Posted on 06/05/2003 3:19:45 PM PDT by RMrattlesnake
Christ preached that we should give freely of ourselves out of love, while Marx preached that we should steal from others out of hate.
Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." - Luke12:13-15Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." - John 12:3-8
And Christ's teaching "... that we should give freely of ourselves out of love ..." is now dogmatized to the point where free will has nothing to do with it -- within Christianlty, altruism is a virtue and selfishness a vice.
But it is in man's nature to care for one's own interests first -- meaning that selfishness is virtue and altruism is vice.
That truth -- selfishness is a virtue -- is obvious to those living under a communist dictatorship. That truth is less obvious, however, in a mixed Communist/Christian environment where altruism is a matter of dogmatic faith and personal selfishness is acceptable when one is not in public view.
Mystics of muscle and mystics of the mind, as Rand put it. Compulsory altruism is a hallmark of both religions.
Christians understand quite well that we do good unto others out only of our own free will. It is very wrong not to acknowledge this crucial distinction between Communist theft and Christian charity. It is only non-Christians who believe that we are so mind-numbed and brainwashed that we can make no choices of our own. We do what we think is right.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full." - Luke 6:32-34
Jesus tells us to "love others, as we love ourselves." It is true that enlightened self-interest is a good thing, but so is love of one's neighbor. There is more to life than taking care of yourself.
"If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? If I am only for myself, then what am I?" - Rabbi Hillel
Where your treasure is, so will your heart be also. A man can store up treasures for himself on earth, but what does it gain a man to amass worldly wealth, only to lose his soul?
It is true that just as racist nazis call themselves Christians so as to invade the church and destroy it from within, so have Marxists infiltrated Christianity to preach their lies as if they are the commands of God. It is not true however, that true Christians ever denounced the right to own private property or that the earliest Christians held their property in common. When two of Peter's followers falsely claimed to be donating all the proceeds of a property sale to the ministry, but in fact kept back part for themselves, Peter rebuked them for their lie, even while making it clear that they had every right to keep their property for themselves.
"Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? - Acts 5:4
Don't believe lies about Christianity from the mouths of the enemies of Christianity.
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