Tim_Tex wrote:
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.
Kraichgauer wrote:
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.
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.
AspE wrote:
Don't care, the Christian right are the biggest hypocrites on the planet.
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.