Communist Christians

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

"And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and
not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all
things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were
giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was
upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were
owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 
and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any
had need."

                                                                                                          --  Acts 4:32-35

Many Christians have accepted a political worldview that "conservative" is somehow
the equivalent of good.  That was indeed the purpose of the political "Christian
conservative" movement of the late 1970s: to convince Christians that identifying
with that human politico/socio/religio philosophy was kinda the same as believing in
Jesus.

Politicians (and their "Christian leader" allies), whose self-promotion was served by
thus deceiving Christians, also taught their followers that "liberals" and "socialists"
are evil.

Let's face it, most people are rather sketchy on "politico/socio/religio philosophy,"
even their own: and It's nearly impossible to get any large group of people to agree 
on what they all believe.  Much easier to gather a faction around what they're all
against.

And the most successful factions, around who they're against.  Jesus Himself said
it's always easy to see what's wrong about other people (Matthew 7:3).  Leaders of
human factions don't understand His words as warning...it's their playbook.

If you disregard that stuff the Bible says about our enemies not being flesh and
blood (II Corinthians 10:3 and Ephesians 6:12), and discountenance its teaching
that "factions" are contrary to the working of the Spirit (Galatians 5:20)...you've got
the makings of a dandy little faction.  One that could even draw in Christians who
are rather sketchy on what the Bible teaches: and that's millions of votes...sorry,
I mean, "Christians."

It was easy.  When Christians bought into the unBiblical, manifestly human-political,
teaching that "conservatism" is equivalent to Christianity, they swallowed the "conser-
vative" faction's moral worldview: "conservative, good...liberal BAD !!"

The problem is that it's not a moral worldview at all, but a political one...which self-
serving politicians (seconded by their "Christian leader" allies) claim is a moral one.
Claim blasphemously, for who but God defines what is "good," and what is "evil" ?

The question for Christians buying into the false political "moral" view would be simply,
"where does the Bible teach that ?"  But those who fail to practice the Bible's command
of self-examination don't seem to ever come to that question.  And it's a certainty that
people who don't honestly measure their beliefs against the Bible's teachings...which
includes, unfortunately, very many Christians...will default to man's "natural" thinking:
including the "factionalist" worldview, "us vs. them," that the Bible warns us against.

So it's not surprising that the "moral" worldview of many Christians today comes down
to the politicians' simplistic, wrong, formulation: "conservative, good...liberal BAD !!"

For many of my generation, there's also the groundwork for moral-political confusion
that was laid by our Cold War childhood indoctrination: that "we" (people of democracy
and "freedom") are good...and communists are "evil" incarnate.  Peopleof my generation
are especially susceptible to the current deceivers' manipulation that "socialists" are, on
the political spectrum, "almost-communists," and "liberals," nearly socialists.

So it's always clear to all "Christian conservatives"...whose factionalist worldview makes
them slaves of politicians, rather than Christ...who the real "enemy" is to hate and fear.

But I've always wondered what "Christian conservatives" make of Acts 4:32-35 ?

If they read it at all, that scripture should raise some uncomfortable thoughts, if any at all.

As soon as the Church was born, believers began practicing "communism."  There's no
other way for politically-minded "Christians" to understand those verses.

Of course, the first Christians' political beliefs had nothing whatever to do with it.  And
the term "communist" for what they were doing wasn't even coined until some eighteen
centuries later.

The early Christians that passage talks about would of course have understood what
they were doing in spiritual terms: that they were acting in the power of the Holy Spirit,
and obeying Jesus' teachings to love each other, and die to self.

I think their interpretation of their experience was exactly right: and I think that should be
the understanding that every Christian who reads that passage with spiritual eyes gets
from it.  Probably even political "Christians" would have to agree that was the first Church'
understanding of their experience; and that the much-later political interpretation of it was
questionable.

So I have to wonder what my "Christian conservative" friends make of it, that when God
fills people with the Holy Spirit, and they begin radically living out Jesus' teachings...it's
exactly what their political-"religious" faction calls "communism" ?

Perhaps they should re-think their faction's politicized perception of Christianity ?