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Text Box: groups. And there were the numerous lazy sloths who abused the system and lived very well from the proceeds of the industry of those who actually worked. Saint Paul avoided even the hint of being a leach or parasite by supporting himself and to a great extent his work as a servant of Christ, by his profession as a maker and seller of tents. Tents in those days were not the things one finds at a boy scout store, a camping supply outlet, or an army surplus store - though some of them were comparable to the tents used by general staff of today on maneuvers. A tent was a movable house. It was not uncommon for a tent to have a large reception room, numerous bedroom suites - especially if the owner had several wives (one who has several wives is well advised to house them separately) - as well as guest rooms and even stables (especially for favorite horses). But Saint Paul, and indeed all Christians of the early Church, and even today Christians of the True Faith as members of the True Church, are members of a type or form of coalition which is true and pure communism functioning within the Divine Essence. It is known as The Communion of Saints. It is composed of the Saints in Heaven who are the fully participating permanent members, those in the process of purification who are also permanent members but not yet at full participation status, and those who remain alive in this world who are active participants and in the state of Grace members of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in its various Church Jurisdictions (Orthodox, Roman, Coptic, etc.). There is a flow of Divine Energies within The Communion of Saints, supporting and strengthening those in various deficiencies as well as maintaining and increasing existing strengths. Worldly communism or socialism, where each contributes according to his abilities and each receives according to his needs, will never work because

Text Box: achievement is not rewarded while sloth is rewarded. But in The Communion of Saints, the focus is on God, and each individual attaining permanent union with God. Membership in The Communion of Saints precludes self-centeredness, self-indulgence, self-focus, except as such are inducements to and relate to focus on God in eternal union with God. Since functional communism / socialism were unattainable in the purity and religiousness of the spirituality of the early Church, it is unrealistic to believe it is attainable in the materialistic society of today. Communism and socialism are attractive to the materialistic of today as a means of obtaining the wealth of others for their own use. They are attractive to the “leaders” as a means of obtaining masses of supporters through whom they will obtain and maintain power, authority, celebrity, and the trappings thereof. To The Communion of Saints, communism and socialism as known in the materialistic world are anathema, for they destroy personal incentive, do not allow reward for individual achievement, and artificially channel assets. But in the spiritual realm in which The Communion of Saints functions, Divine Energies naturally flow as supernaturally needed. +

Text Box: “SNITTY” PASTOR HUMOR Different Pastors were asked, “How many people does it take to screw in a light bulb?” Their responses: The Presbyterian Pastor: “None. If God wants the bulb screwed in he is sovereign and will do it himself without human effort.” The Charismatic Pastor: “None. The bulb doesn’t need to be changed. We should pray that it be healed.” The Pentecostal Pastor: “None. We simply need to cast out from the bulb the demon of darkness.” The Fundamentalist Pastor: “None. We shouldn’t even enter the room because we need to keep ourselves separate from all darkness.” The Baptist Pastor: “None. If we allow physical contact between a person and the bulb it might lead to dancing.” The Wesleyan Minister: “None. If we just show the bulb its need, it already possesses the power to screw itself in.” The Non-Denominational Pastor: “None. We don’t want to make the bulb feel unwanted or uncomfortable.” The Jewish Rabbi (Pastor): “Jacob! Come talk with this person.” The Islamic Mulla (Pastor): “Infidel!” The Roman Catholic Pastor: “I do not know. The janitor always takes care of that.” The Orthodox Pastor: “What is a light bulb?” +

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