What is a good Christian?

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

Jesus never told us to reject the far right...
Do not make your faith political, because it isn't.

Luke 16:13, Luke 16:19-25, James 5:1-6, 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Matthew 6:19-24, 2 Corinthians 8:13-14, Acts 4:32-35, Acts 5:1-5, Luke 20:20-26, Titus 3:1, Matthew 21:12-13, Matthew 25:31-46.

The Bible is a political book, and it has a strong leftist bias.

Luke 16:13- No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." I don't see how that's leftist, Jesus is only saying to not love money.

Luke 16:19-25 - Again, Jesus is just saying to not serve money. That's not leftist...

James 5:1-6 - He's only telling the rich people to stop loving money because money cannot make you happy.

I'm not going to read the others if they're all like this.

[Rojava Free State]

Tbh there are a lot of hypocrites who get onto gay people because it's against their religion and then do many things that are against their religion.

No it's just that Rojava seemed to be referring to someone in particular ("The weirdo" as they put it).

It's actually a hypothetical person based off several actual people I know. They always talk about "I got my faith in Jesus" and then do every ungodly act known to man.

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

No it's just that Rojava seemed to be referring to someone in particular ("The weirdo" as they put it).

It's actually a hypothetical person based off several actual people I know. They always talk about "I got my faith in Jesus" and then do every ungodly act known to man.

Their faith probably isn't real, in that case. They've probably fooled themselves into thinking that they are saved when, in reality, they are not.

[Rojava Free State]

It's actually a hypothetical person based off several actual people I know. They always talk about "I got my faith in Jesus" and then do every ungodly act known to man.

Their faith probably isn't real, in that case. They've probably fooled themselves into thinking that they are saved when, in reality, they are not.

There's this Albanian guy I know named Xhuliano and he told us "It okay. I know I fine because Jesus is my nigga." If you survived reading that, this guy at the same time does crack and cheated on his girlfriend by having a threesome with two other girls and swearing me and my brother to secrecy, but it's okay I guess cause Jesus and Xhuliano have a really personal relationship.

Who knew that by knowing God on a first name basis, you're exempt from his rules?

[Geneviev]

Luke 16:13, Luke 16:19-25, James 5:1-6, 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Matthew 6:19-24, 2 Corinthians 8:13-14, Acts 4:32-35, Acts 5:1-5, Luke 20:20-26, Titus 3:1, Matthew 21:12-13, Matthew 25:31-46.

The Bible is a political book, and it has a strong leftist bias.

Luke 16:13- No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." I don't see how that's leftist, Jesus is only saying to not love money.

Luke 16:19-25 - Again, Jesus is just saying to not serve money. That's not leftist...

James 5:1-6 - He's only telling the rich people to stop loving money because money cannot make you happy.

I'm not going to read the others if they're all like this.

There are other ones, too. Including a rejection of personal property, the goal of equality, taking in refugees, and that sort of thing.

As for James 5:1-6, I disagree with you. It sounds like the revolution to me. Labor is getting justice against the wealthy oppressor. I don't know how you got just "money cannot make you happy" out of that.

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

Their faith probably isn't real, in that case. They've probably fooled themselves into thinking that they are saved when, in reality, they are not.

There's this Albanian guy I know named Xhuliano and he told us "It okay. I know I fine because Jesus is my nigga." If you survived reading that, this guy at the same time does crack and cheated on his girlfriend by having a threesome with two other girls and swearing me and my brother to secrecy, but it's okay I guess cause Jesus and Xhuliano have a really personal relationship.

Who knew that by knowing God on a first name basis, you're exempt from his rules?

You're not exempt from anything. I cannot judge the position of his heart because only God really knows, but I think it's fair to say that he's not taking his faith seriously. Unless he asks God for forgiveness and tries his best to not do those things anymore, he is not in a good place with God at the moment.

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

Luke 16:13- No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." I don't see how that's leftist, Jesus is only saying to not love money.

Luke 16:19-25 - Again, Jesus is just saying to not serve money. That's not leftist...

James 5:1-6 - He's only telling the rich people to stop loving money because money cannot make you happy.

I'm not going to read the others if they're all like this.

There are other ones, too. Including a rejection of personal property, the goal of equality, taking in refugees, and that sort of thing.

As for James 5:1-6, I disagree with you. It sounds like the revolution to me. Labor is getting justice against the wealthy oppressor. I don't know how you got just "money cannot make you happy" out of that.

Where is it said to reject private property? Are all Christians supposed to live in government-controlled communes or be homeless??
Yes, equality isn't just a leftist goal -_-
Did he say we should take in illegal immigrants and refugees?? No.
Do we take legal immigrants and refugees? Yes.

[Rojava Free State]

There's this Albanian guy I know named Xhuliano and he told us "It okay. I know I fine because Jesus is my nigga." If you survived reading that, this guy at the same time does crack and cheated on his girlfriend by having a threesome with two other girls and swearing me and my brother to secrecy, but it's okay I guess cause Jesus and Xhuliano have a really personal relationship.

Who knew that by knowing God on a first name basis, you're exempt from his rules?

You're not exempt from anything. I cannot judge the position of his heart because only God really knows, but I think it's fair to say that he's not taking his faith seriously. Unless he asks God for forgiveness and tries his best to not do those things anymore, he is not in a good place with God at the moment.

I was joking about being exempt from rules, but I feel sometimes like telling Xhuliano "listen bro. You can lecture me about your catholic faith all you want, but the Bible is very clear that when your sinful ass dies, the fires of hell will embrace you. You better cut it out. Otherwise it's not looking good for you right now."

[MineLegotia and Equestria]

Jesus never told us to reject the far right...
Do not make your faith political, because it isn't.

Luke 16:13, Luke 16:19-25, James 5:1-6, 1 Timothy 6:9-10, Matthew 6:19-24, 2 Corinthians 8:13-14, Acts 4:32-35, Acts 5:1-5, Luke 20:20-26, Titus 3:1, Matthew 21:12-13, Matthew 25:31-46.

The Bible is a political book, and it has a strong leftist bias.

Bruh. Alright then.

Luke 16:13
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money"

First of all, this verse is not directly saying money is evil. Being rich is not bad. But putting earthly things before God is. This is what this verse is saying. Essentially making money your God, an End rather than as a means

Luke 16:19-25

This Parable does not condemn being rich, rather not caring for the Lord and instead, caring merely only money. Which as stated earlier, is a sin for putting earthly things before the Lord.

James 5:1-6

Sounds communist, not exactly communist. It warns the rich however, that even though their rich, they are not all powerful and to remember who gave them such riches in the first place.

1 Timothy 6:9-10, Matthew 6:19-24,

See my explanation for Luke 16:13

2 Corinthians 8:13-14,

This promotes charity actually, it doesn't demand redistribution. If you read the entire chapter you'll realize this is about charity and helping others in your church.

Acts 4:32-35

See above

Acts 5:1-5

A lesson in honesty, and lying straight to God

Luke 20:20-26

This is of secularization and also reminding you that governments were propped up by the Lord and stand on behalf of Him, so you need to pay your taxes to them.

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

You're not exempt from anything. I cannot judge the position of his heart because only God really knows, but I think it's fair to say that he's not taking his faith seriously. Unless he asks God for forgiveness and tries his best to not do those things anymore, he is not in a good place with God at the moment.

I was joking about being exempt from rules, but I feel sometimes like telling Xhuliano "listen bro. You can lecture me about your catholic faith all you want, but the Bible is very clear that when your sinful ass dies, the fires of hell will embrace you. You better cut it out. Otherwise it's not looking good for you right now."

That's a bit harsh maybe, but probably true at the moment.

[Confessional Korea]

If you read Acts 2-5 at face value then sure you could think of it like that. Nowhere in the Bible do we find prohibitions on the ownership of private property, Acts 4:32-35 is simply encouraging charity but it is not mandated like tithing once was. The modern day equivalent of this is donating to the collection. The Acts of the Apostles needs to be read in the context of its time. The Early Church faced significant persecution by Roman authorities, and this was happening while it carried out its mission to make disciples of all nations, and performing charity works. It is important to look at Acts 2 which also details this. The description of it is "hyparxeis epipraskon kai diemerizon auta" - the imperfect tense suggests that this was a continuous sale of surplus property and goods in order to support the poor.

If we reduce socialism to the bare-bones, vague definition of "worker control of the means of production" then it isn't necessarily in opposition to Catholic social teaching, but Marxist concepts of socialism are totally in opposition to Christianity. Hence why the Church has condemned it repeatedly.

They're giving away all of their private property. That's very different from giving a bit of money on Sunday to help the church. Also, even Jesus advocated for these things. Matthew 9:24, for example.

If socialism were totally in opposition to Christianity, I wouldn't be able to support both as strongly as I do. They're not only compatible, but one requires the other.

"he said, “Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him." Mt 9:24 RSV-CE
Socialism is a product of the 19th century. You're a protestant, not following an orthodox theology, so maybe your false Christianity requires modern secular concepts to supplement it, unfortunately I'm actually a Christian (not a protestant) so I don't require that. There is only one Christian denomination that existed when the Acts of the Apostles was written and that is the Roman Catholic Church which condemns your Marxist socialism.

And they are not giving away all their private property. They are giving away things they own that they do not need in order to support the Church and its operations. They are not giving away everything they own to support this, just additional stuff they don't need, and even then they weren't giving away all of their surplus just enough to support the Church's operations. And again, this isn't mandated of us.

[Geneviev]

There are other ones, too. Including a rejection of personal property, the goal of equality, taking in refugees, and that sort of thing.

As for James 5:1-6, I disagree with you. It sounds like the revolution to me. Labor is getting justice against the wealthy oppressor. I don't know how you got just "money cannot make you happy" out of that.

Where is it said to reject private property? Are all Christians supposed to live in government-controlled communes or be homeless??
Yes, equality isn't just a leftist goal -_-
Did he say we should take in illegal immigrants and refugees?? No.
Do we take legal immigrants and refugees? Yes.

Acts 4:32. Their possessions are not their own.

Leftists are the only people who are actually fighting for equality. We see the problem and want to solve it, and others want to protect inequality to preserve their own wealth.

The right wing makes "legal" immigration almost impossible, first of all. Second, Jesus never said to restrict immigration. I don't remember him saying "I was the right kind of stranger and you were kind enough to let me in after I waited several years." No, "I was a stranger and you invited me in."

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

They're giving away all of their private property. That's very different from giving a bit of money on Sunday to help the church. Also, even Jesus advocated for these things. Matthew 9:24, for example.

If socialism were totally in opposition to Christianity, I wouldn't be able to support both as strongly as I do. They're not only compatible, but one requires the other.

"he said, “Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him." Mt 9:24 RSV-CE
Socialism is a product of the 19th century. You're a protestant, not following an orthodox theology, so maybe your false Christianity requires modern secular concepts to supplement it, unfortunately I'm actually a Christian (not a protestant) so I don't require that. There is only one Christian denomination that existed when the Acts of the Apostles was written and that is the Roman Catholic Church which condemns your Marxist socialism.

And they are not giving away all their private property. They are giving away things they own that they do not need in order to support the Church and its operations. They are not giving away everything they own to support this, just additional stuff they don't need, and even then they weren't giving away all of their surplus just enough to support the Church's operations. And again, this isn't mandated of us.

Are you saying that Protestant Christians aren't true Christians?

[Confessional Korea]

Are you saying that Protestant Christians aren't Christians?

To be truly Christian, one must be Roman as well. Protestantism is rooted in a rejection of the legitimate authority bestowed upon the Church by Christ himself. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

Where is it said to reject private property? Are all Christians supposed to live in government-controlled communes or be homeless??
Yes, equality isn't just a leftist goal -_-
Did he say we should take in illegal immigrants and refugees?? No.
Do we take legal immigrants and refugees? Yes.

Acts 4:32. Their possessions are not their own.

Leftists are the only people who are actually fighting for equality. We see the problem and want to solve it, and others want to protect inequality to preserve their own wealth.

The right wing makes "legal" immigration almost impossible, first of all. Second, Jesus never said to restrict immigration. I don't remember him saying "I was the right kind of stranger and you were kind enough to let me in after I waited several years." No, "I was a stranger and you invited me in."

Their possessions are not their own because they belong to God. Read the context to that verse, don't cherry-pick.
that second point made me chuckle. If you can even call it a point. This is political, but what the leftists are pushing is not equality.
I agree that the immigration system needs to be redone. Again, read the context of that verse.

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

Are you saying that Protestant Christians aren't Christians?

To be truly Christian, one must be Roman as well. Protestantism is rooted in a rejection of the legitimate authority bestowed upon the Church by Christ himself. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

Where does the Bible say that? Back that up with the Bible.

[MineLegotia and Equestria]

Where is it said to reject private property? Are all Christians supposed to live in government-controlled communes or be homeless??
Yes, equality isn't just a leftist goal -_-
Did he say we should take in illegal immigrants and refugees?? No.
Do we take legal immigrants and refugees? Yes.

Acts 4:32. Their possessions are not their own.

Leftists are the only people who are actually fighting for equality. We see the problem and want to solve it, and others want to protect inequality to preserve their own wealth.

The right wing makes "legal" immigration almost impossible, first of all. Second, Jesus never said to restrict immigration. I don't remember him saying "I was the right kind of stranger and you were kind enough to let me in after I waited several years." No, "I was a stranger and you invited me in."

Acts 4:32 is really just solidying the fact that everything you have now is from God, and you should not act like you got them by yourself without the Lord's permission.

Also, I don't think the Bible every mentions immigration directly, and who says the right-wing make "legal" immigration impossible? Illegal immigrants should be deported, those who do not do the proper process deserve to be kicked out. And a nation needs to deal with its own people first before dealing with foreigners.

[MineLegotia and Equestria]

Are you saying that Protestant Christians aren't Christians?

To be truly Christian, one must be Roman as well. Protestantism is rooted in a rejection of the legitimate authority bestowed upon the Church by Christ himself. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

Yeehaw, Protestant here. Disagree with you. Centralized authorities in churches will lead to corruption. Additionally, who's to say that the Catholic Doctrine is right? Who's to say the Protestant - and its various sects - are wrong?

[Geneviev]

They're giving away all of their private property. That's very different from giving a bit of money on Sunday to help the church. Also, even Jesus advocated for these things. Matthew 9:24, for example.

If socialism were totally in opposition to Christianity, I wouldn't be able to support both as strongly as I do. They're not only compatible, but one requires the other.

"he said, “Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him." Mt 9:24 RSV-CE
Socialism is a product of the 19th century. You're a protestant, not following an orthodox theology, so maybe your false Christianity requires modern secular concepts to supplement it, unfortunately I'm actually a Christian (not a protestant) so I don't require that. There is only one Christian denomination that existed when the Acts of the Apostles was written and that is the Roman Catholic Church which condemns your Marxist socialism.

And they are not giving away all their private property. They are giving away things they own that they do not need in order to support the Church and its operations. They are not giving away everything they own to support this, just additional stuff they don't need, and even then they weren't giving away all of their surplus just enough to support the Church's operations. And again, this isn't mandated of us.

The Catholic church has made some mistakes. I take their condemnation of socialism as seriously as their charges of deicide against Jews. Your church supported Hitler, and I don't consider that very Christian. Also, capitalism is not much older. Maybe you need modern secular concepts as well.

They are rejecting the very idea of private property, giving away everything they own to the poor. The collection is not even close to being an equivalent. And someone died for withholding part of his property. That sounds like a mandate to me.

[Qabea]

Good Christian embodies Christ in themselves by endearing to love his brothers and sisters in the world and has such a tender, beautiful heart there is no need to proselytize. They bring people closer to God's love and are peaceful, patient, open hearted. Their humanity defines them.

I like this description. Shame It's a really tough bar to jump.

[The Federal Government of Iowa]

"he said, “Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him." Mt 9:24 RSV-CE
Socialism is a product of the 19th century. You're a protestant, not following an orthodox theology, so maybe your false Christianity requires modern secular concepts to supplement it, unfortunately I'm actually a Christian (not a protestant) so I don't require that. There is only one Christian denomination that existed when the Acts of the Apostles was written and that is the Roman Catholic Church which condemns your Marxist socialism.

And they are not giving away all their private property. They are giving away things they own that they do not need in order to support the Church and its operations. They are not giving away everything they own to support this, just additional stuff they don't need, and even then they weren't giving away all of their surplus just enough to support the Church's operations. And again, this isn't mandated of us.

The Catholic church has made some mistakes. I take their condemnation of socialism as seriously as their charges of deicide against Jews. Your church supported Hitler, and I don't consider that very Christian. Also, capitalism is not much older. Maybe you need modern secular concepts as well.

They are rejecting the very idea of private property, giving away everything they own to the poor. The collection is not even close to being an equivalent. And someone died for withholding part of his property. That sounds like a mandate to me.

Whose Church supported Hitler??

[Confessional Korea]

To be truly Christian, one must be Roman as well. Protestantism is rooted in a rejection of the legitimate authority bestowed upon the Church by Christ himself. There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church.

Where does the Bible say that? Back that up with the Bible.

Which Bible? the one that didn't exist until the Catholic Church determined and proclaimed it?

The legitimate authority of the Church and its necessity for salvation are of course easy to demonstrate with scripture.
Matthew 16:18-19 establishes Saint Peter as the rock - the first Pope. Acts 1 legitimizes apostolic succession, and thus legitimizes the authority of successor Popes.
Matthew 18:18 and Luke 10:16 demonstrates the Church holds teaching authority.
Salvation comes from Christ the head, and salvation is not as simple as just believing and praying. Christ associated baptism (Mk 16:16), confession (Lk 13:3) and the Eucharist (Jn 6:54) with salvation. Two out of three of these require the Church as an institution.

"...all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body” CCC 846

For further emphasis let us look at the Church Fathers, the great early generations of Christians who had received their formation from a lineage that could be traced just a handful of generations back to the Apostles.

From Saint Irenaeus (died A.D. 202): “[The Church] is the entrance to life; all others are thieves and robbers. On this account we are bound to avoid them… We hear it declared of the unbelieving and the blinded of this world that they shall not inherit the world of life which is to come… Resist them in defense of the only true and life giving faith, which the Church has received from the Apostles and imparted to her sons.”

From Saint Cyprian (died A.D. 258): “He who has turned his back on the Church of Christ shall not come to the rewards of Christ; he is an alien, a worldling, an enemy. You cannot have God for your Father if you have not the Church for your mother. Our Lord warns us when He says: `he that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth.’ Whosoever breaks the peace and harmony of Christ acts against Christ; whoever gathers elsewhere than in the Church scatters the Church of Christ.”

Saint Ambrose (died A.D. 397): “Where Peter is therefore, there is the Church. Where the Church is there is not death but life eternal. …Although many call themselves Christians, they usurp the name and do not have the reward.”

Early Christians were unanimous on this.

[Aeritai]

Wouldn't this question be best asked in the CDT? As for what makes a "good" Christian I think its someone who follows Christ, tries to act like Him and spreads the Gospel to others so that they can be saved. Of course no Christian is completely good or perfect we're human, so we will have our flaws but the most important thing is that we can overcome our flaws with God's guidance.

[Geneviev]

Acts 4:32. Their possessions are not their own.

Leftists are the only people who are actually fighting for equality. We see the problem and want to solve it, and others want to protect inequality to preserve their own wealth.

The right wing makes "legal" immigration almost impossible, first of all. Second, Jesus never said to restrict immigration. I don't remember him saying "I was the right kind of stranger and you were kind enough to let me in after I waited several years." No, "I was a stranger and you invited me in."

Acts 4:32 is really just solidying the fact that everything you have now is from God, and you should not act like you got them by yourself without the Lord's permission.

Also, I don't think the Bible every mentions immigration directly, and who says the right-wing make "legal" immigration impossible? Illegal immigrants should be deported, those who do not do the proper process deserve to be kicked out. And a nation needs to deal with its own people first before dealing with foreigners.

And you should give away everything you own to the poor, yes. That's correct.

No, it doesn't. It mentions that Jesus was an illegal refugee (as he just fled, without waiting a few years for a background check and whatnot), and it mentions that Christians should welcome all strangers.

I'm saying the process that you love so much is extremely difficult to get through. Refugees have been killed while waiting. Some people try to save their lives, and then you deport them to die. I don't know where Jesus said that's okay.

[Geneviev]

The Catholic church has made some mistakes. I take their condemnation of socialism as seriously as their charges of deicide against Jews. Your church supported Hitler, and I don't consider that very Christian. Also, capitalism is not much older. Maybe you need modern secular concepts as well.

They are rejecting the very idea of private property, giving away everything they own to the poor. The collection is not even close to being an equivalent. And someone died for withholding part of his property. That sounds like a mandate to me.

Whose Church supported Hitler??

The Catholic church. Look up the Reichskonkordat.