[steve-b]

Communism, meanwhile, is "atheistic" only in the sense that it advocates suppressing religions in order to "avoid competition" with the communist state, but it is entirely compatible with the existence of God

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need.
-- Acts 2:44-45

[MineralMan]

Yup. The early church was pretty communistic, in fact. As it grew, however, such a social structure was no longer possible. Communal organization is possible among small groups of like-minded people, but breaks down as the group gets larger.

Still, that does sound a lot like a Marxian construct, doesn't it. I'm tempted to think that Marx swiped that right out of Acts.