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376 sats \ 5 replies \ @Scholarhacker 26 Dec 2023 \ on: Jesus was NOT a Socialist. spirituality
I tend to agree, but be careful about extrapolating the stories Jesus told in parables into a broader message than the one intended.
Sam Harris does this with the The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant and draws a very incorrect conclusion.
"Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?"
It's not any extrapolation.
That's his strict sentence, used as a understandable starting point for people of those times
(just to better explain the God's generosity)
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But speaking this line in the context of a parable, where it represents what Jesus is trying to say about His kingdom, is different than expressly stating a pro-private property statement.
God is sovereign, He has the right to do with his creation whatever He wants. That's the theological point.
It would be wrong to conclude from the Parable of the annoying neighbor that Jesus is proscribing becoming an annoying neighbor. Rather, the annoying neighbor, which is a relatable story, helps to illustrate a greater theological point.
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Jesus to be well understood - he was obligated to use something well understandable to surrounding people as a starting point of any his parable.
So this (economic) statement had to be:
- well understandable for those people
- inline with Jesus point of view
(hint: if you plan to convince other people to your parable - you simply must build it on a thing that you are already convinced to, this is beyond any dispute)