Christian Communists

This Sunday in my message to our church I will be asking the question, "Is it God's will for wealth to be redistributed?"  This is the debate going on between our nation's political conservatives and our President.  They claim that it is his goal to redistribute the wealth of America so that the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots," can be diminished.

This debate elicits some of the most brazen of labels being heatedly exchanged between the two camps.  The conservatives call the President a "socialist" and a "communist" (among other things.)  Yet, with the recent unveiling of the corruption and greed of our financial system and the unjustified gigantic bonuses that get paid to executives even in cases where the company is under-performing, the conservative side is vulnerable to being attacked as "greedy" and "self-serving."

According to the trusted biblical author, Luke, it is undeniable that the first generation of Christians, "sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."  So, what are we to do with this? In Acts 2:42-47 we see these Christians gathering together in very close community and "having everything in common."  Were the early believers a bunch of communists?  Was this a pattern of mutuality that God intended to continue?  Why didn't it continue and should it be re-instituted?

My thoughts on these significant questions is fundamentally tied to what Memorial Day is all about... so you'll hear my conclusions on "Christian Communists" on Monday in my entry on the "Sacrifice of American Heroes."