Let’s bear in mind that even though we quote from various scriptures that the members herein are by no means deceived by mythology and supernaturalism. We are hard core materialists and are using scriptures as a means to demonstrate that; 1. Materialism as an idea is older than most think and; 2. That we can use scripture to persuade those who are trained in the idealist and supernatural mindset to a more sensible view. This is not to discount the awesome power and spectacle of nature. All so-called Holy Scripture is primarily based on nature and the observations of the heavens as they appear in the dark and how occurrences in nature operate in synch with this. This part will be discussed later, but now we will delve into one of the social messages.
Here is a wonderful story from one of the parables of Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew 25; 31-46. The commentary follows the text.
"31: When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34: Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37: Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38: When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39: Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40: And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41: Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44: Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45: Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46: And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
The text tells us of two possible responses that people make when they encounter someone who is in trouble or in need. It is especially important when we consider it in the materialist context and how we structure society, either for the profit of the few, or for the benefit of all. Capitalists like to boast about how Godly they are in comparison to "Godless communists." Yet, as one reads the passage and what we observe in society at large, we can see how the worker is treated compared to a CEO of a large corporation. The unemployed are left to fend on their own, gaining support more from peers also poor than from those who are well off. If does not matter that there is surplus food, empty houses and nutrition for all; if they lack the funds, they go without. Food is destroyed while people starve. Homes are left to deteriorate while people freeze in the dark in homelessness. Homelessness comes in two forms, the visible and the "couch surfers" who are the invisible homeless. Most people can't afford medical insurance and are thus left without needed medical attention for lack of funds. Many people are among the working poor who are in the same boat. Consider these facts in the light of the parable and we can see that the Christendom of capitalism is under condemnation.
31. Jesus refers to the "son of man", not the son of God, and his supporters (angels) and set up a counsel of authority, something akin to the communist idea of the dictatorship of the proletariet led by a vanguard. They are not gods, but fellow proletarians. The sun of man here is a reference to a human being who will arise one day and establish a new glory.
32. All nations will be gathered together, but only under an international condition of humanity and a judgement will be set up to determine who was humane and who was not, who is to find favor in the new international world and who is to be condemned due to their actions; the sheep and the goats in this parable.
33. Two camps will be set up, indeed are set up even by the capitalists who run things in reverse. The innocent and the guilty are to be judged by the "son of man", which can be seen as similar to the vangaurd of the dictatorship of the international proletariet.
34. One group will be blessed, inheriting the earth as determined from the record of their activities. Jesus says elsewhere that the "Meek shall inherit the earth."
35,36. This group looked after the "son of man", which is every person in genuine need according to their need. We are all the sons/daughters of someone! One has to be careful, as capitalists have learned to cash in on charity for profit schemes. Thus the good intentions directed to those in need can be channeled into the pockets of the greedy pretenders.
37 - 39. Perplexed they wonder when they looked after the "son of man".
40. The "son of man" answers that when they looked after the needs of anyone, they did it to the "son of man" thus making an identity with all people. A great leader identifies with everyone including the very least in the community as identified later.
41. The others in the other hand are condemned.
42,43. The cause of their condemnation is expressed. They did nor respond to the needs of the "son of man"/people. Indeed, they can be seen as those who perverted the natural tendancy of some to help others into a profit making scheme where the intended target did not even receive the intended benefit.
44. The accused make a defense saying that they did help the "son of man." They will cite various charities and causes they constructed. but these programs were established more for public relations than actual implimentation. An example is the idea of welfare and the social safety net set up to prevent the capitalist sphere of influence from falling under communism. When communism became disorted under Stalin's influence and collpased, so too did the social safety net at home.
45. The "son of man" answers by saying that insofar as they did not do anything for the least, they in effect did not do it to the "son of man". This has a reverberation in the scripture that states "the breaking of one law makes one guity of all."
46. The condemned are excluded from the new earth and the righteous inherit it, with age lasting life (Greek).
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