While claims that Jesus would support a certain political party or structure have always been popular, lately I have been seeing the contention emerge more frequently that, “Jesus was (or would be) a socialist.” Some have countered with claims that He was actually a capitalist. An abundance of articles have been written on each premise. So, is it true? Would Jesus be a socialist? If not, would He be a capitalist?
Before answering the question, I will make the presupposition that the person making the claim is a Christian. If not, it is really just a manipulative tactic that does not deserve a response anyway, because who cares what a man thinks if you yourself think that man is a liar or a fraud? So, let’s assume that this is a Christian audience and a Christian making the claim.
Now, let’s get to it. Statements like these have several flaws, not the least of which that we should not ever say with certainty what another person who lived 2000 years ago would do or think. Believing that the person is not just a man but God Himself makes it even more incumbent upon us to never speak for Him. If we do so, it had better be through His words, with what He told us- not what we inferred, especially when our own bias is likely to taint our inference. One might say, “If Jesus was alive today, it seems to me that He would more likely support a socialist viewpoint,” or “Jesus’ teachings have led me to a capitalist viewpoint,” but to make the claim that He “was a socialist/capitalist” is dangerous ground that no Christian should tread.
Secondly, Jesus’ teachings might lead one to several different conclusions about the superior economic system. Some have used parables like the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25) as an endorsement of capitalism. In this story, Jesus tells of a rich man who entrusts his servants with different amounts of money based on their ability rather than equally distributing it to all. In the end, he praises the man who was given most for wisely investing and increasing the wealth that was entrusted to him. Others use Jesus’ advice to the rich ruler in Luke 18 to sell all that he has and come follow Him as an example of how Jesus would be a proponent of socialism. They also cite the wealth-sharing system of the early church to support this view.
While these arguments have their strengths, they have their flaws, as well. In neither case is Jesus proposing that a government put His principles in place by force, nor do I think it is likely that He would ever do so. To say that Jesus would support any governmental system is to fundamentally misunderstand His mission. The reason the Jews did not- and still do not- acknowledge Him as the Messiah is because they expected a political savior who would not just save their souls but their country. Instead, we received a spiritual savior whose kingdom is not of this world.
If we delve into the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel 8 we see a story of God and government that helps to clarify the distinction between the two. This text details the Israelites’ rejection of God as the head of their nation. Instead, they asked for an earthly king. God instructed Samuel to tell them of the difficulties that a king would entail- he would reign over them, enlist them for military service, assign unequal roles to them, and tax them. Nevertheless, they demanded a king, and He told Samuel to give them the desire of their hearts and let them reap the consequences. All of our governmental systems are some variation of this. I do not mean to say that they are all equally successful- I do not believe that to be the case- but they are all flawed, and on some level we must reap the results of each flawed system in a different way.
We as Christians believe that Jesus WILL set everything right, but not through a human government. Even the best human system is no match for God’s eventual plan and Kingdom, and thus it is ridiculous for us to say that He would ever “support” our inferior methods. The Christian belief is that humanity has dominion for a time, humanity continues to fail through our efforts alone, and that God will eventually redeem humanity and usurp our systems with His perfect Kingdom. It is Jesus Himself who taught us this, so whether or not you believe it, you surely cannot say that He did not believe it and that instead He wanted to see socialism or capitalism put in place.
When Jesus was here, He told his followers in Mark 12 to “Render to Caesar the things that are Caeasar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” His earthly ministry was entirely focused on moving His kingdom forward rather than fixing ours. When facing death, Pontius Pilate said to Jesus, “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” In response Jesus said, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” He acknowledged Pilate’s power, but only as a secondary and temporary power. He had no desire to usurp Pilate or the corrupt Roman system, even to save His own life. In His absence, we must do our best to keep our eyes on that future kingdom while still existing in an earthly one.
In this temporal world, I believe that there is nothing wrong with a Christian trying his or her best to apply Jesus’ principals to the ballot box if we have the gift of a country in which we can freely express our voice, but we must be careful how we do so. I, personally, support the free market and a capitalist (though not unrestrained) system because I believe that it has the best chance to lift people out of poverty and allow them to create an abundant life. Combined with a government that has protections put in place for those who might not thrive from or who cannot navigate this system, I think that this is the best economic model that we flawed humans currently have, and I believe history supports that.
I would never say, however, that capitalism is a perfect system or that Jesus supports (or even “would support”) it. The Bible makes it clear that a Christian can thrive under any governmental system and that he or she should honor those in power and do the best with what we have been given. We are to live peacefully, pray for our leaders, and practice personal charity. Each Christian must search his or her heart as to how they think this must best be applied in a country with so much freedom to shape our own lives, but we would be wrong to use Jesus as a tool to that end.
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About the Author
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Jackie Chea is a blogger from San Antonio, Texas who holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Community Counseling from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She writes on political and cultural issues from a conservative, religious standpoint. She lives in the Lone Star State with her husband Nick, her 5-year-old son Lincoln, and her rescue dogs. |
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