In Reply to: Re: The Christian Left posted by Thinker on October 15, 2008 at 06:20:37:
Thinker:
That sounds a bit like "Liberation Theology": familiar in South America during Che Guevarra's time. Some priests even espoused it; as I remember.
I feel real bad for those who endured TF and lost ANY Christianity (the authentic I define as a REAL relationship with a REAL & transcendant Jesus) they may have miraculously acquired there, in spite of Berg, et al.
Not that you have, or that I'm judging or unfairly typifying you.
I somehow retained mine; though. It's kept me sane and alive, over the years since; though. I almost ate a bullet several times.
I don't see how Jesus qualifies as a Socialist, definitionally or historically; though. The first Socialists came in Germany (National Socialists--yikes!), and were Hitler's dupes.
The next group came in Eastern Europe, as the Soviet Union came into being. The Soviets basically killed all 5th columnist subversives (as untrustworthy in the NEW Iron Curtain cold-war regimes as well).
I see both Nazism and Communism as natural logical extensions of the weak grouping of hypotheses known as Rationalist/Materialist atheism, and data-free belief in evolution (NOT to open THAT "can-'o-worms"!). Giving the "survival of the fittest" a little boost; if you will. So was America's "Social Darwinism" in our greedy early 1900's.
Socialists are (from the POV of real hardcore commies) basically, historically, the "wusses" who can't admit what it takes to put REAL communism into place--I. E. killing on the scale of all the millions done in by Lenin/Marx, Mao & his bunch, Pol Pot, etc (and numerically passing up the historical number of those "killed for God." by Crusaders and Muslims alike, etc).
At least Chairman Mao was honest enough to admit the need for continuous blood purges in order to maintain "pure" communism. Read his "Little Red Book"? And Shining Path recruiters play on the ignorance of wannabe "socialists"--especially in South America, where I grew up.
Sorry if that sounds "political"--sometimes a quasi-political position needs defining in order to make a "spiritual" statement, imo.
I think you may have missed a great deal about the justice as well as mercy expressed by Jesus. Actually, you confused me a bit, at first--care to clarify you actual position?
To me, the owner of the field giving "equal wages for unequal work" typefies God giving equal mercy coupled with actual justice to all at Judgement time; same with the Prodigal Son story.
I find myself as the bad guy/opportunist in both stories, and a glad recipient of undeserved grace. And, scratch me deep enough at the wrong time in my life and I'm sure you'd find a prodigal son, a hypocrite of the first order, or worse!
Left without grace, there's no telling what I would do--NOT turn the other cheek and go to prison for beating someone to death, probably--I've had the appropriate nightmares, the training and the temper, over the years; sad to say.
Anyway--cheers. Nothing personal or insulting intended!
OT2