You are conflating the church with the government. Jesus was not saying to Caesar to get rid of his money, He spoke to a specific young rich man who was interested in following Him. Jesus also didn’t say “Go take that rich person’s cloak and give it to that poor person.” He said, “if you see a person in need, go give YOUR cloak to him and your tunic as well.” Luke was not describing the society in Jerusalem, he was talking about the believers.
The charge is for the Church i.e. Christians to share their wealth around. I am completely in support of this. The Church is charged to be a witness to the nations, to share things in common and most importantly to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I wonder why, if Obama is taking Acts 2 seriously, he didn’t donate very much money to charity? From 2000-2004 Barrock and Michelle Obama earned $1,250,000,000 and gave away $11,000 in the same 5 year span. Now if he really believes in sharing the wealth around, he should be leading by example! Dick Cheney does a better job of leading by example in this area when he gives 85% of his earnings to charity.
When we charge the government with carrying out the Church’s mandate we castrate the church. Yes we need to care for those who do not have, but the government is not who we should be looking to — we should be looking to ourselves and the people we are in community with at Church.

Ahhhh…I’ve been waiting for someone to say this so simply! Pass it on…or spread it around….

Isn’t that why we created taxes in America for to begin with? To spread the wealth around so that we have roads, schools, parks and services? This isn’t a tyrannical system that takes money from the poor to reward the rich, or is it? That is what the last eight years have seem to have led us, feed the fat cats and starve the field mice.
When the judgment day comes and all these greedy people who led us down the path of financial ruin are called on by God, He will ask them how did you take care of my little ones ad they will be unable to answer.

Melissa, Jesus was not talking to the church when he emphasized the centrality to the good news (“gospel”) of how we handle money and how we treat the poor, the sick, the immigrants, and the homeless.
For some Christian insight into how the message of YHWH concerns the political leaders, the legal system, the economic practices of the nation you need to check out the books of Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophets. There is also a lot in the Torah on that matter as well. The Torah and the Prophets are still a significant part of the Christian Bible.

Great article! I have been shocked about the cold hearted statements from supposed Christians that about the “spread the wealth” comments.
A 3% increase for incomes over $250,000 is less than they paid under Reagan and other Presidents. The small decrease in taxes for the lowest earners could make the difference in being able to stay in their home or allow them to splurge by going to a dentist.
McCain would save $400,000 per year under his tax plan. Does a couple worth millions need another $400,000 a year? McCain’s social security and veterans benefits are more than what some people make.
Obama would also pay less taxes under McCain’s plan. Obama would pay more under his own plan.
Bush’s tax cuts gave a larger percent for the wealthy. It is time for the rest of us to get the bigger cut this time.

Asinus Gravinus
So how was Jesus speaking to? I don’t think Caesar was in the audience. The sermon on the mount was given to……. Romans? Or do you mean that because the Church wasn’t organized yet (as such) that the church does not have personal responsibility?
I agree that the Prophets and the Torah have much to teach us. Currently studying them. The words of the Torah and of the Prophets are directed to the people of Israel, not those outside of. Specifically, the harshest words in the prophets are reserved for the priests. Israel is also a totally differently kind of community than what we have now. It was built on God’s law. The United States are not. It was first a community of faith, faithful to YHWH. The United States is not.
I still contend that it is not the job of the government to save the world. That job falls into the hands of God alone and He has called the Church to partner with Him. When we let the government do what the church should be doing, everyone loses.

Julie,
I agree that wealth should spread around, but I don’t trust the government to do so. Regardless of what platform speeches say, the government is first and foremost interested in the bottom line or spending money to make friends. The financial meltdown that is happening right now is 100% the fault of government mismanagement — and much of it, ironically, can be placed at the feet of democrat politicians (Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Chris Dodd….). Do you really trust the government to do good with the funds that they take this time round?
Currently the top 5% of wage earners already pay 60% of the taxes and the bottom 30% of wage earners already pay no taxes at all. When will you be happy with the amount that people give?
To those whom much is given, much is expected. I would rather see people who have the resources to give, have that in their pocket so that they can be generous with it. Yes i know, they can afford to pay more taxes, but does that make it right?
There is an interesting book called “Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth about Compassionate Conservativism, Who Gives, Who Doesn’t and Why It Matters” by Arthur Brooks. One of the things he demonstrates is that those who support the concept of government redistribution of wealth give, on average, 75% less than those who do not.
This issue here is not whether or not people need to support each other, the question is who should be doing it. My guess is that Christians who are criticizing Obama’s statements believe that it is their personal responsibility to support their community, not the governments.

Melissa, Jesus was speaking to Jewish people–sometimes a large crowd who sought him out, sometimes his own disciples, sometimes the religious leaders of his nation. The “give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s” remark, according to Matthew 22:15-22, was said to the Pharisees. in the context of a discussion about paying one’s taxes. According to Mark 12:13-17, it was Pharisees and Herodians who were pushing the issue of paying taxes. The Herodians were the Jewish supporters of the Roman rulers, i.e., the Religious Right of their day. Jesus, his disciples, the crowds, the Pharisees, the Herodians were all citizens of a region ruled by the Romans (though only a few were Roman “citizens”).
You mischaracterize the Prophets, I think. They addressed not only the leaders of their nation, and the priests in their nation, but also spoke out against the abuses of surrounding nations. They tell us of God annointing leaders of foreign governments–making them Messiahs–to punish the peoples of Judah and Israel. Their focus is primarily on societal leaders who have failed their social, ethical, responsibilities to develop a just society–one where the laws are not loaded in favor of the rich, one where the courts do not favor the haves over the have nots, one where the poor and the sick are cared for, where the immigrants are not abused but treated like one’s fellow citizens.
The Prophets and the early Christians saw it as a fundamental responsibility of the government to develop a fair, just, honest society–to provide for the common good. Jesus repeatedly spoke of the need for a radical transformation of society so that the first become last, and the last first–that is a reversal of the social and political practices of his day (and ours) where the rich get richer and the poor are abused by corrupt social, legal, and economic systems set up to benefit the powerful. That is why he was killed by the social, religious, political leaders in Judea.
The Church does not write the laws of the country; it does not set up and operate the economic systems in operation in the country; it does not recruit young people to be sent off to be slaughtered in foreign countries whose oil we want in the U.S.
Yet all of these governmental activities significantly impact–frequently for the worse–the lives of the poor, the sick, the homeless, the immigrants.
The message of the prophets is that God is strongly opposed to his people cooperating with that state of affairs, or sitting on our hands ignoring it, saying it is none of our affair.