Glenn Beck calls Jesus a "Communist".

[Ziggurat]

You just moved the goalposts. Is a living wage something that people have a right to?

How do you define a "living wage"? Because not starving isn't how it's usually defined. Which was part of my point, but I guess I didn't make it explicit enough. The other part being that calls for "social justice" typically extend far beyond a living wage. So no, AUP, I didn't move any goalposts, you just didn't keep up.

 

[Thunder]

"Living wage"?

"Minimum wage"?

sounds like Communism to me.

who is the govt. to tell businesses how much to pay their workers????

if they wanna pay their workers 30 cents an hour..that's their business!!!

 

[Beerina]

And all this has what to do with Jesus? Jesus was a guy who could use magic to create indefinitely large supplies of food, and cure arbitrarily sick or even dead, rotting people.

Neither communism nor "socialism" can promise these things, in spite of their rhetoric.



Oh, and Jesus said to help the poor. He didn't tell you to point your gun at your neighbor and demand they help the poor, too. Or give them a "living wage". Jesus was about teaching people by example, and they would voluntarily follow. It's a sickness of the human mind to want to force people to behave in certain ways as if forcing people to ape that would achieve the same results.

And that neglects the inevitable and complete corruption that said absolute power engenders.

 

[Sword_Of_Truth]

Someone save me the pain of reading this thread and answer a question?

Did Glenn Beck actually call Jesus a communist or did some talking head say "By my logic and my definition of christianity, Glenn Beck just called Jesus a communist"?

 

[Galileo]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/us/12justice.html?ref=us

wow. social justice is a communist idea?

human rights is communist?

does Beck wanna go back to the days of Segregation, no Women's right to Vote, child labor, no environmental laws, no unions, etc?

what a moron.

we have way too many people voting. I would be in favor of property qualifications at the polls.

 

[BaaBaa]

we have way too many people voting breeding. I would be in favor of IQ testing at the polls.

Fixed that for you.

 

[Thunder]

Oh, and Jesus said to help the poor. He didn't tell you to point your gun at your neighbor and demand they help the poor, too. .

wow......requiring people to pay taxes is like putting a gun to their head..huh?

 

[Beerina]

wow......requiring people to pay taxes is like putting a gun to their head..huh?

Correct. Isn't it?

Of course, we aren't talking about people who want to pay the taxes and who like what they're spent on. You're already free to give the government money if you want to.

 

[Praktik]

Right, but what was Jesus' position on video game development??

 

[SpuriusMaximus]

Oh, and Jesus said to help the poor. He didn't tell you to point your gun at your neighbor and demand they help the poor, too.

Actually that's the kinda funny part. He did pretty much promise that whoever doesn't, will get roasted by his sky-daddy.

Quoth for example, Matthew 19:16-24

16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.​

(And parallel versions exist in Mark and Luke too, but this one will do for illustration.)

It seems to me like Jesus is saying pretty clearly that even just being rich already makes it downright impossible to get into heaven, even if you're otherwise as devout and righteous as this young guy who was asking him. If you don't sell your stuff and divide it among the poor, well, if you don't get into heaven, you do the maths as to where you're supposed to go

So in effect, yeah, he's not saying "give some of your money to the poor or I'll shoot you", he's saying "give all your money to the poor or I'll subject you to the most horrible torture you can imagine, for more time than you can possibly imagine." (At least if you go by the common trinitarian belief that Jesus is God.) Doesn't seem to me like he's on the side of the right wingnuts there, sorry.

 

[SpuriusMaximus]

Correct. Isn't it?

Of course, we aren't talking about people who want to pay the taxes and who like what they're spent on. You're already free to give the government money if you want to.

But actually Big J himself was actually telling people to pay the taxes in Mark 12:17 and Luke 20:25.

Don't get me wrong. If you just don't believe in the Bible or Jesus in the first place, obviously that's irrelevant. But the common pretense that Jesus was somehow totally on the side of the right wingnuts and totally wouldn't have endorsed such stuff as taxes or social programs, is kinda funny for anyone who's actually read the damned thing.

 

[SpuriusMaximus]

No, no, no and no.

It's so strange that people just assume he existed.

BTW Parky, aren't you supposed to be Jewish?

Reminds me of Futurama:

Fry: So, what's the deal? You guys don't believe in Robot Jesus?
Robot Rabbi: We believe that he was built, and that he was a well-programmed robot, but he wasn't our messiah.​

 

[Thunder]

Jesus: "Give unto Ceaser that which is Cesear's"

translation? pay your taxes.

 

[Gaetan]

God is socialist. According to God goods should be free and the creation of richness should come from volontary work.

Gaétan

 

[Snide]

We already have programs which do all these things. We have medicare and we have WIC and we have food stamps and medicaid, etc etc.

Are you suggesting that the United States has been a communist country for decades?

I figured someone might respond this way, which is why I added "and more," and "might have a point." Re-read with those words included, and you have your answer.