Deep Discussion

My friends & I were discussing a few political issues when one mentioned he was experiencing difficulty attempting to "reconcile the tenets of Christianity with some of the republican & libertarian positions" with regards to looking out for the whole of society. He continued that he stands "firm that Christianity is much closer to socialism than anyone wants to think".

Now, my friend is a conservative gentleman & most definitely not a socialist. That being said, he is one of the most honest, in-depth thinkers I have ever known. He IS correct when saying Christianity & socialism share some similar tenets.

How, then, can we differentiate from the two? If two apparently dissimilar ideologies share common principles, what makes the difference in them philosophically, morally & practically? If anyone had asked me such a question, I'd have some difficulty explaining the separation in ideology.

However, as if hit by a bolt of "smart", the following answer literally popped into my head:

"All of us have beliefs across the spectrum (left to right). Conservatives just have more to the right. Religion betters socialism in the shared tenets by way of encouraging man to better himself & treat neighbors as themselves. Socialism forces it - in essence, the state becomes a god & attempts to remove the fallibility from mankind. That is why it fails".

It really struck a chord with all of us. The above sounds exactly like what the government is seeking to do: impose charity & sharing among the people. By forcing something as opposed to encouraging a practice, the elected are seeking to become the prophets of a "religion" they are creating.

You cannot force perfection on man. God made us with free will: the freedom to do right & wrong at our discretion. Whether you believe in the Divine Creator or not, it is simple fact that a person must choose to try & perfect himself/herself - such perfection cannot be obtained by force because it can never be genuine (& thus can never truly be "perfect").