Enduring Beauty

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  “Beauty is the quality which makes to endure. In a house that I know, I have noticed a block of spermaceti lying about closets and mantel-pieces, for twenty years together, simply because the tallow-man gave it the form of a rabbit; and, I suppose, it may continue to be lugged about unchanged for a century. Let an artist scrawl a few lines or figures on the back of a letter, and that scrap of paper is rescued from danger, is put in portfolio, is framed and glazed, and, in proportion to the beauty of the lines drawn, will be kept for centuries. Burns writes a copy of verses, and sends them to a newspaper, and the human race take charge of them that they shall not perish.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson. (1803–1882).   Essays and English Traits.

Christians are Communists?

In the today's post, "Little-Known Bible Verses: Communism", Ebonmuse (he does not post his real name) attempts to make that case that communism is a biblical idea. Edonmuse writes, "In the Book of Acts, chapter 2, verses 44 to 45, we hear a bit about how the first Christians lived following the departure of Jesus: 'And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.' This is communism in a nutshell - common ownership, no private property, redistribution of resources based only on need. The first Christians were communists."

Communism is not what the Bible is portraying at all. What Acts shows is a how early Christians held onto their possessions lightly, ready to help as needs arose. 2:45 says they sold their possessions to care for the needy, not for equal distribution. Consider also 2:46; 4:34-37. I found it intriguing that the "Daylight Atheist" admits to the historicity of Jesus. Also, I could not help but agree that Deuteronomy 15:7-8 is a command to take care of the poor.

So the problem is that people have been taking care of the poor for centuries. Communism and the biblical culture decried here are not at all the same. This is a poor excuse for atheism.

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