So you follow the word of Christ, Right - ok then, a couple questions?

Question

Heres my question to you then: In Acts, Jesus calls for all the people to give all their worldly possessions to the church and let the church take care of them as is needed. That is church sponsored socialism. Is that the type of society you want to live in? In Peter, Titus, Luke, Mathew, Timothy, and Ephesians, Jesus comes out in favor of slavery. In many of the instances he descibes conditions under which a master may beat a slave into obedience. He also instructs followers they are justified to kill (by stoning to death) someone who would speak of another religion. I guess as a non christian I'm just wondering do you really believe these Ideas are the will of God?

Ok. I see I got the response I expected. Christians who defend a book they've probably never read. I'm wrong? Read it!!! If you don't believe me, will you believe YOUR bible?

Slavery:
Mathew 10:24
Ephisians 6:5
Timothy 6:1,2
Peter 2:18
Titus 2:9
Luke 12:45-47

Socialism:
Acts
2:44,45

Murder:
Mathew 11:20 (I could go on and on here)

So I ask Again? do you think this is the will of God?

And if anyone wants to say "Slavery was different" then why is he instructing on how to beat and dehumanize them?

Answer 1

Is that what scripture is really telling you?

Answer 2

These are all different situations but I will try for blanket explanations.

Giving all possessions does not mean total poverty. A man with family is under obligation to care and provide for them. That requires some form of money. Paul writing in 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10 said they held jobs to get food to eat so as to not be a burden on the congregation there. Clearly it is not money itself but the pursuit of material possessions as first priority in our lives that is wrong. In the cases where Jesus told men this, that was their problem. They liked the lifestyle too much. Spiritual things was a lower priority and must be first.

Slavery was a fact back then. Death by stoning was also a fact. So were Cities of Refuge where people could go who by accident caused the death of someone and they would be safe until judgment. All of us are slaves to something. Whether it be to someone or something or our own desires, we are slaves. The Bible urges us to be slaves to God, like Christ was and is. This is the best form of slavery as it leads to living our best life possible.

Answer 3

This question is interesting for me. I'll try to answer it later if I can edit this answer or you can have a look at my page at Yahoo 360. Now I can say that the Kingdom of God is not socialism. The Kingdom of God is even much better than democracy if it really exists. Though I consider democracy as the best rule for this world for the nowaday time. Jesus can't be in favor of slavery and under no consideration He could allow a murder. Please, read carefully the Gospel. I'll write more later.

Answer 4

All we have is God's, to do with as He sees fit. Being a member of the Church, I supprot it in its work. Remember also that as a member of the Church, I must also support myself. Thus I keep for my use a portion of what God has given me. Would I want to live in a society where people cared about each other? Where your friends cared for you and not some nameless beurocracy? Actually, yes, that would be prefereable.

Does Jesus support slavery? I think Rick Deem says it best:

"The idea that God or Christianity encourages or approves of slavery is shown to be false. In fact, anybody who was caught selling another person into slavery was to be executed. However, since voluntary slavery was widely practiced during biblical times, the Bible proscribes laws to protect the lives and health of slaves. Paul, the author of many of the New Testament writings, virtually ordered the Christian Philemon to release his Christian slave from his service to "do what is proper". In addition, numerous verses from the New Testament show that God values slaves as much as any free person and is not partial to anyone's standing before other people."

As for your reference to Jesus instructing people be stoned to death, I am not familiar with that passage, so I cannot comment thouroughly. I will say, however, that I would suspect you are reaqding the passage outside of its original context, as Jesus ministry was all about forgiveness, holiness, and doing what is right.

Answer 5

Your wrong on both counts. You've simply misread the Bible. First of all in Acts Jesus did not call for people to give all their worldly possessions to the church. (Did you even bother to read Acts, or are you simply relying upon anti-Christian propaganda?)

Secondly Peter did not endorse slavery. He simply spoke of what slaves should do given their circumstances. Likewise in the Old Testament God allowed remarriage after divorce even though Jesus later revealed it to be adultery. It was tolerated because of the hardness of their hearts.

Thirdly what was the case under the Mosaic theocracy was later revealed as not to be necessarily to be applied to all societies.

Answer 6

You think that you are slick, but you're not. You start quoting New Testament books because you know that is what Christians are....New Testament Christians under Grace not the Law ( Old Testament), but then you revert back to the Old Testament teachings ( slaves , instant judgement, no mercy )without mentioning that to the answerer. Go away, or ask biblical questions. If your mentality is thinking that Paul was instructed by God to kill Christians, you are way off base. No matter how you are thinking, you are way out of left field!

Answer 7

I'm guessing you're Muslim, and repeating what you've heard preached over the course of several months.

I'm pretty sure "Jesus" doesn't say a word in Paul's letter to the Ephesians, and in NO PLACE does Jesus justify stoning someone of another religion -- that would be Muhammad, which is why I think you're confused over what you've heard other times.

So, no, you're right, most of these ideas aren't the will of God, because these are things you've just made up or taken completely out of historical and literary context.

Godspeed.

Answer 8

It is indeed necessary to ascertain which parts of the Bible are the words of humans and which were actually God's commandments.

The Catholic Church in Europe became very, very wealthy due to the requirement that "all wordly possessions must be given to the church."

That's one of the reasons many Europeans came to Turtle Island and took it away from the Indigenous Peoples and re-named it the United States of America....as well as including Freedom of Religion and Separation of Church and State in our Constitution.

Many parts of the Bible were re-written in order to conform with the beliefs of whichever king was in power at a particular time.

Here's a question for you and/or others:

What chapters or books have been excluded from Bibles in use today and why?

Answer 9

you know that's dumb. It was a time when the world was being turned upside down for these folks that professed their love for Christ.They were being kicked out of their homes,their synagogs,their families were disowning them.It was all some could do to keep from starving ,so they all pitched in and shared.
Slavery was a world wide practice...world wide.Paul only said if you're a slave be content but if you can get free,all the better.Jesus was not in the book of Acts .He was already ascended into heaven
The only person stoned in the New Testament was Stephen.And that was bad.Paul got stoned but he either lived through it or was brought back to life by laying on of hands.

Answer 10

Jesus washed the feets of the apostles..
He brought up that the one serving would be..doing something for the one who sits by the table..
He never instructed followers to stone..is it fair that you didn't read the bible, but to propose ideas that it is inhuman..?
Is this the kind of person you want to be?
Do you at least try to be a better person?

Answer 11

that was themn this is now.
perhap I AM the God who is supposed to free people of the earth as scripture said?
and perhaps the numerological equivelent are really true:
Real God=God Most High=Cree Lord=8=h=Deutsch
and i seem to fit those descriptions. and the extra voice in jesus' ear asking him to throw himeslf off the cliff was abaddon's mental torture of Jesus, who perhaps was a descendant of Jehovah? because old testament was about Jehovah as God (the sovereign lord) but the new testament was about a'bad'don as the sovereing lord, And perhaps one day a third testament with lare todd as the I AM of Ex. 3.14 of Good News Bible and lare todd as a'b'add'on of Rev. 9.11. (mean I AM shows I A IVI(sealed together) and a'b'add'on shows b=DI (sealed together) where the IIII=D.

live well and like the english said you should appreciate the freedoms won in ww2. even the vaunted italians were losing/lost the war.

and i beleive slavery is wrong because i grew up in Canada where they allow the illusion of freedom. So from a free person to other perhaps jesus deserved his fate.