My socialism paper...

I did this paper a week or so ago, and I have found that it isnt 100 percent what my view is, mainly b/c i was meeting a paper's requirement.  I hope you all enjoy it.  Ummm idk how else to introduce this.  I have a bunch of different stuff I wanted to say to.  But this is lets say a prototype on how i View biblical economy.

The ways of trade have changed throughout the years, and have eventually lead to different money systems throughout the world.  These all tend to have problems, and the current economy of capitalism that America follows has shown in recent years to cause a major recession among the people.  This has lost many jobs for people, and put many families in bad situations, and has made the economy something that everyone thinks about daily.  There are many opinions on the topic of money, and how to deal with it, but the ways of trade and exchange are shown throughout the Bible, and the ideas of capitalism and keeping one’s own property is not always accurate to a Christian life, but often socialism is shown throughout the New Testament.

            In Acts 2: 42-47 is a description about how the followers of Jesus in the earliest church lived, and can be described as, a living of throwing off all the world had to offer, and only praising the Lord.  The people would sell all possessions, and supply to one another as one needed, and the number of people praising the Lord continued to grow (NIV).  Socialism can be defined as, “Social and economic doctrine that calls for public rather than private ownership or control of property and natural resources.  According to the socialist view individuals do not live or work in isolation but live in cooperation with one another” (Socialism).  These two things seem to be very closely related.  In this Christian community shown in Acts the people constantly grew in numbers, meaning people were doing what Jesus had commanded, going and making disciples.  The people lived together in praise for the Lord, and not for themselves.  The people shared the resources they had, and got rid of the extras that were not needed.

            One of the biggest problems people face today is the Healthcare bill that has been passed this past march, by Barack O’Bama, and the United States Congress. One thing all people need, or will need is some sort of help for each person’s health.  This has lead to a problem, in that many times people go to a hospital uninsured, this has been tempted to be solved through the this healthcare bill.  One of the biggest problems with the bill is that people were afraid of a large raise in taxes, and that the tax money would then be used to help fund abortions.  According to www.Whitehouse.gov, “The health insurance reform legislation maintains the status quo of no federal funding for abortions, except in the cases of rape, incest or when the life of the woman is endangered” (Get the Facts) And it has also explained that there will be credits from small and large businesses so that the people of America are not taxed heavily for the spreading of Healthcare to protect all people.  Romans 12:13 says, “Share with people who are in need. Practice hospitality” (NIV).  This shows that people who are in need should be helped.  Why can one not pay a few extra tax dollars to help keep the person next to them alive?

            In an excerpt on kindness, it is shown that what people desire the most is for others to sacrifice for one’s self.  While this is human of us, true Christianity is shown in sacrificing one’s desires, time, and materials for someone else (Collins).   This sacrifice one makes for someone else can be shown through socialism.  People work together, and for each other, and that shows that one person is gaining the food that one eats, and however his work is helping to supply the people around him.  This means that he has sacrificed for them, and shown them one of the fruits of the spirit, kindness.  Collins follows his thoughts on sacrifice up with the Proverbs 19:22, “ the desire of man is his kindness, but the poor man is better than a liar” (NIV).  This has shown that man wants to be treated kindly, and that a way of doing so is through self-sacrifice. 

            In a capitalist economy, man works for his own money, and to gain more things, while in a socialistic economy man works to have a life, and live equally to the man next to him.  This brings about I Timothy 6:10 which says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (NIV).  This shows that many thirsts for money, and wants more.  Man will do what it takes to have this money, and let greed take over.  Man can very easily walk into a capitalist economy and continue to work harder for money, however in a socialistic view, man does his daily job, and moves on with life, as everyone is getting paid.  The idea of socialism can help one flee from the temptations of greed, and the ones that follow greed.  Mary Fairchild describes fleeing temptation as five simple steps, which are recognizing the problem, run away from the problem, resist the problem by reading the word, refocusing on God with praise, and repenting soon after a failure.  The point to expand upon is the second of running away from the problem.  It says that in seeing the problem, move as far away from the problem as possible (Fairchild).  If man is faced with greed, remove the ability for man to continue to work for more money, and ability to gain things in his life.  Why not take man and put a limit on what he can do, and the rest of the work is shared.  This makes man have to live a life without greed.

            “The most important principle to keep firmly in mind is to understand whose money we are talking about. It’s not yours. If you are married, it’s not your mate’s. It is God’s,” is a statement that helps one deal with the idea of ones money not being one’s own (Acknowledge).  This idea of everything being God’s or not even one’s own family’s money is something hard to handle.  However this comes in to play with socialism.  When one realizes the money he or she owns is not his or hers, one can more easily share that money with another person.  Everything is God’s, and all people are people who were created by God, and he loves them and has created each of them in His own image.  This is a basic principal of Christianity, and when one sees another person in Christianity who is hurting, how can one not see that person as God does, and understand that sacrificing some money for that person could help them in more ways than one knows?  If all money is already God’s then should that money should be used for what God wants done in this world.  Psalm 34:1 states, that the earth and everything of it, and everyone in the world are all God’s (NIV).  This can help one acknowledge that the money one owns is not actually his or her own, but money that should be put to the good use of the Lord.

            Lastly the thoughts about this have come to show that it would require everyone to be a part of this new lifestyle, of continually giving to those around one.  One would have to learn to be entirely unattached to money, and this would not work on a national scheme because not all people are Christians, and not all people are close enough to God to give up everything one owns.  This has come to show that it could work in small Christian communities.  It seems more like a church should be a community of people who live near each other and put the funds, and work towards helping one another along in life, instead of allowing one person to live a poor very hard life, while one person lives easily with many riches.  The church is what should be a socialistic idea, and socialism is the ideal of life, however we are all humans, who have all fallen from the Lord, so this is not entirely possible.

            Money is a hard topic for many to deal with, and the culture of America has continually grained into many people’s heads that if one works hard, one will make much money with one’s life, and to do what it takes to do this.  This is where culture has influenced many Christians, as people continue to grow in Christ, people tend to realize this about money, and slowly give more, whether to the church, or to the poor families down the road from where one lives, and God wants each person to become more unattached to this earthly view of money, and allow a life of sharing and helping to take control.