Many modern Christians mistakenly align themselves with the dog eat dog world of Republican Corporate Capitalism. Nothing could be more repugnant to the early Disciples and their "Blessed are the poor" leader J.C. Himself!
Bible Reading: Acts of the Apostles 2,4,&5 Compared to Karl Marx
Acts 2
44: And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45: And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
Acts 4
32: And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. 33: And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. 34: Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, 35: And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. 36: And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37: Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
Acts 5
1: But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2: And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3: But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4: Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. 5: And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6: And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. 7: And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. 8: And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. 9: Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. 10: Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
Karl Marx
In a higher phase of communist society, after the enslaving subordination of the individual to the division of labor, and therewith also the antithesis between mental and physical labor, has vanished; after labor has become not only a means of life but life's prime want; after the productive forces have also increased with the all-around development of the individual, and all the springs of co-operative wealth flow more abundantly -- only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be crossed in its entirety and society inscribe on its banners: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!
John's Midrash
The experience of fatherhood seems to have profoundly changed God’s personality and, in my opinion, these changes make for a great improvement. In much of the Old Testament God is a bit of an ogre. He is obsessed with anything and everything sexual. He is easy to anger and quick to smite.
His son Jesus seems much more open-minded in comparison. While fully capable of a major hissy fit (you do NOT want to be a moneychanger in the Temple when Jesus gets on his high horse), Jesus also often shows a great deal of compassion and understanding towards his fellow humans. He is more likely to forgive than to smite.
After He is crucified, dead, and buried, his disciples begin to build His Church, and the events of their early evangelizing is detailed in the Book of Acts in the New Testament.
There are many themes in the Bible, and a very important one is that of monetary wealth. In the Old Testament, the accrual of wealth by God’s people was considered a very positive thing. We learn in Genesis that Abram gained great wealth by essentially pimping out his wife Sarai to various kings. Neither Abram’s desire to get rich nor the means by which he accomplished this seems to have bothered God in the slightest.
But in the New Testament, we see that Jesus has a totally different attitude about wealth. His attitude is detailed in the Book of Acts. Not to put too fine a point on it, the Disciples, in carrying out Jesus’ will, become communists. All wealth is shared and then divided up according to need. If you wish to become a Christian, you must sell all your possessions and give the Disciples the proceeds. Privately held capital simply is not part of the Son of God’s plan.
Jesus’ abhorrence of personal wealth clearly changes His Father’s mind about the subject as the story of Ananias and Sapphira illustrates. Wishing to join the Jesus movement, they sell all their property. Sadly for them, they hold back a small part of the proceeds from the Disciples. God goes into full Old Testament mode, and both are struck dead on the spot.
Many modern Christians seem to think giving the Church 10% of their income (“tithing”) is enough. A close reading of the Book of Acts teaches us that God doesn’t want just 10%, he wants all of your income, and may well kill you if you hold out on Him.