Does Jesus approve of science

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Whether socialism can be tied to Christ is questionable, as that economic philosophy didn't exist yet (though the early church certainly practiced a primitive communism), it's obvious that he, and a great part of the Bible, denounces the oppression of the poor by the rich. I'm not familiar with the links you presented, but I have to assume that they're of a fundamentalist/evangelical persuasion, which has sacrificed sound theology for the sake of conservative secular politics in more recent times.

Don't care, the Christian right are the biggest hypocrites on the planet.

I think Jesus thought the same sort of thing about the powerful religious people in his day when they used their religion as a way to get what they wanted or to beat the poor with rules and regualtions, judging everyone harshly. When he saw the Pharisees and Sadducees getting baptised by John he called them a brood of vipers. Later he names then as hypocrites too. He was really good at getting behind that hypocracy and popping it like a balloon. They weren't impressed though and eventually had him executed.

I don't think Jesus was political at all.

This is what I have been (failing to, apparently) convey. The way the original post I responded to was phrased seemed to be implying that Christianity is best fulfilled through socialism (particularly with the remark about healthcare), which I took issue with. But yes, Jesus was not political because his teachings were not about earthly kingdoms, much to the annoyance of many of the Israelites at the time who really wanted him to be a leader to free them from Roman occupation.


The second link is literally just Bible verses, the first is about the history of socialist theology.

The early church did share a lot of what they had, but voluntarily so, amongst themselves and those in need. They did not turn it into a political cause. I think that's the model Christianity really calls for.


Christians in western society do have a lot to answer for. The people pushing Christianity as a means to obtain wealth, the mega-churches reaping in oodles of cash, the Pope eating off gold plates, etc. are just as bad as the Pharasees in Jesus' day. Jesus would've had a field day with today's society, any way you slice it.

Bible verses can often be used to say whatever you want them to say.
And a history of socialism can be slanted in a negative way, depending on who's writing it.
And sure, the early church shared voluntarily. It doesn't make it any less communistic.

Well, no, the definition of communism is that a totalitarian state owns all the means of production: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communism

The dictionary is the last resort of people who have already lost the argument.

Then communal, if that's better.

How so? It's important that both people in any sort of discussion have the same understanding of what words they are using, otherwise it can go in circles without either side really making themselves understood.

Communal is a good word for it.

Trust me: Jesus approved of science.

As a carpenter, he had to measures things accurately; otherwise he might hammer his thumb.