Jesus Was a Commie

I really enjoyed watching Matthew Modine's, "Jesus Was a Commie". I think he has many valid points when discussing the ideas of Jesus and the aspects of communism. Jesus preached that material belongings do not hold great importance. He spoke of giving up these belongings to others. He also guided his followers to help the less fortunate. He led people to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give shelter to those without a home. In this way, Jesus provided many ideas that would ideally better society, by assisting the lower class and creating a system of equality.

It could be said that communism shares this idea of lack of individual ownership, since it includes a common ownership of property. The principles and practices of communism ideally strive for a balance in society. This holding of all property in common intends to promote equality. This system, however, has not been proved to be successful. Leaders have misused the system to gain power, showing the corruption that human selfishness causes.

Matthew Modine did an excellent job in discussing these aspects of both communism and the teachings of Jesus. I have to point out, however, that communism is strictly a political theory or system. The messages that Jesus brought had nothing to do with politics, and had everything to do with people's spiritual lives. Jesus had faith in a God who gives people free will, and Jesus led people to give up their physical belongings to become closer to God, and to have a loving attitude. And establishment that requires this common ownership takes away the key element of love that Jesus was working to create.

I feel that this film came from a strictly secular point of view when discussing the ideas of Jesus. I think that it is absolutely necessary to have a spiritual point of view as well when looking at the life of Jesus. If this spiritual aspect is disregarded, the message of Jesus is lost. Therefore, having an establishment where there is no individual ownership has nothing to do with giving away one's personal belongings out of love.

The short film, Jesus Was A Commie, proposes a thought provoking idea that Jesus was a communist. By making this statement the filmmakers are proposing that Jesus believes that everyone deserves to live a life without having to resort to begging for money etc. However, I personally believe that the word communist has negative connotations attached to it and usually brings up thoughts of dictatorships and totalitarian governments rather than socialistic type of societies which is essentially what Jesus supposedly believed in according to the film.

Disregarding the films message, the actual film making complemented the films message and voice-over extremely well. The film depicts a guy walking through the city passing buildings and homeless people with images interspersed throughout. By showing himself walking the filmmaker shows how small and rather inconsequential each person is in the world and how everyone is interrelated and of equal importance in Jesus' and God's eyes.

The film is not attempting to force people to become communist it is rather asking for people to think about how Jesus' would act and look at the world with a new perspective. I believe that the films message is a bit off and too idealistic, especially with its choice of viewing Jesus as a communist. However, the filming is smart and a great image in addition to the lecture type of voice-over accompanying it.

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"Jesus Was a Commie" was a very good movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. Matthew Modine's argument was not the the economic aspect of the word, but more of a social one. Communism is a ideology in which there is an establishment of a classless, moneyless society. In the word there is the word "common." Modine argues that Jesus was a commie because he was for the common man. I agree with Modine and his style of presentation combined with his argument in a 15 minute clip had me convinced.

Matthew Modine also argued that our humanistic egos are destroying the very planet that we live on. He places the responsibility on us to change our outlooks to a positive one and to work together for a common goal of bettering not only ourselves, but others as well. We need to have a sense of morality that is beneficial to the entire world and it must correlate to Jesus's teachings. We have an opportunity to change human history for the better rather than the worse.

Overall, this film is definitely a must see. It has a compelling, provoking argument, with up to date visuals, so it will not bore you. I would recommend this to a good friend or family member because it is that thought provoking. Only after seeing this film can one decided if "Jesus Was a Commie."

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I was introduced to the film "Jesus Was a Commie" created by Matthew Modine in my college theology class. This short film firmly opened with statements comparing the actions of Jesus to that of a communist. My initial reaction was "Wow! That was bold"! When the term communist is brought up, Jesus would not be the first to come to mind for many. Communism triggers thoughts of violence, oppression, lack of expression, as well as dictatorships. How could Jesus be involved with such awful occurrences? Yet, Matthew Modine displayed a rather positive view on communism that certainly changed by opinion about this ideology. Modine simply stated that communism failed due to the greed of the human race. Each person wanted to be better than the next. Jesus encouraged selflessness as well as equality among all people, aspects of communism that seemed to be forgotten throughout history. Jesus valued "loving thy neighbor as you love thyself", and communism would instill a lack of competition between people and the ability for those to be oppressed. This film definitely opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about communism as well as theologizing about Jesus in a new way. Through Modine's analysis of several attributes of communism and depiction of Jesus's life in the past, the statement "Jesus was a commie" became increasing more accurate. This makes me think, will communism ever lose its negative connotations and could Jesus's form of communism displayed by Modine ever truly work in the modern world?

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Jesus Was a Commie is a film in which Matthew Modine uses imagery and in-depth thought, presenting questions about modern society based on the studies of Jesus, original Communism and the world we live in. The film is made more powerful by his ability to present ideas instead of statistical facts, leaving the viewer with more questions than answers.

The movie title sparked my curiosity. From the opening scene till it's close, this film captured my attention and held my interest. Jesus Was a Commie is not really political or religious, but more thought provoking, challenging some of the ideas that many take for granted as "fact." The scenes in the movie, though sometimes disturbing, are matched perfectly with the narration, making it easy to get lost in and leaving me hungry for "just a little bit more."

I think everyone should watch Jesus Was a Commie. I think it should be studied in schools and discussed at length until our minds have opened to the possibilities of a world we can create.