October 30th, 2006 - Many over the years have tried to argue that the Biblical New Testament is full of references to communism. Mr. Austin Cline in an essay titled "What Does the Bible Say About Communism & Socialism?" makes the argument that Christians who are opposed to communism are hypocritical representations of their religion. True communists the world over believe that individuals should hold few if any personal possessions and that the bulk of a societies resources should be divided up as needed between everyone. Mr. Cline uses the following Biblical quotes to support his presumption that Christians should embrace this economic philosophy.

Acts 2:44-45

• 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

Acts 4:32-37

• 32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. 34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

Acts 5:1-10

• 1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet. 3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price." 9 Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

In his essay Mr. Cline states, "Killing bourgeoisie land owners who fail to give all of their money to the community? That's not merely communism, that's Stalinism." These quotes taken out of context would seem to suggest as Mr. Cline has that every Christian should sell off everything they own and offer it to be used by the entire group. Furthermore, Mr. Cline would suggest that a faithful Christian should kill anyone who refuses to participate. Of course, as with anything in the Bible it is important to understand the broader context. In this case, Ananias and Sapphira where not struck down because they failed to donate ALL of their property. In reality, their demise had nothing to do with their possessions and everything to do with their attempt to deceive God. These, two had attempted to enter into the inner trust and fellowship of God's followers through deception and were abruptly stopped by the direct will of God. There were plenty of people at the time that didn't sell everything to give to the early church and none of them where similarly dispatched. It is also important to note that it was God that took the lives of this husband and wife, not the followers. In fact, through out Christ's travels he was offered places to stay by followers that owned property that was never sold off and divvied up. This illustrates that not everyone is called to express their faith in this manner. Often time critics of Christianity will try to use quotes like these from the Bible to expose what they see as some deep rooted hypocrisy in Christianity. While I will admit, that because Christians set high moral standards of faith and conduct for themselves, they are often more hypocritical than non-believers. However, the fact that all Christians don't turn over everything they own and promote widespread communism is not an example of hypocrisy. Most of these criticisms come from a failure to understanding the broader messages of the Bible. Much like looking at a drop of blood beneath a microscope and thinking that you have a complete understanding of the entire organism, it is impossible to bring up a single Biblical quote and make a general theological statement. First, we must put these passages from Acts into proper historical prospective. We are talking about the very beginnings of the Christian Church. A time

when new followers were asked to shed their prior existence to become born new in Christianity. Also, as an early church commanded by God to spread the news about Christ, there was a great need for resources to fund both travel and the expense of establishing new congregations. Coupled with the fact that sharing resources in family style units can have a profound unifying effect, it is easy to understand why the Disciples would find great benefits to communal living. If you think about it, every family practices a form of communism by sharing its resources. Of course no where in the Bible, does Christ or any of his followers suggest that this economic model should be used throughout all of society and forced on believers and non-believers alike the way that Stalin did. Instead Christians are encouraged to be generous and giving on their own without government mandate. In fact it can be strongly argued that forcing an individual by action of the government to give up a portion of their possessions to be given unjustly to another individual is in direct conflict with Christian principles. If I were to say pass a law that takes more taxes from what I consider a wealthy individual then give that money to the poor so that I don't need to pay as much in taxes, I would be guilty of both coveting my neighbor's possessions and theft. This is especially true if I am somehow the direct beneficiary or recipient of those social services. The tendency for humans to be covetous is not only one of the most difficult commandments for Christians to obey but ironically is also the very reason why communism as broad economic model exists in the first place. Nowhere in the Bible does God support a "Robin Hood" form of society. Instead we are each called to make our own decisions about how we will live our lives and how we individually will provide for the poor. This doesn't mean that Christians should be against all forms of socialism. Christians should have no problem supporting a welfare system to maintain the greater good of society as long as the funding of those services are done in a way that is fair and just. Unfortunately our current progressive tax system is neither. Another Biblical quote that is often misunderstood regarding wealth can be found in Matthew 19:16-24.

• 16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" 17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." 18 "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' 20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

At first reading these passages seem to suggest that Mr. Cline is correct about his assumptions. It seems that Christ himself is instructing all of us to give up everything we own to follow him. We have to remember that Jesus regularly used parables and examples designed to be applied philosophically to a broad range of situations. Here, much like a Buddhist might challenge a disciple by answering a question with a question, Jesus is asking us to challenge the way we see sin and question how righteous we are. At its core Christianity is about recognizing ones own sinful nature. This passage gives us a sobering reminder that we cannot live our lives in a sinless manner and questions whether we are truly willing to give up everything if necessary to follow Christ. Even those that believe they are without sin are terribly mistaken. What Christ is really saying is that we need to be willing to give up everything and follow him not that we must give up everything to follow him. We should have no other gods that we place higher than him. Jesus did not command that everyone should relinquish all of their worldly possessions. Instead he was illustrating that while this man may have thought he had upheld all of the commandments he was in fact unable to place God above all things. While Christians do practice a sort of communism, hence the term communion used to describe the mutual partaking of the Lords Supper, no where does the Bible give rise to the modern communist economic model. Instead we commune in the same faith and belief that Jesus is the prophesized Christ. Finally, it is completely understandable that Mr. Cline missed the underlying message of the passages used in his essay. As he mentioned in his article there have been many religions like the Shakers who also made this same mistake. Of course if God had meant for the path to him to be a simple one the Bible would read more like an instruction manual. Instead, Jesus wanted his followers to be critical thinkers not merely blind sheep. In a final word about communism, Ronald Reagan once said, "Communism only works in Heaven, where they don't need it, and in Hell, where they already have it"

Richard Okelberry, Managing Editor