Socialism and the Bible
By Steven Osborne | Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 | Catch-All, PolicyIn recent years the Christian theory on socialism has been misrepresented by secularists on both the right and the left. We have seen those on the left contend that socialism is a Christian virtue and that Christians should rally to our President’s side when he calls on us to help him achieve “social justice.” Meanwhile, secularists on the right peek up from the cover of an Ayn Rand book long enough to scorn “Christian Socialism.” The true Biblical position on economics refute both the secularism and big government theories of the left and the objectivism that some embrace on the right.
Many liberal thinkers have pointed to the verse in the Bible that talks about the “everything common” principle within the early church as evidence that the Bible embraces the current administration’s view of social justice.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. -Acts 2:44-47a (NIV)
Critics point to this as evidence that God condones socialism. However, I would encourage you to note what the end of that verse says; they broke bread in their homes, not in the palaces, not in government offices, in their homes. The Bible makes it clear that the church should be at the forefront of meeting people’s needs. The government has of late done more to hinder church involvement than to encourage it. The dirty little secret that no one wants to address is the fact that the government does not want competition to the welfare state. The church and its generosity is a direct threat to the welfare state’s perpetuation.
Some have suggested that Christianity inherently supports the idea of big government. This is also untrue. As a matter of fact, you can read in 1 Samuel chapter 8 that God warns the people of Israel what will happen if they take for themselves a king. You will find that he warns them of a king who will take their property and expand his control over their lives.
Later we find that King Ahab seeks out property that is owned by an individual who holds that it was God who had given his family that particular piece of land. This individual will not give the King (government authority) this particular piece of land and he is killed for his refusal. God later punishes King Ahab for stealing the land that God had given this man. You can read about this in 1 Kings 21.
The preceding account shows us both the Biblical position on ownership of private property and what God thinks about man made governments that try and supercede His authority.
Recently, President Obama declared that “we are God’s partners in life and death.” This statement struck me as profound concerning the attitude of this administration. The current administration believes that government has authority in whether or not people live or die. From a Biblical standpoint, God, and God alone, has the authority over matters that this administration claims to be His partners in. In Ezekiel 28:1-7 God chastises the governmental authority of Tyrus for setting himself on the level of God. When government begins to take upon itself responsibilities that are God’s then that government has put itself on His level. The founders of our nation would cringe at such an idea.
Books could be written on this subject, however, I will conclude with this. On the right, some objectivists claim that man creates his own destiny and wealth, on the left, some secularists claim that government is the giver of wealth. Most simply, neither theory is correct, God is the giver of wealth. He gives man the talents necessary to aquire wealth. Without God giving man his ability to work, man would be helpless in a world that demands results. The socialist theory is based on the principle that wealth comes from a government of man. According to the Bible, God is the giver of wealth.
And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.
But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. – Deuteronomy 8:17-18
I would encourage you to study further into what the Bible specifically says about economics.The economics presented in the Bible are the same economics that our founders embraced; a free economy where ownership is encouraged and government control over God given property is discouraged.
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About the author
Steven Osborne is a grassroots conservative activist from Central Virginia. He is currently furthering his education at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. In addition to writing for Bearing Drift he is also a columnist for the Christian Law Journal.
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15 Responses to "Socialism and the Bible"
Steven,
Have you now gone to the Kirwin School of Spin? A Liberty guy like you should know better than to use Acts like you did: the Roman Imperial government was legally pagan at the time. Therefore, public facilities would have been off-limits to the early Christians.
That said, one thing normally lost on the Left: before you can redistribute wealth, you have to create wealth in the first place. Capitalism has an infinitely better record at creating wealth than socialism. The dilema facing Christians then is how do you meet the test of The Last Judgement in Matthew 25 within a market economy?
But was Paul a socialist?
2 Cor 8:12-15:
For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have; not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. As it is written: “Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.”
Little David,
Good question. The verses to which you refer must be put in full context. The concept behind 2 Cor. 8 is that we are blessed by God, in order that we might bless others. This is God’s system. Socialism believes in taking the blessings of others and redistributing the wealth to victims who will ultimately be taken advantage of.
2 Cor. 8:8 states that this giving is a way to prove the sincerity of our love, because of this at the beginning of verse 8, God frames this not as a commandment, socialism robs an individual of the opportunity to give out of love and rather decreases the ability of believers to operate charity under God’s system.
2 Cor. 8:9 says that Jesus was rich and yet became poor, that through His poverty we might be rich. (my paraphrase)
We are blessed by God and as the church we are to bless others with those blessings. God is the One who helps the poor, not the government.
Henry Ryto,
Creative play on words there-
Really though, there were several Roman officials who became Christians. A perfect example is Cornelius, who on his own valition, blessed the Jewish people even as God had blessed him, and at the same time that the Roman government had basically subjected the Jewish people to crippling taxation.
No spin here…just analysis
Steven Osbourne
Your explanation is completely inadequate. I will quote you.
“Socialism believes in taking the blessings of others and redistributing the wealth to victims who will ultimately be taken advantage of.”
Where would Social Security or a Socialized medical system seek to take advantage of the less fortunate?
“From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”… pretty much sums up the argument.
Little David,
I can not even begin to describe to you how much the poor will be taken advantage of under socialized medicine. Social Security was originally a mechanism whereby people would save money aside for the future, the fact that it is headed towards bankruptcy potentially bringing many seniors to financial ruin, makes my point.
There’s a big difference between personally-held morality based upon religion or another belief system, and the government taking something from me in order to give it to you. I give my time, talents, and treasure to my church and other charitable organizations because I choose to do so. That’s a far cry from the federal govenrment withholding Social Security from my paycheck for a Ponzi scheme which I’ll never see returned.
“…renew its Judeo-Christian heritage”?!?
Dictionaries define “Judeo” as a combinative form. Thus, the compound word “Judeo-Christian” implies that Judaism (Torah) is no more than a dependent element of Christianity.
In typical supersessionist and displacement Christian tradition (see Oxford historian James Parkes, The Conflict of the Church and the Synagogue), Christians thoughtlessly presume the prefix “Judeo-” to lay false claim to Judaism (Torah) by means of an impossible union of “Judeo-” (pro-Torah) with “Christian” (supersessionist and displacement antinomian=anti-Torah=misojudaism). Thus, the phrase “Judeo-Christian” implies supersession and displacement by Christianity–no less than labeling the Tanakh (the original, Jewish, Bible) the “Old Testament”–is disrespectful and insulting to any knowledgeable Orthodox Jew.
Where values are shared, the accurate (and honest) way would be to state “Judaic and Christian…” (values, traditions, etc.) instead of “Judeo-Christian.”
It’s reasonably clear to most that the founders of America were primarily Christians. Be content with that and stifle your greed to lay false claim to Judaism along with it. The history of the original Christian church of 135 C.E. was indisputably antinomian, and even viciously misojudaic (see Oxford historian James Parkes, The Conflict of the Church and the Synagogue). The 10 Commandments are an indivisible whole. Rejecting any one constitutes rejecting of the whole… and the Church rejected the 10 Commandments when it superseded and displaced #4 (and shredded #1-3 as well). Examples are endless. Dt. 13.1-6 explicitly precludes the Christian NT exactly as it does the Quran, Book of Mormon, Watchtower, etc. Consequently, claiming your “New Testament” is included in a “Judeo-Christian Bible” is no less wrong and offensive. The “New Testament” is NOT part of the original Bible.
Greed to claim supersession over, and displacement of, Judaism introduces self-contradictions that undermine and negate your arguments.
Christians’ religious greed results in fecklessness that enables the postmodernists to disassemble and destroy America.
Contrary to many modern Christian overstatements, the founders of America guaranteed that religion be free to all in private and imposed on no one in public.
Unfortunately, America’s freedom to practice one’s religion in private doesn’t satisfy religious greed–particularly that of Christians–toward dominance. In such case, religions in America need to be declawed. By over-reaching you ensure the opposite–and probably disproportionate–reaction.
Renovator,
How scholarly of you. I personally define my political beliefs as Judeo-Christian because I believe that Christianity finds its roots in Judaism. As far as I am concerned I have been adopted into the family the Jewish followers of Jehovah God already belonged to.
However, my beliefs aside, I would encourage you as well to look into the Jews who helped to fund the American Revolution, I would think that they would appreciate some modern day recognition.
On a side note: Its nice to know that someone actually reads the author descriptions!
2 Cor 8:12-15:
Sounds like commerce to me!! Equal & fair trade!
“but that as a matter of equality your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs, that there may be equality.”
……So, I’ll barter my surplus of vitamin rich lemons and for some of your protein rich goat’s milk. After all, with my citrus grove, I have a hefty surplus of lemons and just how much goat milk from your herd of goats can you use for just your family alone.
It all(your surplus) goes to the economic principle of Diminishing Returns and the corresponding prosperity coming with commerce:
“As it is written: “Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.”
Or, I can’t use “more” lemons if I can’t trade them AND for my family I only need a “little” goats milk and will be better off for having that little amount of milk.
Sounds like the Bible endorses the Free Market!
“Some have suggested that Christianity inherently supports the idea of big government. This is also untrue. As a matter of fact, you can read in 1 Samuel chapter 8 that God warns the people of Israel what will happen if they take for themselves a king. You will find that he warns them of a king who will take their property and expand his control over their lives.”
Right up front, I’m not religious. But I was raised in the church, a Baptist one.
And there was never in my mind that the Bible taught that we ARE our brothers keepers. If that requires big government, so be it.
I note that many Christians like to qoute everybody in the Bible except Christ.
That may be beacuse what Christ had to say about the poor, over and over again, doesn’t reflect the economic ideology that modern Christians want to embrace.
Nothing like revisionist history – including revising the words and teachings of Christ to fit your political agenda. I’ll tell you one thing, Christ sure as heck wasn’t a neo-con, and there is no way any follower of Christ should torture or permit torture to happen.
Steve,
I’m glad that you brought that up. In Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Jesus encourages us to use our God given talents, and to the worker that used his talents, he was given more. Socialism discourages people from using their talents. The talents referred to in the parable may refer to money (the equivalent of one thousand dollars), however money is our talents at work, it was a metaphor for our God given talents that we have been given to acquire wealth, so that, we can bless others in need.
This discussion is varied to say the least – I will be back for sure!
It sure is good to stumble on a little extra info for doing renovations (or dreaming about it). If you need a few really good tips, I suggest looking at Masterrenovator.com, he has good info on things that can help a lot.
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