The Jesus of the Bible was a communist. If you aren't a communist, then you are anti-Christ.

a reply to: ltrz2025

I could have lied though, and told you all that I was a Christian who preaches the true word of Jesus

Yes, you could have, and I will give you kudos for that. At least you are honest about your delusions.

Here's a tip from an old pro, though: even if you had lied, your statements would have outed you fairly quickly. You honestly know nothing at all about the Bible, about God, about Jesus, or about Christianity in general. You are relying on your own conclusions, which are false, to guide you to this "epiphany" you think is so wondrous.

The truth is, and you will deny this with every fiber of your being, that you are empty inside. You know something is missing, but you don't know what. There's a hole there, and you are trying to fill it something, anything, that your mind can accept. That's what this whole thread is really about: a filler you want confirmation on so you can try to fill that hole.

It won't work.

I do pray that you will one day find something that can fill it and give you joy. Some of us here have already found it and we no longer have that hole inside us. And none of us will ever give that up, because all of us remember how terrible it was before we filled that hole; we will not go back to that life. We do not want to be a part of your world; we live in the knowledge that there is a better world.

There's your reward for your honesty: one more serious post. Take it as you will. Don't expect many more of these.

TheRedneck

originally posted by: Terpene


Yeah I get that, it's quite humorous, especially when discussing a whole moral construct created around fairytales.

*shrugs*

Your opinion.

a reply to: ltrz2025

I believe you are confusing religion with faith.

Those two are not mutually exclusive.

a reply to: TheRedneck

Absolutely NO!

No man can ever be perfect. None. Not you, me, or anyone else. We all sin, because ever since Adam and Eve, sin is in our nature. The entire point of Jesus coming in the flesh was so HE could live a perfect life and sacrifice that perfect life for us. We can't do it; if we could, there would be no need for Jesus.

One cannot blame the Christian fathers for misinterpreting Genesis when the authors of Genesis 2 misinterpreted Genesis 1 as well. Genesis 1 is not about a man and woman sitting under a fruit tree. It is the blueprint of us humans. Adam made in the incorruptible image of the Father is our spiritual nature. Eve made from DNA is our material nature. The serpent that controls Eve being our ego-mind that is cursed with insatiable desire to experience sensational bliss (apple).

Adam remains in a relatively dormant state whilst the serpent has control over our being. To overcome the serpent we have to reject everything that feeds the serpent (sensational bliss). When the serpent is conquered (aka Jesus walking the desert). We are born again a virgin (empty of all desires) into Adam. Adam being the son of the Father. The son being the witness for our Father.

If our serpent desires are not conquered before Eve expires. God will again grant us our wish to experience sensation desires in the lake of fire. Adam who had awakened after death will again be caged into a dormant state (aka second death) whilst a new Eve and serpent takes reigns of our being.

God's Law of conservation of energy applies. Eve's and the serpents are destined to exist in the lake of fire for all eternity. One can only escape by clinging to Eve. One can only escape by awakening Adam. God gives us our free choice to do so or not.

originally posted by: ltrz2025
a reply to: AOx6179

Yep, online Christian apostates always try to wash their hands and deny their ignorance and hypocrisy. I've been seing it for many many years. It won't change anytime soon. But I know your understanding will... no today though.

Best,

It's clear someone has hurt you. Bad. And you have made yourself unlovable so others can't hurt you.
I get it.
I'll show my faith to you.
My perspective: what you've done here isn't unforgivable. I've asked for that forgiveness for you already (from the love I have placed in my heart by God). If I was what you said I was I'd be praying for you to end up in hell, as you've so callously have with every Christian that doesn't agree with you, a non-believer. But I have compassion for you. As boldly as you're trying to hide it, your pain is clear. A Christian hurt you at some point. Maybe you were molested by someone claiming to be a Christian. And that's one thing you are right about. There are many false Christians. The Bible explains this.
But when I was praying for you I simply asked God to show you mercy, and to life your heart out of the pain it's holding onto. It's clear, brother. But you've done an excellent job at masking it with hate for other's.
I was there once too.
You know what the first thing the Lord asked me to do when I handed my entire life to him? He asked me to forgive those that had hurt me.
You see, the reason I see you so clearly is I was once just like you, in a sense of anger towards anything that is good or noble. But once I did do what was asked of me from God (through his word) I felt this calm and peace come over me. It was something I had never felt before. I had a hard life too, especially as a little boy. People hurt me in ways that messed me up pretty good for a really long time. I had zero reason to forgive any of it. But I put my faith into the word of God. And I was blessed with peace. Once I had realized I had been at peace for a good while, joy came. I had never felt real joy, other than when my son was born. First time I had ever known real joy.
God showed me how to love others. And yes, it is in helping others in any way I can. I give freely. I own very little. I am poor. But I am very very happy. And you wanna know when I do receive the most joy? When I help others and I see the joy and relief on their faces. I receive joy by helping others. By "loving" them.
I've tried the heavy religious route. Came up with natta.
But once I had forgiven those who did those things to me, I obtained peace. And once I had done that I was like, okay, what else is true about the Bible.

Let's just say it's been an awesome journey in getting to know the Lord. He's actually really cool and is not fired up to toss people in hell. Nor has he asked any Christian to judge others. That's his job. But we are just people too. We make mistakes. We have our bad apples just like anything else. And I hate it when people judge other people's souls to hell. Especially when they do call themselves Christian. That's Jesus' job.

So I wanted you to see this. I am not mad at you. I do not want judgement to come on you for this. or for anything. Matter of fact, I'd love to see you in eternal life. You'll be there, don't worry. It's actually a Christians job to love you. Hell, I got you now. You are on my prayers list from here on out. But I'll only be praying blessings over you. Same as I do for my family and loved ones.
So no,no matter how hard you try.....I will never hate you or condemn you.
I love you, my brother. And I'm here if you ever want to unload some troubles on me.
I mean this sincerely...

a reply to: glend

That's a mighty deep symbolic interpretation of Genesis 1... but far from the worst one I have ever seen either.

Need to think long and hard before i reply farther, but I will think long and hard on it.


TheRedneck

a reply to: TheRedneck

It was certainly a much better thought out interpretation of things than the OP which is simply rehashed from much you can find circulating around today.

There is actually something to that although I'm not sure it's all on-mark.

a reply to: ketsuko

I have to admit, the symbolism seems to fit.

TheRedneck

"Jesus said to him]

^That needs to be taken into consideration.
"The CALLING" to administer also needs to be
understood to be separate from the general
population.Did Jesus ever said to a female to
sell all her possessions to 'follow him' ??

originally posted by: ltrz2025
apostlesdoctrine

What Jesus DID SAY was :
"I am saying this for your own good,
not to restrict you,
but that you may live in a right way
in undivided devotion to the Lord."
Eg. to those who
had the "calling" to administer
Eg. Quote "HE who marries does right,
but HE who does not marry does better."
So where's the problem? . . . besides your
misinterpretation.

The quotes are in 1 Corinthians


______________________

originally posted by: ltrz2025

When you read the Bible, two things become quite clear:

1. Jesus required a communist way of life for those seeking Christian salvation.

2. Jesus condemned wealth and property.


1. The communist way of life

Jesus promoted communism by example. Jesus and his followers lived communal lives that were dedicated to voluntary poverty. Some examples:

“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers… And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.” (Acts 2:41–46)

“Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.” (Acts 4: 32–35)


2. Jesus condemned wealth and property.

The fact that Jesus unambiguously condemned wealth and property is irrefutable. Some examples:

And Jesus said: “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19:21)

“Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to 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.’” (Matthew 19:23,24)

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24) The term mammon refers to the evil influence of wealth as a false object of worship.


Conclusion

This is NOT my opinion, these are the words of the very bible. Any "Christian" claiming that what I shared here are lies, then they are denying the word of Jesus. Any person who call him/herself a "Christian" and, knowing the law, does not live in a "communist way" is a Christian apostate and, by their own doctrine, are condemning themselves to "hell".

And, if you have anything to say against what I've simply transcribed, I hope that you are writing from a borrowed phone or computer, because Christ commanded you to sell ALL your property, so you should not have any.


Best to all.

Jesus was a socialist who taught not to oppose the laws of man or land you’re in .
Jesus was also a quasi anarchist imo .

a reply to: AOx6179

Oh, that's so nice, thanks bro. I mean it, not being sarcastic. I do see that there are a lot of Christian values in you, like forgiveness and loving of others, that's very good. Even thought I'm not of Christian faith, I do share those same values, some of Jesus' teachings that I agree with for sure. The way I see Jesus is that of an spiritual master, not so much like a God, but that's my personal view.

I have forgiven every single person that I had to forgive in my life, and as you say, it is quite liberating in everyway. Forgiving is a form of love, and I think we come to earth to experience love in all its ways. I also love everybody and everything, because the way I understand existence is that we are ALL part of ONE. Not loving, or hating someone, is actually hating yourself. No bueno.

Then, regarding me. Of course people have hurt me, like in the case of everybody else, we are all humans, we all carry our traumas and emotional injuries that we need to deal with and, as you've said, forgiving is just the start of it all. However, I was never molested (that I know of), and I don't remember any Christian person specifically hurting me at any moment. So, these assumptions you make, are not correct. But if you want to believe that, suit yourself, no issue.

I don't have ill will against any person or against any faith. I can have this same "debate" with Jews, Muslims, or even Buddhists. The thing with me is that I'm not looking for love (which I'm lucky to have in my life, as I'm married and with children), I'm always on the look for TRUTH. By nature I have always been anti-establishment and anti-authority, I've been creating cognitive dissonance on people since I was very young. Questioning everything is my way, and the issue is that most of humans actually prefer lies before the truth, which can be a hard pill to swallow. You should see me when I cross a covid-19 pro-"vaccine" sheep... they go mad! It's just who I am and always been: a truther, as they say nowadays. But if you want to think that I'm this way because a Christian molested me, I can't do nothing about that, freedom of thought I guess.

I know that his has been an "emotionally charged" discussion for many people here. It's understandable, we humans tends to tie our beliefs to our emotions, so it can be quite challenging to question them. It can be literally as hard as questioning the love of your mother, not easy at all. I understand all the emotional distress that people here went through and the need to insult me or change my words (or that of Jesus'). But well, sometimes we need a bit of a shake to help us expand our understandings, or to question some of our behaviors to see how we can improve them. I guess I played that role here. The best teachers I had in life are those who demanded the most of me. Things that come "easy" and agreed by everyone, rarely have any valuable lesson.

SO, I can understand why you think that I need to be "forgiven". The emotional distress you felt makes you think that I acted out of evil, or hate. No such thing, I act out of righteousness and my love for truth above all else. Lies are evil, and my spirit compels me to fight them. That's all. Regarding my thread, all I did was simply copy pasting from the Bible, showing the way that Jesus allegedly lived and preached with his followers: in a communist (communal, socialist, or whatever you want to call it) society, where they had no private property, no classes, and no wealth accumulation. That's literally written in the book, whether if you like it or not, that's there. I simply showed it.

P.S. to other folks: It was NEVER my aim that people abandon the Christian faith. Not at all. If this faith makes you happy and complete, don't ever lose it. All I'm saying is that, if you are going to preach the religious teachings of JESUS, then follow and practice JESUS's commandments. Otherwise you are simply using the authority that Jesus grants for your own personal convenience, which is what many "pastors" do. That's all. These commandments include: not judging, loving your enemies, and not accumulating private wealth, but sharing with the community, among many other commandments.

I guess that's all I had to say. Best.

Much love

originally posted by: SecrettoSociety
Jesus was a socialist who taught not to oppose the laws of man or land you’re in .
Jesus was also a quasi anarchist imo .

Ok, my aim wasn't to interpret Jesus, but just to show how he lived and preached, according to the literal message of the bible. Which, as shown, Jesus commanded for a society with no private property, no classes, where all the community owned and shared the production, with no wealth accumulation. That can be considered communist, communalist, socialist, lefty, hippie, etc. there are so many words to describe this. I do agree that the word "Communism" is politically charged due to the ex Soviet Union and the Cold War, but that doesn't eliminate the true meaning of the word.

I'm not sure if Jesus could be considered quasi anarchist (I don't even think you could be quasi anarchist at all), because according to his words, he wasn't interested in the political power on earth. I think he was indifferent to that, although he did question the Jewish authorities, not so much of the Romans. But well, I don't think there is a literal passage of Jesus actually referring to his preferred way of government. Although he did commanded people regarding private property and wealth (economics).

originally posted by: ltrz2025
a reply to: AOx6179

Oh, that's so nice, thanks bro. I mean it, not being sarcastic. I do see that there are a lot of Christian values in you, like forgiveness and loving of others, that's very good. Even thought I'm not of Christian faith, I do share those some values, some of Jesus' teachings that I agree with for sure. The way I see Jesus is that of an spiritual master, not so much like a God, but that's my personal view.

I have forgiven every single person that I had to forgive in my life, and as you say, it is quite liberating in everyway. Forgiving is a form of love, and I think we come to earth to experience love in all its ways. I also love everybody and everything, because the way I understand existence is that we are ALL part of ONE. Not loving, or hating someone, is actually hating yourself. No bueno.

Then, regarding me. Of course people have hurt me, like in the case of everybody else, we are all humans, we all carry our traumas and emotional injuries that we need to deal with and, as you've said, forgiving is just the start of it all. However, I was never molested (that I know of), and I don't remember any Christian person specifically hurting me at any moment. So, these assumptions you make, are not correct. But if you want to believe that, suit yourself, no issue.

I don't have ill will against any person or against any faith. I can have this same "debate" with Jews, Muslims, or even Buddhists. The thing with me is that I'm not looking for love (which I'm lucky to have in my life, as I'm married and with children), I'm always on the look for TRUTH. By nature I have always been anti-establishment and anti-authority, I've been creating cognitive dissonance on people since I was very young. Questioning everything is my way, and the issue is that most of humans actually prefer lies before the truth, which can be a hard pill to swallow. You should see me when I cross a covid-19 pro-"vaccine" sheep... they go mad! It's just who I am and always been a: truther, as they say nowadays. But it you want to think that I'm this way because a Christian molested me, I can't do nothing about that, freedom of thought I guess.

I know that his has been an "emotionally charged" discussion for many people here. It's understandable, we humans tends to tie our beliefs to our emotions, so it can be quite challenging to question them. It can be literally as hard as questioning the love of your mother, not easy at all. I understand all the emotional distress that people here went through and the need to insult me or change my words (or that of Jesus'). But well, sometimes we need a bit of a shake to help us expand our understandings, or to question some of our behaviors to see how we can improve them. I guess I played that role here. The best teachers I had in life are those who demanded the most of me. Things that come "easy" and agreed by everyone, rarely have any valuable lesson.

SO, I can understand why you think that I need to be "forgiven". The emotional distress you felt makes you think that I acted out of evil, or hate. No such thing, I act out of righteousness and my love for truth above all else. Lies are evil, and my spirit compels me to fight them. That's all. Regarding my thread, all I did was simply copy pasting from the Bible, showing the way that Jesus allegedly lived and preached with his followers: in a communist (communal, socialist, or whatever you want to call it) society, where they had no private property, no classes, and no wealth accumulation. That's literally written in the book, whether if you like it or not, that's there. I simply showed it.

I guess that's all I had to say. Best.

Much love

Thank you for this. You showed you have a heart here. Yes we were all starting to wonder. Kudos for getting on a decent level with one of us.

Do you remember Mary Magdalene her sister and her brother Lazerus, who were all Jesus'friends . Did you realize they were really wealthy, and owned their own family estate. Quite large actually. These were some of Jesus best buds.
Mary Magdalene poured that bottle of perfume on Jesus. That was an extremely expensive bottle btw. And one that she had already had. So expensive in fact that all the disciples questioned her doing it. Jesus got on to his disciples and told them to let her alone. He never states anything about their wealth or things. The only person Jesus actually told to sell all their possessions was that one man.
Did you know Matthew was well off? He was a tax collector. So he owned his own home and set up too.
After Jesus was crucified Peter went straight back to his boat to go fish.
Meaning he owned a boat.
Barnabas, the one who rolled around with Paul after Paul was converted. He was really well off. As we're a lot of them that followed Jesus. Actually the woman were the ones who floated the bill. It does not say it, but it's a safe bet it was Mary Magdalene and her family that were the bulk of their funds.
When Jesus was asked about taxes, notice he didn't give the tax money from their own bag. He had Peter pull it out of the fishes mouth. I always thought that was interesting...

What I see is Jesus knew the draw and power the love of money had on people. The pursuit of money canead people to doing aren't noble to keep money flowing. People end up worshipping that. Money also brings misery tbh, for a lot. Jesus was teaching us to spare ourselves from that. He talked about the kingdom of heaven, and how we can enter into that while we're here on earth. Things like shame, guilt, anger, hate, jealousy, even coveting robs us of that peace we talked about. Jesus was teaching us how to avoid all these miseries the worldly things bring along with them.

But I believe I have the verse that may help shed a little bit of light. And truthfully, you are kinda on to something. However, it's not communism. It's the sheep and the goats...

"The final judgement"
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' 41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit

a reply to: AOx6179

Continue
44 Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:44-46, ESV)

a reply to: AOx6179

You said you know love. Is Jesus talking about what loving each other looks like and what it doesn't look like, or does that sound like communism to you?

a reply to: AOx6179

Regarding your point about Mary Magdalene and company, that can be easily explained: Jesus did not force others to become "communist" or "communalists", neither rejected people for not being so, but he clearly said that IT was a commandment to become perfect.

Jesus was loving with those who did not abide by the law, but the law is still the law. I guess he was simply showing how to be loving with everyone, even with the apostates. There are several stories in the Bible that depict Jesus interacting with and showing kindness to people who were considered sinners. "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her," (John 8:7)


Regarding Matthew 25:31-46. I personally don't see any communism per se there, but simply the commandment of being merciful and helping others. Which coincides with Jesus' commandments in Matthew 7:12, Matthew 5:40-42, and Luke 6:36.

But I do see Jesus' communist teachings in the passages that I signaled in my OP, and also in these ones below, which goes hand by hand with Matthew 19:21 :

Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,"

Matthew 6:25-26
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

originally posted by: ltrz2025

a reply to: AOx6179

Regarding your point about Mary Magdalene and company, that can be easily explained: Jesus did not force others to become "communist" or "communalists", neither rejected people for not being so, but he clearly said that IT was a commandment to become perfect. Jesus was loving with those who did not abide by the law, but the law is still the law. I guess he was simply showing how to be loving with everyone, even with the apostates.


Regarding Matthew 25:31-46. I personally don't see any communism per se there, but simply the commandment of being merciful and helping others. Which coincides with Jesus' commandments in Matthew 7:12, Matthew 5:40-42, and Luke 6:36.

But I do see Jesus' communist teachings in the passages that I signaled in my OP, and also in these ones below, which goes hand by hand with Matthew 19:21 :

Matthew 6:19-21
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,"

Matthew 6:25-26
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

We've already explained this. You don't want to even try and see it another way.
I'm tired and this has been a total waste.
Has anyone else ever told you, you are impossible to talk to? To reason with?
Rhetorical.
I'm going to sleep and putting this behind me. I gave it enough already.

a reply to: ltrz2025

And your point is Jesus is bad or we are but either way you win? No, you simplify too much.

Communism demands theft of goods and services.

Thou shall not steal.

Communism demands you worship no one but the state.

We shall have no other Gods before him.

"Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need." This does not mean we give all of our labor away.

The Family is the primary economic unit, not the state. Greed is not good but earning a living and helping the less fortunate is certainly not going to earn me a ticket to hell. I think Jesus would be proud of that but it sure doesn't align with your narrow argument.

Or are you thinking of that pure version of Communism that has not been tried yet? Stalin thought the same thing and murdered 60 million. Good luck Comrade.

originally posted by: MykeNukem

a reply to: ltrz2025
1. Jesus required a communist way of life for those seeking Christian salvation.

2. Jesus condemned wealth and property.

1. No, he didn't.

2. He condemned the LOVE of wealth and property, not wealth and property.

Not sure what it is you're trying to accomplish with this, but you failed.

Pretty sure he succeeded. Not much ammunition against anything he is saying. It checks out.

a reply to: ltrz2025

Ah, I see you've returned. You didn't trouble to answer my question earlier, so I'll repeat it.

You said to someone or other,

You are a Christian, and you are voluntarily chopping your holy book as you want and going against your church due to your personal opinion.

This, like all your other posts in this thread, equates Christianity with unquestioning literal belief in and obedience to the Scriptures. I suppose that you -- Christian or not -- were raised in a literalist American Protestant family or community that regarded only 'Bible believing' as 'true' Christianity. In fact, this is a minority view among Christians -- even in America, where it flourishes most prolifically, only three out of ten Christians hold to it.

It is equally rare in the history of Christianity. Origen was among the early Church Fathers who insisted that parts of the Bible should not be taken literally. Up to the fifth century, Christians argued over which scriptures were canonical and which were 'heterodox'; the argument didn't really end until the Westminster Confession of 1646, which demoted the Apocrypha from the canon. In the West, prior to the fifteenth century, few Christians ever read Scripture at all; the Roman Catholic Church discouraged it. Only with Luther and the Reformation did the idea of Scripture as the final authority take hold. It did so, of course, in opposition to the equally spurious doctrine of Papal infallibility.

Early Christians were certainly communists, though without the capital C. This is explicitly stated in Acts 4:32-37. According to this book by a professional Bible scholar, the practice of holding all property in common and acting in effective obedience to the Marxist principle 'to each according to his needs, from each according to his ability' continued into the second century AD and helped the early Christians survive the Siege of Jerusalem in 70AD.

Most ATS members are drawn from the American right wing, tending as a group more towards extremism than moderation. They are part of a constituency that identifies as Christian and predominantly as 'Bible believing', but in fact their Christianity is largely of their own devising: they interpret Scripture according to their own convenience. I am not of their ilk, and I salute your audacity in trolling them -- a few of them, at least, richly deserve it. But I think you ought to spread your net wider, so as also to gather up the hypocrites who don't insist on Biblical literalism but whose 'Christianity' is utterly self-serving none the less. If you need ammunition, read the history of Christianity.