Posted on 06/03/2011 6:29:54 PM PDT by billflax
The Bible requires work, frugal living and honest dealings. It mandates impartial justice, sound money and property rights; plus endorses liberty and limited government – all essential elements of capitalism. Christ even used free market principles repeatedly in his teaching. Jesus clearly appreciated price signals and the role of incentives.
The parables of the talents and minas offer sage investment advice. It is prudent to entrust resources to those multiplying them and extract resources from those squandering them. This counters the Marxist principle of progressive taxation taking from the most productive to subsidize those wasting scarce resources. But Jesus used these essential lessons to illustrate spiritual truths, not finance.
Market based economics appear consistent with Christ’s teachings, however it is inappropriate to usurp divine authority by transforming Jesus into Adam Smith. The Bible unequivocally endorses certain elements of capitalism. And never does it disavow capitalism, only its impure application by corrupt participants; unless one equates free markets with Social Darwinism as do Marxists. But theirs is clearly neither a biblical perspective nor an accurate depiction.
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NO!
Next question.
The answer is no. Christianity and its tenants are voluntary. You can choose to follow Christ or not. Marxism is ALWAYS enforced at the point of a gun.
Why yes, like a fish without a bicycle. Next?
Subsidiarity is a fundamental aspect of Christianity and Judaism which is incompatible with ideologies of Marxism and Islam. It is in the Bible several times...old and new testament.
As long as this philosophy is adhered to...the government can be moral whether a philosopher king or parliament or whatever......Virtue is key in every government and unless each individual is given dignity and worth it is evil....collectivism where you ignore the dignity of an individual is always evil.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity
Socialism-Marxism tries to weirdly parody the Bible, yet with “man” taking the place of God.
The most glaring example is the Garden of Eden, from which man was expelled for eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The socialist-Marxists have turned this idea on its head. First, they renamed the Garden of Eden, “the State of Nature”, and posited that if man can just reject the concepts of Good and Evil, they will be able to return to this state.
They typically imagine this in bizarre ways, such as the destruction of civilization and most of the human population of the Earth, replaced with small, isolated villages with minimal technology. Most of the Earth is left to ecologically regenerate.
And itinerant “Masters”, that elitist socialist types always imagine themselves in that role, go from village to village, keeping everyone else living in primitivism.
This same doctrinal theme crops up again and again in socialist and even proto-socialist writings, so it is obviously some kind of standard extrapolation found in Judeo-Christian trained individuals who reject God. Yet though it is inherently atheist, it still bears all the hallmarks of religious fervent.
In other words, it does not matter how stupid and illogical it is, they are true believers in it, and cannot be swayed by reason.
Major characteristics of it include a rejection of history, or at least if it cannot be rejected, then it must be corrupted.
Likewise they crave and are attracted to both immorality and amorality, wanting to establish moral equivalence to Good and Evil. For this reason they often embrace evil and disparage and attempt to deconstruct good.
Individualism is rejected in favor of group (herd-like) consensus. Both success and failure are to be discouraged in the pursuit of mediocrity called “equality”.
Oddly enough, they are not pragmatic enough to ever consider that any of their ideas are flawed, despite endless examples of failure, and so they will invariably reinforce defeat by redoubling their faith.
As a way of life...NO!
But they do have something in common...you will find portions of each of these worldviews in most churches in this country.
Don't even know why they're asking this question again. I don't see anywhere in Christianity that stipulates abolishing the familiy, totalitarian centralization of government, communication, education, transportation, agribusiness (yes, it's in the Manifesto), never mind abolition of religion (gasp); and certainly no collectivization or progressive taxation is part of Christianity.
NO! Next question.
“Jesus would never use government surrogates to force the people to ‘help others’.” — Philip Freneau
Great book. We have it.
You should read my other post about Sorry, but Christ wasn’t a Communist.
Did you read the article?
Sure did. Didn't like the title, though, because that'll make people think that there might be. Anyone who reads the manifesto will see the complete opposition to Christianity in there.
Did you read the article?
I just did...and as somebody that has taught on Christian worldview in several churches, I am very familiar with the 9% figure reported by Barna. At times I think that his number might be inflated a bit. It is amazing to me the lack of understanding that most Christians have about what is actually in the Scriptures.
I would suggest reading another article, “Christianity and the Culture War” by Bradley Hughs. I read the article in the May 2011 issue of “The Schwarz Report” that is published by the Christian Anti-Communism Crusade. Address is PO Box 129, Manitou Springs, CO 80829 and phone number (719) 685-9043. The article presents a lot of information about the current state of our culture along with causes and recommendations to improve it...I think you would find it interesting.
I love “The Schwarz Report.” Dr. Noebel and Michael Bauman are heroes.
See the DVD “Agenda” if you haven’t already.
I have a copy of “Agenda” and have watched it often...in between loaning it out to others so that they can see it.
Another DVD that I like is “Demographic Winter”...I would suggest that you see it if haven't already.
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