Reading in my daily devotional today from ACTS 4:34-35 "All who possessed land or houses sold them and brought the proceeds to the apostles, and the apostles distributed to each as anyone had need."
So my questions: Were the early Christians socialists? Should the church be more socialist today? And would Christianity attract more liberals and atheists if we practiced more socialism?
2007-09-03 02:56:48 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
What they did, which is what God wants of us is this: Give ownership of ALL that you have back to God (He gave it all to you, so we give it BACK). Now, He makes us stewards of it all.
In practice, the way to do this is this: Ask God how He wants you to spend your money, time and talents. Some people mistakenly believe that you can give Him 10% as your tithe, and spend the other 90% on strippers and drugs - that's not how He wants it. True, the FIRST 10% should go to financially run the local church, and maybe 3%-5% going towards missionaries and/or charitable giving (tithe is not giving - it's expenses of the local church). The rest, we need to spend according to His will - this includes suporting our family (maybe mother in law too) as well as spending our money on things that will further His kingdom (spend your restaurant dollars at restaurants that are CLOSED on Sundays...... that's giving to other believers) and avoid furthering the kingdom of darkness (avoid spending at places that PROMOTE or support darkness - like cigarettes/alcohol/pornography, etc.) This could include researching which service providers are Christian, and tithe (does YOUR Realtor work on Sunday?) and what companies give large donations to anti-Christian causes (i.e. Ford Motor Company).
One thing I've advised pastors is that when their congregation is in the growing stage, don't rent out a spot at a "strip mall". Prior to owning your own building, rent from another Christian congregation - meet at 2pm or so. That money goes to the Lord's work, and is better stewardship of what He's given us.
Lastly, Christians do practice a form of what's in Acts 4:34-35. The early church was not made up of mega-churches. It was made up of house churches. Some still run this way - makes it much easier to help the needy members of the church, when you actually know the family. For people in a "regular" church, the way to practice this is to get "plugged-in". Too many church goers only want to go to church and not be noticed. That's not being part of the body. We all need to be in family groups. When 5 or 6 or 10 families all meet together and love each other, that's who you turn to when there is a need - it's also who helps you when you are failing in what you should be doing (like when the dad doesn't take care of his kids - he needs intervention by the friends in the group)
2007-09-03 03:50:36 · answer #1 · answered by teran_realtor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, based on what you wrote, I would say the early Christians practiced a type of socialism. Jesus even said sell all your belongings and follow me.
I don't know how that would work today. I don't think many people would sell everything they own and give all the assets to an entity to distribute. It's a good idea in theory, but I don't think it would be successful in practice in America. We are capitalists. Americans are generous and will help out, but we like to have material possessions. We like to keep what we earn and better ourselves. Also, often the death knell for ideas in America is when you label them "socialist." Look at what happened to Hillary and Bill Clinton's Universal Health Insurance Plan once critics started calling it socialist.
2007-09-03 11:49:19 · answer #2 · answered by Michael B - Prop. 8 Repealed! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure. They were very socialist. We would be a much stronger body if we were socialist today. In the USA we adopt the social norms of our country and tack on our faith like a hat pin.
(Question #2)
We go about doing the will of our Father the best we can as we grow in his mercy and grace. If Atheist and Liberals approach GOD on GOD's terms then they would be a wonderful addition to the body of Christ. All we do is declare the Gospel and what Jesus has done for us.
2007-09-03 03:16:00 · answer #3 · answered by Bye Bye 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Conservatism and Christianity make for strange bed fellows. Jesus and his early followers were liberal; advocating reform of the established religious and political authority and the breaking away from dogma and tradition.
2007-09-03 03:08:47 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
uh, yes and no.
the fact is that socialists and communists do not exist today, and never have. These words generally describe modern dictatorships and societies that are anything but "classless" and that invariably are controlled by a pampered elite class. they call it "communism' or "socialism" but it is not. Ironically, it is the words themselves that are the true opiate of the masses, not religion.
2007-09-03 03:08:02 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
They were "radical collectivists". As someone said, as numbers grow, it is difficult to maintain this system, but each church, to whom Paul wrote later on, maintained something like this too.
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2007-09-03 03:12:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They were practicing communal living, this is true. And in small groups, this can work.
But Socialism and Communism are failed systems which have been proved to be more than failures...they can become abusive and dangerous forms of government.
2007-09-03 03:01:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
Yes, but it depends on what your definition is.
2007-09-03 03:01:03 · answer #8 · answered by fooles.troupe 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋