this idea long before you
.)
32 Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul,
and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph who was surnamed by the apostles Barnabas (which means, Son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37 sold a field which belonged to him, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:32-37)
Communism is simply a social order based around sharing and equality.
Religious communism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jesus was not "apolitical". You cannot be a Christian without holding a viewpoint on the political state of things. Christians are to follow Jesus, allow themselves to be changed by His message and grace and then go out and put His teachings into action. Christ's message is revolutionary. We are called to first change ourselves and then go out and change the world.
