I wouldn't worry about it too much though, many people profess to have a deep faith in God who actually don't trust him at all.
Well, I believe in GOD, but I would never rely on GOD to provide me with what I wanted/needed for survival even though I believe that GOD is the only one who can provide those things.
But I think that seems reasonable. There is nothing wrong with letting reality trump belief.
The real test of faith is not how much you profess belief, vain professions of faith are worthless. If you had faith that Christ was/is God you would not care about your personal wealth since you would have faith God would make sure you were sufficiently provided for. As a Biblical reference see Matthew 6.
Does this speak to Christ being a communist, though? Communism is a societal/political ideology which seeks, in part, to make life better and sustainable to everyone with a fairly equal standard of living for individualsinstead of the
averagely high standard of living provided by capitalism.
I do not think that Jesus was a communist; his teachings are purely religious and have nothing to do with politics or society. I would dare say that his teachings are actually rather selfish. From the chapter you referenced:
quote:
Matthew 6:14—15 (NRSV):
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Jesus doesn't advocate a fair and equal society so much as he does a way into the Kingdom. In fact, in Matthew, I think that message is extremely clear (cf.
25:31—46). Selling all your possessions and giving the money to the poor may be a good way to please God (
19:1—22), but it is not meant to instruct folk wishing to create the ideal society.
Jon
Love your enemies!