| redbreegull |
02-26-2014 04:36 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starla
(Post 4040050)
So Jesus didn't want money changers in the temple. Then why are most Assembly of God and Baptist churches outfitted with coffee shops and gift stores in their church buildings? I assume they see it differently.
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ideas about poverty being an ideal, rejecting material wealth, the role of money in Christianity.... these things have been issues of contention since the dawn of the religion. It is clear that Jesus' teachings are heavily derivative of stoic and cynic philosophy. The cynics in particular were very serious about rejecting money and earthly goods. They were quite "communistic" in their class attitudes. Reading the Gospels as a non-Christian with no formal dogmatic background on how to interpret the texts, it seems obvious to me that Jesus would have been on board with the cynics. Subverting the corrupt, greedy, deeply materialistic Jewish and Roman power structures seems to have been amongst his highest priorities, at least as interpreted by those who wrote the Gospels, and especially the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Math., Luke) which were written earlier. However, this has clearly been the less popular perspective on the matter throughout history as those with the deepest pockets typically come out on top. But it's been debated forever. The Catholic Church led inquisitions (read: hysterical murderous sprees) against Franciscan-offshoot "heretics" who preached that Jesus lived in poverty in the 12th and 13th centuries.
edit: sorry I meant the 13th and 14th centuries
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