Pastors move to withhold/lessen SFC offerings in protest of NAYC

[pelathais]

Originally Posted by RevDWW

Was it the NT Church Worldwide or the NT church at

Originally Posted by RevDWW

Jerusalem that sold what they had and had all things common?

Good point, or question, whichever you intended. The Jerusalem church does seem to have held a "special" place in the NT world especially when it came to the distribution of funds. Paul mentions taking up collections just for the saints in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, they at least appear to have been rather thoroughly communistic in their economy. An interesting point- within the Zionist movement today there are groups of Jews (and now some Messianic Jews) who live in the Holy Land but their living expenses are covered by fellow "believers" outside the region.

The NT church practiced a welfare system whereby widows and orphans would be taken in under specific circumstances (1 Timothy 5). However, even at this early date Paul is warning against the unrestricted rise in the number of those on "the dole."

The statement "had all things in common" is an ellipsis; that is, the statement is not complete or perfect in and of itself. The example of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 ("Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?) , along with 1 Timothy 5, shows that private property was recognized and practiced.

So, to wrap this all together; when "communism" was practiced- it wasn't a "perfect" communism. People did and were expected to have private property.

Originally Posted by RevDWW

And wouldn't it be Capitalistic to sell your positions instead of just dividing them up amongst the group?

Not necessarily. It is the end that we must have in mind. Whether you sold a material possession and gave cash, or if you just gave the possession- the gift is what was accounted for. Of course, cash spends more easily. Some things never change.