This post is a response to a question I was asked by a friend on facebook, since I'm long winded it wouldn't fit there so I'm posting it here
Audra- Let me start by saying that your dad is much wiser than I am, so believe him. Secondly, since your friend isn’t a follower of Christ, his opinion about what Christ supports or not is like asking a vegetarian what pizza chain has the best meat lover’s pizza. Not a slight toward your friend, but if he isn’t someone who follows Christ, he really doesn’t know who Christ is or what he stands for. Because he isn’t a Christian and I’m assuming that he is like me when I wasn’t a believer, I’m doing the best I can to not quote the Bible a bunch since it doesn’t hold much weight with people who don’t believe it. If you want something with more chapter and verse notations, let me know and I’ll work on that. Since you asked my opinion on the subject, here is my brief response:
I think that Jesus gives a thumbs-up to capitalism. And I think that being an imperfect system developed by imperfect people, He would offer some suggestions for improvement if we would take the time to listen and actually apply what He taught.
Here is the long answer:
He is all for retaining people’s dignity when sorting through governments and systems and looking for what ones to put His stamp on. In its simplest form I believe capitalism does that. I would ask your friend if he believes that people should have individual rights and in those rights they have the right to be compensated for their time or products in a free and open market. I believe that Jesus supports that. If your friend says that he is willing to give up his rights, demand that he give you his shoes, car and that he pay whatever bills you have that you don’t want to be responsible for :)
The idea that Jesus would be pro Communist, in its current meaning, is funny to me- Jesus People USA style Communism I think He’s given a couple of thumbs up to but that isn’t what Communism means when people talk about it today. When you look at what Communism (especially in the last couple hundred years or so) really is you should be able to easily understand why Jesus or anyone else who cares about others at all wouldn’t really be all that gung-ho about Communism. On paper Communism can look great, problem is in the practice, rather than everyone being on equal footing as a community, you have a populace that is forced to give up their rights of individual ownership and they are robbed of their dignity and they struggle while the ruling class over them that is made rich and profits off of the commoners. That is something that Jesus isn’t for at all. Additionally in modern Communism there is the central idea that there is no God, I don’t think JC is very excited about that. There are ideas expressed in Communism that Jesus supports but only when it is a free choice of the people acting as a community, not when an elite class subjugates others into it. I think that only happens on a local level and would be so difficult to apply on a national level that honestly I don’t think it can occur without Jesus coming back and setting up a throne physically here to keep us from screwing it up.
Capitalism isn’t a political system solely, though politicians will solely use anything that will give them more power/money. There are political systems that allow more capitalistic markets and others that don’t at all. Our current system that was designed to be a Republic that is expressed as a representative democracy. In that it allows the freest of markets in all the political setups that I’m aware of. Unfortunately over time it has moved from what it was intended to be to a system ruled by special interests and those with wallets big enough to buy off those making decisions. That is something that grieves Jesus. It isn’t limited to Capitalism or our current system though. Still we have a level of freedom in our nation, system and form of capitalism that is great still today.
For those who are very idealistic (which I’m guilty of many times) our current system is not what it can and should be in all areas. It could be that it is in this type of idealism your friend thinks Jesus wouldn’t approve of capitalism. I believe the areas we fall short are rooted in greed. Jesus never said that money was evil, though many say he did. He did say that the love of money, aka greed, was at the root of all evil. Money is great, I like it and like most others would like and can use more…Greed is something Jesus spoke out against many times and I would agree with Jesus and your friend if this was his point of division. I’m not willing to dump the whole thing because there are some that abuse it and are selfish though, the pro’s simply outweigh the con’s. Just because a situation allows for someone to mess up doesn’t mean that Jesus is against it, see his first miracle and what he did for a group of people who if they continued to drink could be in sin. With all the potential for greed, and with all the problems that exist in our current setup we, being one of the wealthiest nations, are also one of the best nations (if not the greatest) in freely giving to others. Why wouldn’t Jesus be supportive of a system that has been used to help so many? Sure we have room to improve but the improvement doesn’t include being forced to give up what we’ve worked hard for so that others can share in it. Though there are legislators on all sides that are working hard to make you and I do that today, see the bailout last year and be sure to check the voting record of your favorite politicians. Unfortunately last year beltway politics took over and Republicans and Democrats forced us in a big way to move towards giving up what we have worked for when they pushed the bailout through, that has nothing to do with capitalism, has everything to do with a system that we perpetuate when we forget that politicians lie, and that the Democrats and Republicans were once all one party, and aren’t all that different today…they just have adopted certain hot button issues into their platform to ensure they keep a certain group of people voting for them.
As for government systems, Jesus is all about one Monarchy- He talked about his Father’s kingdom all the time. However Jesus’ method of expanding it isn’t the same that other monarchies or other groups have employed and I think that confuses people. He didn’t destroy the system that oppressed the Jews in His days on earth and yet he provided a way into the Kingdom by conquering our hearts and allowing them dual citizenship, whether their earthly geopolitical system approved and is compatible or not.
To those that would still say that Communism is what Jesus prefers over a free market, while I think they are wrong, I will acknowledge that there is a call to those who have entered into the Father’s Kingdom to be a community. Community and communism are not the same thing however. Within the context of community, and even extended neighbors that may not be fellow members of His Kingdom, Christ calls us to echo in His Love to others (friend, enemy, whoever) which many times on a tangible level translates into giving to others at a self cost with no expectation of something in return. That is community in its truest form and will not work if it is forced upon a group of people by a ruling class. It only works when people are propelled and empowered by the kind of love that Jesus shared and calls us to have and do.
I hope this helps and that it answers your question.
