Was Christ a communist?

Abbrevs like that play havoc with my dyslexia. (I also have a problem with "young-earth cartoonists".) That might have something to do with the fact that He was in the middle of a very powerful empire. Talking politics directly would have been about as sensible as holding a Ku Klux Klan rally on the White House lawn.You and I seem to be on the same page regarding Jesus' message: to individuals rather than to societies. Maybe He expected goodness to have a trickle-up effect.But that doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to be "good" in the politics that we do involve ourselves in. And conservatism.The ideal is practical, not doctrinaire.
Unfortunately, too many Christians see it the other way around.

---

Help scientific research in your spare time. No cost. No obligation.
Join the World Community Grid with Team EvC

Commies and Socialists are hippies. Jesus was not a commie. What is your malfunction soilder??

have some http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?noframes;r...

Apparently your major malfunction is failure to read the thread.I have been saying all along that Jesus was not a communist.

---

Help scientific research in your spare time. No cost. No obligation.
Join the World Community Grid with Team EvC

and yet twat'shisface hasn't figured it out yet and keeps asking the question as though we haven't said anything.

I thought of that myself, and I hate abbreviating, but when you post about religion, religion, religion...Anyway, yes, I agree with you, and the thread seems to have gone berzerk since I last checked.On a side note, I watched a rerun of a Fatima documentary today, and JPII and the RCC were the sworn enemies of the Communist Party in Russia, obviously. I'm not really going anywhere with this, but, eh, I thought of you all.

Completely true. I think I'll start a thread on that. It may not be today, but soon.

Ringo, earlier in the thread and quite rightly, points out that there are problems with definitions in relation to the O.P. question: “Was Christ a communist”.Others have put forward or implied definitions of “communism" and "communist” which are by no means comprehensive. So let’s see some definitions.Online Dictionary: Communist.

quote:

---

1. (initial capital letter ) a member of the Communist party or movement.
2. of communism an advocate.
3. a person who is regarded as supporting politically leftist or subversive causes.
4. (usually initial capital letter ) a Communard.
5. (initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to the Communist party or to Communism.

---

Arguments could be made, rightly or wrongly, for definitions 2 and 3, but the strongest involves 4.Following definition 4:O. D. Communard

quote:

---

1. (often lowercase ) French History. a member or supporter of the Commune of 1871. Compare COMMUNE3 (def. 8b).
2. (lowercase ) a person who lives in a commune.

---

And following definition 2:O. D. commune. (noun)

quote:

---

1. a small group of persons living together, sharing possessions, work, income, etc., and often pursuing unconventional lifestyles.

---

It looks as though Christ could be reasonably described as having been a communist by that route. A communard, meaning a person who lives in a small group of persons “sharing possessions, work, income etc., and often pursuing unconventional lifestyles” is a communist by one of the definitions under “communist” above. It doesn’t mean that he necessarily wanted the entire world to be communist, but that he practiced communism. So let’s change the question slightly into:Did Christ practice communism?Online Dictionary: Communism:

quote:

---

1. a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
2. (often initial capital letter ) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.
3. (often initial capital letter ) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.
4. COMMUNALISM.

---

Following the fourth definition:O. D. COMMUNALISM.

quote:

---

1. a theory or system of government according to which each commune is virtually an independent state and the nation is merely a federation of such states.
2. the principles or practices of communal ownership.
3. strong allegiance to one's own ethnic group rather than to society as a whole.

---

By definition 2, Christ practiced communalism and therefore communism.So, was Christ a communist? Yes, but certainly not by all definitions.
Did he preach communism for all others? We’d have to analyze the New Testament for an answer to that, but it isn’t actually the O.P. question.He certainly seems to have recommended it to his followers at the time.Are you a follower of Christ? Edited by bluegenes, : No reason given.

There is a reason why we have a different word, "communard" - to distinguish "communalism" form communism.And Jesus wasn't necessarily a communalist either. Every group of guys who pool their gas money for a road trip is not necessarily a commune. You'd have to come up with something to indicate that He practised communalism - not just sharing. He recommended "sell what you have and give to the poor" to one rich man - who didn't follow.Dig a hole and plant those goalposts. This is getting embarassing.-------------ABE: I have been informed that "one" is an underestimate.
See Message 101 below.Edited by Ringo, : Calculator malfunction - can't count past "one".

---

Help scientific research in your spare time. No cost. No obligation.
Join the World Community Grid with Team EvC

You have two main definitions for communism. One is pertaining to the political party, the other to a communal life-style. What is the difference between this commune, and a family? Or a tribe? Basically, there is no difference between a monastery, a commune, a family, there is only the matter of blood relation.We all have communes of some kind or another; groups united by more than blood. We have communities of faith, car pools, teams, and companies. All groups benefit from sharing, from essentially 'giving up' you self identity and working together. I think that Christ wanted everyone to live in this type of harmony, and primarily to see the world as family, not just those in one class or race.This is a useful goal, and if you want Jesus to be communist, or communal, no problem. He pointed out the need for share and share alike, and if a certain political party or otherwise wishes to try to implement this on a large scale, good luck to them.

Actually, he also recommended it to at least his entire "little flock" in Luk 12:33. Acts 2 thru 4 suggested that group did follow.That practice didn't quit. Tertullian described sharing everything buy their wives as a normal practice in AD 200. Justin describes the same 50 years earlier. They both indicate this was typical Christian practice, not some unusual thing they were doing.

Fair enough. I stand corrcted. Do you think there's any indication that Jesus advocated communal use of resources as opposed to just sharing? My impression is that the early Christians who practised "communism" were embellishing somewhat on His words.

---

Help scientific research in your spare time. No cost. No obligation.
Join the World Community Grid with Team EvC

No, I think the evidence is that both Jesus and the early churches practices sharing, not communal ownership. Both references I gave, Tertullian and Justin, describe a voluntary sharing, carefully making a point that the sharing was not mandatory. This despite the fact that they were willing to boast that the result of this was that they shared everything.They had a communal treasury that was used to help whoever was in need, whether it was support of widows and orphans (no govt. welfare at that time) or helping someone going through a temporary time of need. Weekly and voluntary collections were taken for this.This seems quite in line with what Jesus taught, IMO.

I always thought it was self-evident that God invented private property. Even animals possess things. I would think this isn't consistent with communism, so my answer would be "No."

so God invented this concept of self vs others?or did God foreknow that humans would choose to embrace the concept?IF God expected socialism to work, the human mind and heart would have to be radically transformed. Im not sharing my toys with just anyone...they hafta be my friend first.