Lovely Extremism

Let us not mince words, Jesus was no conservative nor was he a liberal. Jesus was not reasonable nor particularly understanding in any capacity. Jesus Christ was an extremist. Most agree that Jesus was an proponent of love and compassion, and yes he was, but he believed this in the extreme. The teachings of Jesus were not for the faint of heart. Your average Midwestern Lutheran would not be too keen on following the teachings of Jesus to the letter. The sad reality is that our western capitalist mentalities are not palatable with the early followers of Jesus. Let us just say the first conception of the church was more "communal" than it is perceived today. His idea of love and compassion meant to include all of his followers.

A favorite biblical quote of mine comes from the book of Acts, Chapter 2 , Line 44, "All who believed were together, and they had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need. Day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread at home, they took their food with gladness of heart, praising God, and with kindness for all the people, The Lord added to the 'church' day by day those who were being saved."

Now this phrase can be easily written off as primitive and attributable to the specific "church" operating in that region at that specific moment in history, but the reality is the word "church" has a longer more complex history than what we understand as the church today. A scholar of Catholic Theology explained to me the etymology of the word church as well as its Greek counter part Ecclesia (έκκλησία) which refers to a collective or a group. In ancient Greece it related more to a political congregation. In more religious terms, it refers to the members of said religion. In modernity, the term church has come to mean the building in which the congregation meets as opposed to the body of members itself. So if we use the original language, this passage is more closely saying that the followers of Christ are to distribute their goods to each other irrespective of their location, or in other words, any earthly possession of a of a self identifying Christian is automatically the possession of another Christian on that basis of need.

This obviously contradicts the idea of private property--a foundation of capitalism. In fact, it more closely resembles the writings of Karl Marx--in specific, his cliché quote, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." It is indeed an extreme position. It is the position of helping those in need where ever they are. It means that if you do not need the coat you are are wearing give it up to the one who needs it more. If you have a room in your house that is wasting space, give it to those in need. Charity in extreme; love for your brothers and sisters in the extreme; compassion for the down trodden in the extreme. These are the sorts of things a Christian should ponder. What does it mean to be giving and charitable? What is the church, and who do I consider a "true" believer? How does one deal with this? It is lovely extremism, but how extreme are you?