[Carl in Tampa]

This thread has bounced around so much that I probably shouldn't try to even respond at all, but I'm irrestibly drawn to making a couple of remarks.

1. Jesus was neither a Socialist nor a Communist. Both terms apply to forms of government in which sharing of wealth and labor are coerced by the government. Jesus never suggested coerced sharing.

2. The original post of the thread is incorrect in implying that simply wishing "health and happiness on all regardless of their social status or the amount in their bank account" makes a person a Christian. This is not scriptural. Everyone probably can recite the correct answer, found in John 3:16.

3. Jesus' admonition to give to the poor is an individual mandate, not an instruction on how government is to be run.

4. The "Judge not..." verse in Matthew 7 does not mean you are not to have discernment about whether or not another person's behavior is right or wrong; it means it is not your place to condemn that person. Paul very plainly says you must have discernment about sinful behavior when he instructs us not to associate, or even eat, with a Christian brother who is living in sin. I Cor. 5:11.

5. "God helps those who help themselves. Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and... " are secular aphorisms; they are not scriptural.

6. It was Paul, not Jesus, who said that if a man will not work, he is not to eat.
II Thessalonians 3:10.

7. Wearing a cross is no indication of a devotion to Christianity. Decades ago the secular poplulation adopted the cross as simple jewelry, attatching no religious significance to it.

8. The belief that all religious people are going to Heaven is, unfortunately, not scriptural.

9. Religion doesn't start war. Intolerant religious men start wars.

10. "Close your Bible and open your mind" sounds condescending to Christians who look to the Bible for guidance on how to live. I reject the saying.

11. It does not take "time and practice" to become a Christian. It is an instantaneous transformation when one believes.

12. The Bible does not teach that we are all the children of God. "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. John 1:12.

Well, if you've stayed with me and read this far, thanks for your time.

Carl

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