BF2S Forums Does this fit you?

Ty wrote:

Winston Churchill once said if you're not a socialist at the age of 20 then you have no heart, but if you're not a capitalist by the age of 40 then you have no brain.

Does that mean you become a Nazi at 60?

CameronPoe wrote:

Stingray24 wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

I guess you skipped the moneylenders in the temple bit.

I remember that quite well and it had nothing to do with capitalism.  Rather it was about merchants who literally stole from people by inflating the price of converting their currency to the Temple currency.

WHat about giving alms to the poor and 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God'?

is there not something about a camel having more chance of passing through the eye of a needle than a rich man entering heaven?

James 5: 1-6

1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days. 4Behold, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5You have lived on the earth in luxury and in pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned, you have killed the righteous man; he does not resist you.

Matthew 19: 16-26

16And behold, one came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?" 17And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18He said to him, "Which?" And Jesus said, "You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honour your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbour as yourself." 20The young man said to him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" 21Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. 23And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 25When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Last edited by IG-Calibre (2007-05-11 11:09:24)

Bertster7 wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

Stingray24 wrote:

I remember that quite well and it had nothing to do with capitalism.  Rather it was about merchants who literally stole from people by inflating the price of converting their currency to the Temple currency.

WHat about giving alms to the poor and 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God'?

Sounds like fairly socialist principles to me. But of course I'm sure right wing Christians have perfectly good explainations for these inconsistencies.

Quoting the bible only when they see fit - it's not supposed to be taken LITERALLY...just as a guideline to live.  Wait...

If you read the acts of the apostles, it really does seem like Christianity adopts a socialist mentality.

The problem is, Socialism works great on paper, and fails miserably in real life.

G3|Genius wrote:

The problem is, Socialism works great on paper, and fails miserably in real life.

International Rankings:

GDP per capita     2nd out of 232 (2006)
Human Development Index     1st out of 177 (2001-2006)
Globalization Index 2005     14th out of 111
Index of Economic Freedom 2006     30th out of 155
Worldwide press freedom index     6th out of 168 (1st 2002-2005)
State of the World's Mothers 2004  (Children)     1st out of 119
State of the World's Mothers 2004  (Women)     6th out of 119
State of the World's Mothers 2004  (Mothers)     6th out of 119
Child Well-being league table     7th out of 21 industrial countries
Corruption Perceptions Index 2004     8th out of 145
Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006     9th out of 117
Labour Strikes     5th out of 27
Worldwide quality-of-life index, 2005     3rd out of 111
Environmental Sustainability Index, 2005 (pdf)     2nd out of 146



International Rankings:

    * Doing Business: [3] (2006)
          o 13th of 175 countries
    * Sweden Summary Amnesty Report 2005
    * CIA World Factbook – GDP – PPP per capita
          o 2005: 19th of 232 countries [4]
    * Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers (2004) Report (PDF file)
          o Mothers' index rank: 1st of 119 countries
          o Women's index rank: 1st of 119 countries
          o Children's index rank: 10th of 119 countries
          o Infant mortality rate: 4th of 226 countries
          o % seats in the national government held by women: 50% (highest)
    * UN Human Development Index (2006)
          o 5th of 177 countries
    * World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report [5] (2006-2007)
          o 3rd of 125 countries
    * Reporters Without Borders world-wide press freedom index 2006:
          o 8th of 168 countries
    * The Economist Intelligence Unit's democracy index 2006 (PDF file):
          o 1st of 167 countries
    * The Economist Intelligence Unit's worldwide quality-of-life index 2005 (PDF file):
          o 5th of 111 countries
    * Nation Master's list by technological achievement:
          o 4th of 68 countries
    * Economic freedom: 19 out of 157 countries



Political and economic rankings

    * Political freedom ratings - political rights and civil liberties both rated 1 (the highest score available)
    * Press freedom - 1st equal freest in the world at 0.50
    * GDP per capita at purchasing power parity - 4th highest in the world
    * Human Development Index - 4th highest in world at 0.956
    * Literacy Rate - Equal first with a ranking of 99.9%
    * Unemployment rate - 28th lowest in the world at 4.30%
    * Economic Freedom - 3rd freest at 1.58 on index

Last edited by CameronPoe (2007-05-11 12:01:16)

It holds true in many ways.  This isn't 1930, but in many ways it is, all over again.  I hope I don't have to live through 1940 again.  LOOK AT MY FUCKING SIG.  Did my grandparents fight for war or peace?  Ask after the battle, not before.  TBH, I'd rather ANZAC day fade into memory than be reinforced.

Last edited by Pubic (2007-05-11 12:01:22)

Stingray24 wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

Stingray24 wrote:

I remember that quite well and it had nothing to do with capitalism.  Rather it was about merchants who literally stole from people by inflating the price of converting their currency to the Temple currency.

WHat about giving alms to the poor and 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God'?

What about it?  That's charity, not communism overseen by the government.

How's about these JC comments:

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."

"And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful."

"Yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven."

Would you like anymore bible lessons from an atheist?

Last edited by CameronPoe (2007-05-11 12:22:04)

Bertster7 wrote:

Stingray24 wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

WHat about giving alms to the poor and 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God'?

What about it?  That's charity, not communism overseen by the government.

lol, communism.

Always with the communism. Socialism and communism are two different things.

All that believed were together, and had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.

There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

This combined with the fact that early Christian societies were communal and shared their wealth, makes it look extraordinarily like Christianity is a socialist religion.

QFT -

here endeth the days lesson - so mote it be

CameronPoe wrote:

Stingray24 wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

WHat about giving alms to the poor and 'Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God'?

What about it?  That's charity, not communism overseen by the government.

How's about these JC comments:

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven."

"And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful."

"Yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven."

Would you like anymore bible lessons from an atheist?

Here is another good one:  "All that believed were together, and had all things in common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need."

The Bible is definitely communist.

M.O.A.B wrote:

I might read the bible one day to see what all the fuss is about, it better be good, Tom Clancy good.

Skip to the end. Revelations is entertaining.

Ty wrote:

Winston Churchill once said if you're not a socialist at the age of 20 then you have no heart, but if you're not a capitalist by the age of 40 then you have no brain.
I also hear the phrase when regarding people of my age group, (I'm 19,) "if you don't vote left now you never will."

So I ask, are these statements true when regarding this community? Do the older ones here always stay right while the younger folks sway towards the left?

For most people, this is probably true.

There is a natural tendency for people to become more resistant to change as they establish themselves in society.  Socialism tends to favor the less established.

Granted, I'm pretty sure Churchill actually said liberal and conservative rather than socialist and capitalist in that quote.

If that's the case, it's even more true.

Again, with age, you tend to support the status quo more, which is usually a conservative stance.

As for me, I grow simultaneously more cynical and more pragmatic with age.  I'm not really a liberal or conservative, but given the current American political scene, you could say I'm left-leaning.

ATG wrote:

He didn't say it.

indeed it's a bastardisation of a quote from a great Irish writer attributed to Churchill, though one of my favourite GBS quotes is

The moment we want to believe something, we suddenly see all the arguments for it, and become blind to the arguments against it.

I lean right, thought almost everyone I know sways left.