Home » Vol. 19: 2nd Quarter 2016 » Bible Study: SOCIALISM: Biblical Tenet or Philosophy of Man?

Bible Study: SOCIALISM: Biblical Tenet or Philosophy of Man?

In John 1:15-17 John writes to the church not to love the ways of this world. This would include human governmental and philosophical approaches to the problems man may face. See Colossians 2:8 where Paul warns about the man-made philosophies of this world. This would include the disastrous ideology of Carl Marx, who invented modern Socialism. Communism is a step further than Socialism, allowing no private personal property and enforcing complete governmental control of an entire economy.

The greatest economic collapse of the twentieth century was that of the vast Soviet Union empire. The people were so impoverished and oppressed that a wall was erected to keep them locked into the failing system, thus the infamous Iron Curtain. Communist governments have murdered hundreds of millions of people to enforce these economic rules that do not work. I would suggest reading The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression by Stephane Courtois for details.

Too much socialism defies natural human behavior –– the system could never be productive. Let’s imagine a ranch where one brother is industrious and productive and the other brother is lazy and unproductive. If you tax away the income from the productive son and give it to the unproductive son to achieve Communism’s necessary income redistribution (couldn’t let the unproductive brother starve, now could we), what have you really done? You have demotivated both workers! Next year, production will be a lot lower. Why should the productive brother work so hard when he won’t get to enjoy the fruit of his labor? It is also corrupting the brother who is being paid for not working. Why work when everything you need is given to you by someone else? See II Thessalonians 3:10-11.

Remember, God warned Israel about the danger of large centralized government and a powerful king. In our times, a communist party boss and dictator like Stalin would be one example. It is a true saying that, ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely!’ See I Samuel Chapter 8. Stalin had total political and economic power over the people.

The level of giving is up to the individual. It is not the same as taxation which either you pay or you go to jail. Charity is not coerced. The Bible teaches charity, not extreme confiscation by the government, which is an element of socialism/communism.

In Acts 5 we read that many were selling their possessions and pooling their money together to support the growing church so that they could learn and unify. Ananias sold a possession, presumably for the church, but instead of donating the entire sum as he claimed, he deceptively gave only a part.

Peter explained to Ananias that his personal property was his to control and do with as he wished. The issue was that Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied about how much they were actually giving. Had they been honest about what money they had kept for themselves, it wouldn’t have been an issue. It is clear from the Bible that the church was not a forced form of communal government and had respect for private property.

The Bible supports charity and helping those in need. Israel had a law that the fields could not be harvested to the corners so that poor people could harvest the leftovers and either feed themselves or sell the grain they had gleaned. God did not tell the Israelites to set up the wealth police to forcefully take produce and land from the farmers and redistribute their wealth. He gave no authorization for the civil government to tax the people and take or manage their land and income to give to others.

God did require that the people pay tithes to the Levites and Priests because they were not able to own land and work it. They were the only ones to do temple services for the people and were supported by the people whom they served. God’s tithing law was dependent on the people obeying Him and being generous with their blessings. The state had no enforcement capacities. Tithing was up to the people.

Living a prosperous life and earning money is not condemned, but the LOVE of money is. Coveting material things is wrong but one can be prosperous or even rich and be in God’s favor, just look at Abraham or Job. Needless to say a person who is not rich can covet and be materialistic as well as one who is. Political economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith asserted that true capitalism is to serve your customers with the best product you can, and that this approach will help people to succeed and in turn serve others. Note Matthew 7:12, Proverbs 10:4.

In his book Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith described the free market as “invisible hands.” These hands guide the acts of individuals to promote more prosperity than the individuals had planned, which then leads to an orderly and efficient distribution of goods and services. All this emerges from people acting in their own self-interest. Renowned Austrian economist and Nobel Prize winner in Economic Sciences, Friedrich Hayek, marveled at what he called the “spontaneous order” of the market place and noted that, “If Socialists understood economics, they wouldn’t be Socialists!”

When Communist dictator Mikhail Gorbachev asked British Prime minister Margaret Thatcher how the British people got fed if no one in the government planned it she replied, “The price system does it.” The Soviet Communist empire always had trouble feeding its people, at times there were even food police! Free trade creates a win-win situation. It is not a zero sum game. Wealth is expanded by trading freely among producers.

Global Capitalism has lifted 150 million Indians out of abject poverty and almost 400 million Chinese out of poverty in the last 25 years. Capitalism made America the economic engine that is the nexus of world trade, business innovation, and prosperity.

When the Pilgrims arrived in the new world, they first tried a system where everything was shared by the community. It failed because of the ‘free rider’ problem. Then Governor Bradford gave each family starting capital and allowed them to keep all their profits for themselves, minus repaying any debts accrued in Europe.

The colony became a huge economic success and as word got back to the old world, people streamed across the oceans and the rest is history. They worked hard for their own family’s prosperity and the entire colony benefited. Read about the reward of hard work in Proverbs 22:29

The parable of the talents indicates that God has allowed people to possess varying abilities and opportunities. All people should be treated equally but it’s important to recognize that while some will create vast business enterprises or invent unique machines to better serve the public, others may be musically inclined, artistic, or simply have a more giving and helpful attitude towards others.

Note Matt 25:14-30. God rewarded each according to their works based on their individual talent. You must serve to the best of your abilities, in whatever capacity that may be.

If someone creates more wealth than another, that wealth does not diminish the other party. If you are more productive than someone else, it does not diminish his material goods one bit. It’s not uncommon for propagandists to compare the income or lifestyle of the wealthiest people to the poorest. The reaction they want to elicit is clear, “Why don’t we take money away from the rich and give it to those ‘less fortunate’?”

This may sound very nice to some, but stealing, even by government decree, violates God’s law. The results of this ethos in the real world have been shocking. We have seen the extreme brutality of Communist dictators (the end justifies the means, they say) and the spreading of poverty like a virus. Look at the record of the fallen Communist empires, including the only one left standing economically, North Korea.

If we are worried about anyone having too much power, then it is the government that should worry us. The U.S. government’s budget is larger than any wealthy person’s. They also have the power to coerce and manipulate millions. How long can a nation possibly survive when voters allow the government to steal for them, violating the eighth commandment? That Law of God protects and supports private property and individual earnings.

The trouble is that many modern philosophers measure capitalism with a utopian measuring rod. No system looks good in this light! We will not see utopia until Christ’s second coming. Yet it is the best economic system available based on real world experience. A Christian cannot serve two masters, greed and God. Note Matt 6:19-24, 33. Where our treasure is there will our heart be and our hearts should be about devotion to God. Our first priority should be about loving and obeying God. Then supporting His work and charity. Jesus criticized the hoarding of wealth and trusting in possessions rather than in God. Capitalism is not being condemned and socialism is not being approved.