Great article on why the First Century Church was not forcing people to "share all things in common, as each man had need" by the point of a bayonet or gun and depriving each of private property rights.
ItAnd our fathers have told us. 4We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; 6That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children, 7That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments;
He said that “you” should help the poor, not the govt with a looting system of oppression.
Communism prohibits private property, which makes it incompatible with Christianity and Judaism.
As the narrative of the early Christians progresses in Acts, we see Paul requesting donations for the “starving Christians in Jerusalem”. Were these the same people who had sold their lands, and therefore their only means of support? We don’t know, but they could be.
Acts also contains references to other Christians who still owned houses and businesses. Peter owned a house where his wife and mother-in-law lived.
Jesus had plenty of opportunities to call for socialistic or communistic practices, but He never did.
The early church was not communist in any modern sense of the word. Still there were groups -like the one mentioned in Acts - who had an extremely apocalyptic view at the time. For them Jesus was coming soon (as in REAL SOON...their generation). There was not reason to invest far into the future. When time is short, you can sell every asset you own and just consume. Fortunately, many Christians did not go to such an extreme.
Also, the first Christians were banned from the temple and shunned by most of their fellow jews. The communal style of living was necessary for survival.
We are told to share what we have. But its voluntary, and if someone is taking advantage no one forces you to put up with it.
The biggest difference is that in whatever we do we are led by God. God tells us what we do and don’t do, no human. No government. We need government as a referee (and to keep the peace with people who aren’t able to govern themselves) but we do not need them to govern us, as we govern our own lives led by God Himself.
Great article. For the same reasons, personal choice, is why I halfway respect hippies and those choosing to live in them voluntarily. They are terribly misguided, but it’s a choice. And I’m not talking about political “hippies”. I’m talking about the ones that go off in a group by themselves and just want to live in peace.
ping
forced giving is not giving
charity doesnt occur at the end of a government gun, or agent, or threat
They had everything in common until Saul started after them. Later in Acts they were back to private property.