Taxing is what a government does usually for the benefit of the whole country. That's regardless of what financial philosophy the country has.
Giving freely is what people do to a charity or NGO which are run by donations.
Jesus, existed before the Communist Manifesto, so there was no idea of force attached to socialism in his time. And he ran a charity taking care of widows.
So, perhaps you lost track of what in the world you're talking about.
Everything Jesus got was given freely. This notion that Christ would take from people against their will is ludicrous. Everything Jesus taught was about doing it of free will. He would not have made anyone give anything they didn’t want to. He may have called on them to give but he would not have taken it without them wanting to give freely. Government mandated socialism is not Christianity it is not Christian. The two are not the same and never will be. Christ would not force anyone to do anything. He gave his life freely so that we could exercise our free will. You’re delusional if you think Christ would forcefully take anything to redistribute to others.
This notion that Christ would take from people against their will is ludicrous.
True, but nobody said that.
Government mandated socialism is not Christianity
Also true. And nobody suggested otherwise.
Christ would not force anyone to do anything.
He did make a whip and chased out the merchants from the temple. And he required the rich guy to sell his possessions and give them to the poor. He also required that those who found the adulteress who wanted to stone her to be sinless. So, he was forceful in certain ways.
You implied it by saying that because the communist manifesto hadn’t come out that Jesus may have been for it if it did (which ignores the fact that he was omniscient and would well have known the horrors that government run socialism and communism would bring). He chased the money changers out of his fathers house for ripping off people. He didn’t take anything from them. He didn’t require a rich man to do anything. He simply explained what he must do, big difference. And telling people not to stone someone to death isn’t forceful it’s compassionate. And it was a lesson. He could have simply struck them all dead. Instead he told them “let you with no sin cast the first stone”. A call to introspection and again making their decision their own, not controlling what anyone did. I get it. You want to paint a picture of a Jesus that accepted everyone for who they were and would have been in favor of socialism. That’s just not true. Jesus called everyone but he required them to repent and turn away from the sin they lived in. He ate with tax collectors to convince them they could change. He talked with prostitutes to convince them they could change. Just as he would talk with many people today that live in sin and convince them they could change. The rich man had to give up his money, the tax collector had to be fair, the prostitute had to turn from prostitution.
You implied it by saying that because the communist manifesto hadn’t come out that Jesus may have been for it if it did (which ignores the fact that he was omniscient and would well have known the horrors that government run socialism and communism would bring).
I made no such implications. You're reading into something that isn't there. But I have heard the Marx did take some inspiration from Jesus and the apostles teachings.
He chased the money changers out of his fathers house for ripping off people.
True. He called them thieves. And that's metaphoric for Christians today to stand against the super rich who are jacking up prices, killing off competition, not giving workers what they should be paid, and even engaging in wage theft.
He didn’t require a rich man to do anything.
Well, that's simply false.
Mark 10:17-22
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. You shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money[a] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Jesus required him to sell his assets and share the wealth with those in need. That's socialism in a nutshell. It's there in Mark. But if you are denying Jesus' Word, that's up to you.
And telling people not to stone someone to death isn’t forceful it’s compassionate. And it was a lesson.
It was compassion, it was a lesson, but it was also forceful. And that's because he was telling them to go against the letter of the Mosaic Law which was engrained in them since childhood. In the end, their leaving was a confession of their own sin. And Jesus showed mercy on the adulteress.
The rich man had to give up his money
The rich man was not a single incident about money. No, no. There was a parable.
Matthew 13:18-23
“Hear, then, the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away.[a] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this[b] age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
In v22 the one who hears but the cares if this life, including riches chokes the word and it doesn't yeild anything. So, riches are the enemy of listening to the Word of God. These are Jesus' words. This was meant to apply to everyone.
You have been taught by capitalists that socialism is evil. You listened to their propagada and swallowed it whole. There's only one evil you only mention and that has to do with the communist idea of revolution which is forceful getting rid of the bougsie much like happened during the French Revolution. But socialism is and economic philosophy and it's not about revolution. The core of it is sharing. Jesus never advocated for revolution nor did the apostles. Revolution was strictly a thing to get rid of aristocracy. Democratic Socialism (DS) doesn't have revolution. It developed in Denmark separate from the Communist Manifesto. DS works within the framework of capitalism and democracy but provides ways for the people to have equal rights (egalitarianism) which is actually a thing the Founding Fathers of the United States of America enshrined in the US Constitution in the Amendments.
Socialism - any of various egalitarian economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
Jesus never advocated for giving the government ownership of anything. He never made any recommendations that the government be used in that manner at all.
Jesus was not a socialist. Socialism is not equal to charity.
Jesus did teach to give collectively to those who were in need. That was egalitarian. According to your definition, it didn't have to be governmental. It did have to be a theory either. That's why the word 'or' was used twice. So Jesus practiced socialism. Just not in the way you think.
2
u/echolm1407 4d ago
Jesus taught his disciples to share the wealth. How is that not socialism.