Acts chapter 4:
32And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any one of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
34Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold
35and laid them down at the apostles' feet. And distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."
2007-09-28 18:43:09 · 6 answers · asked by Guardian 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Short answer, yes.
If you study about the ESSENES --the Brotherhood, a clustered community of prophets, visionaries and scribes that banded together since the time of Elijah-- they were the third largest group among the Jewry. The largest groups were the Pharisees, followed closely by the Sadducees, and then by the Essenes.
The Essenes were the same ones who followed The Law for generations and who "separated" themselves from the rest of the Jewish cities to honor their Nazarite's Vows, which had been instituted since the time of Moses.
It was through them that the maiden, Mary --daughter of Anna and Joachim-- was chosen to be the vessel for arrival of the Promised Messiah. There were two known communities of Essenes during that time: one in Nazareth, located at the foothills of Mt. Carmel; and the other in Qumran, high atop the cliffs overlooking the Dead Sea.
Mary, the young maiden, and Joseph, a respected elder and builder of their community both belonged to the community in Nazareth. Her first cousin Elizabeth, and husband Zecheriah --high priest/in-charge of the incense at the Temple in Jerusalem-- lived in Qumran where John the Baptist was born.
Presumably, being surrounded by disciples, scribes and elders of the Essene communities, the ENTIRE LIFE OF YESHUA MESSIAH [pbuh] was chronicled and written by at least hundreds, maybe even thousands of those whom The Master had affected... BEFORE He began to "choose" His twelve [public] Apostles soon after meeting His cousin --another Major Prophet, John the Baptist-- for the first time along the River Jordan.
The Holy Bible quotes Him as saying, "Take my yoke [teaching] upon you and LEARN OF ME; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden [worldly possessions] is light."
It speaks quite succinctly of the Law of the Brotherhood, which states that "None will be wealthy and none will be poor, and all shall work together in the gardens of the Brotherhood. Yet all shall follow his path, and all shall commune with his heart..."
Peace be with you!
2007-09-28 18:58:56 · answer #1 · answered by Arf Bee 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The Church in Jerusalem tried an early form of socialism or pure communism. But it failed as can be seen in Apostle Paul gathering up funds from different Churches from the gentiles to send to the Jews in Jerusalem.
The difference is that the people gave out of their want to help fellow brothers in Christ versus a forced wealth distribution. Everyone gave out of what they had, not what they did not have. Everyone gave what they promised though they were not required to, and was punished if they lied about it.
2007-09-29 01:51:49 · answer #2 · answered by Sam L 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
2 Corinthians : 3 - 17
"where the spirit of the Lord is ...there is liberty"
trusting God isnt socialism ...socialism doesnt work ...70 years of soviet empire proved that fact when it imploded.
2007-09-29 01:56:20 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, many bible scholars admit that the early church was socialist in nature.
2007-09-29 01:47:00 · answer #4 · answered by Pirate AM™ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no
socialism wasn't around in the first century.
2007-09-29 01:46:43 · answer #5 · answered by robert p 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
oh give me a break
2007-09-29 01:47:00 · answer #6 · answered by Lyndsey G 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋